Middle of the Quarter Course Reflection
I am most enjoying the research excursions and looking at other people's research excursions. I like how looking into the context or researching topics related to a book or story can add so much meaning to it. It helps me interpret parts of the book or story in a new way, and I think this is really helpful in helping me to understand what is happening in the text or what kind of message the author is trying to make. I often find that there are a lot of terms or topics that might be mentioned in books or stories that I do not know a lot about, and doing research on these topics gives me a more full and complete understanding of the text.
Additionally, I also really like the assignments for this course are not graded super strictly. I think this fosters a lot more learning for me personally because I do not have to stress about trying to interpret the texts in a way that I think the professor would want me to. I can interpret the texts in the way that I see them, and this is a much more helpful learning style for me. I think it makes reading the texts a lot more enjoyable and stress-free.
Blog posts are also engaging because I can write without having to worry about it sounding professional or correct. The questions are pretty open-ended, and I think this fosters a lot of creative thinking and writing for me.
Hi Kiana, I enjoyed hearing your opinion about the topics and concepts of this class. Like you, I enjoy how this class doesn't limit the individual by stress of grades, but rather encourages students to take learning risks and go outside of their comfort zone. I wish you the best during the second half of the quarter!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that the assignments aren't graded too strictly too because it helps me focus on time management and getting my work done instead of being a perfectionist on every little detail.
ReplyDeleteI think that research excursions are fun, too! I am kind of an information nerd, so having such freedom to research things I am passionate about is right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteInformation nerds, unite!
DeleteI agree that understanding the context behind a story or book is so important when trying to interpret what the author is saying. Also, the research is so open-ended that I can really choose a topic that I am interested in.
ReplyDeleteSorry this is Calvin
DeleteSo glad to hear that your learning is being fostered and supported!
ReplyDeleteI love that it's not too strict for grading too! I agree that it fosters better learning, especially because analysis is such a big part of the overall material and knowing that the analysis can truly be our own observations, instead of what we "should" see is really nice.
ReplyDeleteI think the grading contract has been the most beneficial for my learning as well! It really helps me take risks in my writing that I otherwise wouldn't have.
ReplyDeleteThe grading has definitely relieved some pressure and made my learning a lot more personal. I feel like it's one of the biggest components of this class.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing everyone's research excursions too! It's also interesting to see the diversity in formats of how all the ideas are presented, and I'm glad we're not constrained to sticking to traditional essays.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you – the informality of the course has made it much easier to focus on learning instead of stressing over grades. This has made writing assignments such as blogs much more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! I feel like now I can focus on learning about what I want to learn about, whilst still receiving good feedback on the projects I do. It's honestly really nice knowing that I can try out new things without worrying about my grade tanking. For example, I am really bad at Neatline but I wanted to use it for a research excursion to improve and I knew that even though it was obvious I hadn't understood entirely how to use it, I learned how to navigate a lot of the tools and create a really solid project!
ReplyDeleteI agree the atmosphere of the course along with the research excursions are a huge plus! Reading other people's excursions whilst also knowing that mine will be seen by others has been a fun experience.
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