Doin' the Class Covenant Thing

So, I've been crazy delinquent about posting to this blog, but that will change now that I'm using  blogging as part of my ENGL 101 class.  The idea is to have all of us spend a few minutes each and every class writing about anything, without any worries about topic, grammar, format, or any of that stuff.  Hopefully, this will get me in the habit of posting to this blog about general life stuff rather than pseudo-academic blathering strictly about peace-related stuff only.  In other words, rhetorician, heal thyself!

Okay, so I'm using the class-covenant thing as I did last semester.  It was fascinating to see what this group came up with.  In some ways, the spirit of the covenant is similar to the one my 103 class came up with last semester, but it's also different.  Most interestingly, the class covenant calls for the course to be both "flexible" and "structured."  Hmmmm....kind of a tall order, but I think we can pull it off.  And even if we don't the attempt by itself should be intersting.

Anyhow, here's the covenant we've come up with:

Class Covenant for ENGL 101-02, Spring Semester, 2010






We, the members of ENGL 101-02 (both students and instructor) want this class to be excellent. We have identified the following traits as the most important qualities of a great class: it is fun, it involves hands-on learning, it is organized and structured, yet, it should also be flexible, and should be creative.






We commit ourselves to doing our best to make these qualities part of this class. To do this, we’ve identified things each member of the class can do to help us achieve our goal. We have also identified ways we’ll know if we are meeting this goal.






To make sure the class is fun, we believe that individual students should be outgoing with each other, have a positive attitude, participate in discussions, be energetic, and help one another. We believe the instructor should have a positive attitude, relate to students, create activities that add energy to the class, and do fun things (like not talking the whole time). We believe the class as a whole should treat each other with respect, actively participate in class, accept differences among people in class, work together, voice our opinions, and actively get to know each other.






If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because people will come to class regularly with a good attitude and be involved in learning.






To make sure the class is hands-on, we believe that individual students should participate, stay involved and actively engaged in what’s going on, and offer help to other students. We believe the instructor should take initiative, give assignments that don’t just involve writing, work one-on-one with students as much as possible, offer helpful feedback, makes sure students understand course content






If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because students will know the material, the class atmosphere will be positive, students will do well on assignments, everyone will participate, people will be interacting, and everyone will feel there’s an objective in the class.






To make sure the class is organized and structured, we believe that individual students should get assignments done on a regular basis, follow the writing “commandments,” set specific personal goals, stay involved, help others, always have needed materials, keep a schedule, stay organized, and stay on task. We believe the instructor should have an itinerary for each class, be ready to teach what this particular group of students needs to know, encourage students, give due dates for students who would like them, and stay committed to his unique style of teaching. We believe the class as a whole treat each other with respect, get involved in their own learning, pay attention, and come prepared for each day’s class.






If we succeed in this, we will be able to tell because students will get assignments completed, everyone will be involved in what’s going on in class, people in class feel motivated, there is a lack of stress in the classroom, and a minimum of chaos.






To make sure the class is flexible, we believe that individual students should have open minds, accept constructive criticism from others, do multiple tasks, work under a variety of conditions, and be open to the opinions of others. We believe the instructor should follow his own guidelines, extend due dates when necessary, be forgiving, work with students individually, and be willing to work with students on their own time in addition to in class. up with creative activities and put students outside their comfort zone. We believe the class as a whole should be active in class discussions.






If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because the class will go smoothly, students will be skilled in writing by the end of the semester, people will have positive attitudes, people will work on their own, and be able to work in tough situations.






To make sure the class is creative, we believe that individual students should use their imagination in their writing, think outside the box, have open minds, use critical thinking, have fun with assignments, and try things outside their comfort zone. We believe the instructor should change the routine of class, come up with creative assignments, use PowerPoints, teach to a variety of learning styles, be open-minded, give constructive criticism, and find ways to get students’ minds going. We believe the class as a whole should think of creative ways to help others understand, brainstorm ideas together, give input to instructor and each other, give each other constructive criticism, and actively try to come up with creative ideas.






If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because students will have a plethora of ideas for papers, class will be interesting, students will become overachievers, each day in class will be different, people will accept criticism, we will come up with original ideas, and people will actually have fun when writing their papers.

Class Covenant

I thought this might be a good venue to share something I've done with one of my freshman composition courses.  I've said I wanted to do some political commenting on this blog, but have it be a bit more holistic in terms of various things that happen to be going on in my world, so here I go.

I've been trying to make my courses more collaborative, with students having more input as far as what we spend time learning and doing in class, as long as the overall goals of the course are getting met.

One book that was a source of this desire is Life Enriching Education by Marshall Rosenberg who suggests that pedagogy in line with a peaceful world is one that focuses on shared goals rather than unilateral instruction. 

I'm still working on this, but one way I thought I'd make a step in that direction is to have a "class covenant" where I asked students to brainstorm qualities they feel are present in successful, fun, good classes, then come up with a plan for how to make our own class meet these criteria.

So, I we came up with a lengthy list of what a good class was and wasn't.  We then winnowed this list down to five terms we could all agree on.  After that, I had them come up with ideas for how each of them as individuals, I as the instructor, and us as a collective group could make the class live up to these terms.  The question I asked is, "How will we know that our class is . . . .?"  The idea was to not just say what we *hoped* the class would be, but to articulate *how* we'd get there.

I've given the results of our efforts below.  Almost all the language and suggestions come from the students themselves.  I only provided the framework and a handful of ideas.  How well this works has yet to be seen.  I'm hopeful.  On the other hand, although the students themselves identified that they needed to not be talking while something is going on in class, I've already had to get people to quiet down when I've been fielding a question from a student sitting four feet away and I couldn't hear her! 

I'll keep you posted on how this little experiement goes.

Peace

Class Covenant for ENGL 103-01, Fall Semester, 2009-10

We, the members of ENGL 103-01 (both students and instructor) want this class to be excellent. We have identified the following traits as the most important qualities of a great class: it is interesting, everyone in it shows mutual respect, everyone feels motivated, the class is interactive, and everyone communicates clearly and effectively with one another.

We commit ourselves to doing our best to make these qualities part of this class. To do this, we’ve identified things each member of the class can do to help us achieve our goal. We have also identified ways we’ll know if we are meeting this goal.

To make sure the class is interesting, we believe that individual students should try to find something about each assignment that interests them, even if the assignment as a whole doesn’t. We believe the instructor should include hands-on activities and games as much as possible. Bringing snacks wouldn’t be a bad idea either. We believe the class as a whole should volunteer ideas for games and experiential learning whenever possible.

If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because everyone in the class will be happy and will want to come to class. People won’t skip or be late.

To make sure the class shows mutual respect, we believe that individual students should not talk to neighbors when other people are talking, even if that means not sitting by a close friend to avoid the temptation to talk. We believe the instructor should listen to students, give them a say in assignments, and keep Brittany from having too many Cokes. We believe the class as a whole should pay attention, not get off topic, and not wear their hearts on their sleeve, especially when getting feedback from others during workshopping.

If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because we’ll all get along, we won’t have to remind each other to be quiet, there won’t be any interruptions, and feedback will be given and received freely.

To make sure the class is motivating, we believe that individual students should be ready for class, have assignments done, look for what’s useful or interesting in each assignment or reading, and keep in mind that you need to pass this class to graduate. We believe the instructor should offer kind guidance and positive reinforcement, respect various learning styles in the class, and give honest and direct feedback. We believe the class as a whole should offer each other kind guidance and encourage one another to do their best.

If we succeed in this, we will be able to tell because we will all know one another and feel comfortable interacting, we will get assignments done for class, everyone will participate, we will feel like we are working together rather than competing, and we will feel like a cohesive group.

To make sure the class is interactive, we believe that individual students should always come to class with something to say or ask. We believe the instructor should come up with creative activities and put students outside their comfort zone. We believe the class as a whole should be active in class discussions.


If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because everyone in the class will feel out of their comfort zone (in a good way), students will enjoy the class and volunteer easily, and there won’t be “ping pong” questions between the instructor and the students.


To make sure the class shows good communication, we believe that individual students should not be afraid to ask questions and listen to each other and the instructor. We believe the instructor should put stuff on Blackboard and give clear directions on assignments. We believe the class as a whole should check email regularly, be active in class, feel free to come to office hours outside of class, and talk as loud as Brittany whenever possible.


If the class succeeds in this, we will be able to tell because students will set up conferences outside of class, students won’t be afraid to make comments, and Brittany will feel okay about belching freely after drinking a 20 oz. bottle of Coke.