The Season for Giving Back

Just a remnder that Ashley will put a box outside of our INQ class, and we will collect toys, winter items like scarves, gloves, etc., and hygiene items like toothbrushes, etc. in order to donate. I hope we can fill the box!

Video Draft Sharing SIgn-Up List

Here is the list of students who signed up to show their videos on each date:

Section 40 (9:35-10:50)

Tues Nov 26

Brianna Q
Terrence
Sam S
Emily
Faith
Kristen
Briana A

Tues Dec 3

Emma
Kiersten
Caitlin
Ciarra
Paige
Kennedy
Franchesca

Thurs Dec 5

Stephanie R
DJ
D'mari
Kelly
Jeff
Katie
Valerie


Sec 42 (11-12:15)

Tues Nov 26

Sam M
Janai
Tracy
Kali
Taylor
Megan
Chris
Gabby


Tues Dec 3

Jana
Alyssa
Laura
Stephanie N
Brittney
Erin
Tyquan

Thurs Dec 5

Garrett
Jackie
Carren
Denisa
Kelsey
Shaquille
Jon

Weeks 13 and 14

Since next week (week 14) is Thanksgiving week, I decided to post the next two weeks' worth of blogging assignments in case you need to budget your time due to traveling, visiting, or an expected turkey-induced lethargy. I am hoping that this will not confuse anyone, but if you are feeling confused, talk to me in class. Due dates are the same, and do post all of week 13 (A, B, I, and V) before you go on to week 14, but feel free to do all 8 posts this week if you so desire. Ok, here are the assignments:

Week 13

Blog A: How will you make your video draft exhibit a high level of college-level thinking? Explain using details and specific examples.

Blog B: How will you make your video draft exhibit a high level of creativity? Explain using details and specific examples.

Week 14

Blog A: What are you doing this week in order to give yourself some stress relief as well as prepare for the final weeks of the semester?

Blog B: Cheesy Thanksgiving Post -- Reflect on what you are thankful for this semester. (Useful too, though -- taking time for reflection is one thing we learned this semester that boosts productivity and growth!)

Final Video Assignment -- Creative Problem Solving

Final Video Assignment: Creative Problem Solving

One measure of success for college students is how well they can adapt to new situations, tackle challenges, and be creative problem solvers. The final video assignment addresses this exact topic and asks students to create a problem-solution "argument." You should be attempting to prove a specific thesis and use specific evidence as support; the more detailed and creative you can be, the stronger your argument will be and the more interesting your video will be.

Your video should have 5 distinct components: 1) describing the problem, 2) exploring possible outcomes and proposing the best solution(s), 3)providing useful information about resources on campus that students can access in dealing with the problem, 4) ample research, interviews, quotes from readings, facts, or other evidence to support both the description of the problem and the proposal of the solution(s), and 5) using creativity to engage your audience.

First, choose a common problem faced by first-year students. It can span any aspect of university life and experience, from living away from home to roommate problems to underage drinking to study habits, college-level work, and procrastination to failing classes or oversleeping to getting a bad professor to changing your major or thinking critically or creatively. Think about a topic that would be unique, interesting to you, and one that you could get a lot of information about. You can also use the readings, topics, and critical questions from this course as a starting point for brainstorming innovative video content.

In order to illustrate the problem clearly and creatively, make a skit using either actors on video or drawings or pictures with captions or comic "bubbles" or some other creative medium. Use your imagination in this section, and make it entertaining (and perhaps humorous). **Remember the example I showed you at midterm where a student staged a commuter being pulled over for speeding.**

Then explore some possible solutions and offer your suggestions for what could be done to alleviate this situation, either after it happens or how to prevent it in the future or both. This part should demonstrate some deep thinking into the causes and effects and "why is this important?"

As previously noted, make sure you include some research (cited, of course) from books, websites, pamphlets from campus offices, and/or interviews. Also, be sure to note the resources that are available on campus to help students deal with these types of problems.

Length = 5-6 minutes

3 Topic Proposals Due: Thurs Nov 14
First Drafts due on blogs: Tues Nov 26-Thurs Dec 10 (you will sign up for viewing dates during this time period)
Final Drafts due on blogs: Sat Dec 14

Week 12 -- Trying to See the Bigger Picture

SCSU prides itself on being a university which offers students a liberal arts education, and this week's readings ask you to consider why that type of education in important -- to your future, to your education as a whole, to your career path, and to your whole self. Before reading for this week, google "liberal arts education" and read up on this term a bit so you understand the definition, the purpose, and the context. Remember that many universities offer this type of traditional education, but some other types of colleges are more specialized and focus more on job training. It is crucial to know the difference between these educational philosophies especially when thinking about the required classes you are taking in order to graduate with a degree within a liberal arts education.

For Blog A, answer the following question using support/evidence (direct quotes) from this week's readings: What is the value of a liberal arts education? What does it provide students with (in addition to a degree in a specific major)? Use your own ideas and critical thinking in your answer, but engage directly with the readings as well.

For Blog B, I'd like you to continue the good work you did last week. Pose one (or more, related) inquiry question(s) based on this week's readings and propose a well-considered, college-level, answer.

Today, I also posted the final video project assignment -- don't wait until the last minute to get started! Start it this week! Use the feedback you received on your midterm video project to make this one even better than the first one.

Note that 3 possible topics are due to me by Thursday. Just like last time, I will approve one of them so that everyone does not have the same topic.

That time of the semester...

Unfortunately, I have caught one of the many bugs that has been swirling around my classroom these past few weeks, causing me to have a pounding head, fuzzy brain, sore throat, hoarse voice, and a general feeling of malaise. Not good.

I am hoping that through either email, the blog, or word of mouth, you will know that I am cancelling class on Tues, Nov. 5 and will see you next on Thursday.

On Tuesday, therefore, we will not be coming up with good inquiry/quiz questions and working on strong answers for them. We will do that on Thursday, instead. Keep up with the assigned readings as listed on the syllabus and we will use all of those readings in putting together our questions. I would like to give you even more practice in this skill, so I am going to use a similar prompt for this week's blogs. See below...

This week's blogging assignments:

Blog A:

Based on the readings, come up with 4 questions that would be good inquiry questions (make you think) and could be used for class discussion or on a quiz as a short answer/essay question. Make sure the question asks you to do the types of college-level critical thinking that our quiz questions ask you to do; for example, they don't just ask to regurgitate facts, but instead analyze, evaluate, interpret, and synthesize. Then, choose one question and answer it in detail and with specific examples from the readings. Consider it a type of practice quiz.

Blog B:

Read through some of the questions and answers your peers have submitted. Which are strong, college-level questions and why or why not? Be specific and find a few examples to evaluate. Which are strong, college-level answers and why or why not? What can you learn from this week's exercises in anticipating and answering quiz questions? How can you apply that to your own studying?