As usual, when I ask for their feedback when planning assignments, they were pretty stoked. I went down the syllabus, reading by reading, and asked if each reading fell under the category of "No, not for next quarter," "Maybe, but the reading didn't play a vital role to the over all course" and "Umm... YES for next quarter!" One of my students suggested that I take a picture of the list, so I did!
I wasn't surprised that Dillard ("Seeing") and Johnson ("Games") were on the No list. They really hated Dillard and, due to time constraints, I didn't get to discuss Johnson in class. As you can see, Pratt's "Arts of the Contact Zone" straddled the fence between Maybe and No. I'm just going to come right out and say that Pratt most likely will not appear on my syllabus for next quarter.
Under the Maybe list, Bridwell-Bowles ("Discourse and Diversity: Experimental Writing Within the Academy), Shen ("The Classroom and the Wider Culture: Identity as a Key to Learning English Composition), and Serros ("JohnwannabeChicano") appear because they didn't resonate with the students. Not one single student voted for them to be on the yes list. Personally, I haven't decided which of these ones I will keep yet.
As for the Yes list, appearances by Alexie ("Superman and Me"), Tan ("Mother Tongue), and Anzaldua ("How to Tame a Wild Tongue") didn't didn't surprise me. I could tell from the day we first discussed each of them that the students really connected to them. More importantly, a few of the students would make connections to the texts weeks after we had discussed them. I think because I was expecting students to not like Berger ("Ways of Seeing"), Spender ("The Politics of Naming"), and Royster ("When the First Voice You Hear is Not Your Own"), I was completely blown away when those two readings got so many Yes list votes. To me, these pieces were dense to read, but even richer with information. I guess that just because they were difficult reads, I expected the students to not suggest them for next quarter. Yet, they surprised me.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the students had such strong feelings toward the They Say/I Say book. Although they had one weekly reading from it, we rarely explicitly referenced those readings in class. Mostly, I used the general concepts taught in the book to springboard into larger issues that go beyond the formulas that the book provides. I referred to the formulas as functioning in the same way the 5-paragraph essay: they are necessary to master in order to move on to bigger and better things. Like the difference between riding a bike with training wheels and without--can't really do too many spectacular tricks if you're riding around with your training wheels still on.
The highlight of this little feedback sesh was when I was wrapping it up and the students stopped me. They pretty much shouted at me that I HAAAAAAVE to use my memoir next quarter to teach workshopping. They said it really helped them understand that different types of writing are ok and possible for them to partake in. (WOWZERS!) One student shouted, "And you HAAAAVE to assign Project 2! If nothing else, assign Project 2! It's so fun!" Her classmates agreed and I couldn't help but smile. I got brave and asked them about Project 1. They got quiet and only a few responded. Mostly, the feedback was that the project really made them think--it was hard. I asked them if they learned from it and with no hesitation, they said yes. I told them I may tweak it for next quarter, but it will accomplish the same goals, ultimately.
I'm really glad that my students feel like they can be honest about my assignments and course readings. My hypothesis is that the students have had so much input in designing Project 2 that it feels like we created it together. I get the feeling like this class is co-created by me and the students. Together, we learn from each other, and I adapt my lesson plans depending on how the group responds to what we're learning about. I'm more than satisfied with my experience in this 107 class as a teacher who learns as much from her students as her students do from her.
--Jaclyn
