3 Labor Details
This is the labor we will be doing in our course:
[If you are enrolled in a SU/WI section, click here.]
- Blog Postings — A blog is a bit different from a traditional academic since its content is more associated with the opinions/preferences of the writer, and it lives in a digital space (so relies on things like images, GIFs, or hyperlinks). All of your blog postings will be composed in your Medium account; I will be giving you precise directions for setting up your personal blog. These blog postings will be in response to questions or topics from our class curriculum; you will be given specific instructions for each posting. Blogs are usually developed responses (if you need a target, shoot for 500-800 words) and may contain text, video, images, links, etc. As the composer of your blog, there is no limit to the creativity you may use! Most bloggers make postings of about 500-800 words—not too short to be underdeveloped, but not too long to be overbearing.
- Annotation Sessions — Instead of traditional discussion board forums in an LMS that usually contain 1-post-and-3-peer-responses-type that basically kill organic, generative discussions, I’ll be using an annotation tool called Hypothes.is that is integrated directly into this open text and in Canvas. In short, we’ll be embedding our discussion directly within our readings! Annotations do not have to be perfect or earth-shattering words of wisdom; instead, they should represent your honest engagement with the text you are reading. In each Annotation Session, you should aim for at least 3 substantive annotations (if you need a target, shoot for 75-100 words each). This could be in the form of highlights, of questions, of added information, or of links to other texts/websites/videos. In so doing, you will assume the roles of knowledge producers and collaborators who, together, will experience deeper learning. Review the handout “How To Annotate a Text” to learn more. Annotations will be completed through the Hypothes.is tool in Canvas.
- Peer Assessments — You will be asked to respond to and assess a number of your peers’ Blog Postings. The goal of these assessments is NOT to evaluate or comment on “correctness”; instead, you will be describing how you experienced your peers’ writing, how it engaged your thinking or feelings (or, conversely, failed to engage you). These assessments will be made in the form of Responses made directly under the peers’ Blog Postings on Medium, so they’ll act as a live conversation about the rhetorical effectiveness of the writing. Each peer assessment should reflect thoughtful, compassionate comments.
- Midterm Self-Assessment — The Midterm Self-Assessment will provide an opportunity for you and me to determine where you think you “stand” in the course, based on your completed labor at the middle of the term. This grade goes nowhere—it will not be entered into Canvas or its grade book. However, it’s a way for us to check in and make sure that you’re making progress toward your personal learning goals. As you complete this self-assessment, think about this statement on grading and assessment from the ❓ Questions about ENGL-121 document: “I’ll be focusing on your potential rather than on your deficiencies. I will not place a single letter grade on any of your work. Instead, I will offer meaningful, engaging, and progressive feedback that will encourage you to view your learning as a PROCESS that involves multiple attempts that may produce success and even failure (but with no fear of punishment).”
- Labor Support Group Engagements — The purpose of these engagements is defined through its title — to provide support to each other as you labor in the course. I will be creating discussion boards in Canvas to communicate for each LSG Engagement it will be your responsibility to be an engaged, contributing member of our class support group. Each of our LSG Engagements will have a unique prompt to encourage our discussion. As we labor through our learning, it is essential that we benefit from support and collaboration — these groups will hopefully provide this benefit.
- Final Self-Assessment — At the end of the semester, I’ll be asking you to complete a “Final Self-Assessment” survey that will contain questions/prompts regarding your labor and learning growth. In this survey, you will be establishing the rationale for your final letter grade in the course. In short, you will describe what final grade and mastery level you feel best reflects your learning growth in the course while detailing the evidence and reflections that prove this self-assessment. Once I receive your self-graded assessment, I will respond with my thoughts on your final grade in the course. Together, we will arrive at the final grade that best reflects your mastery of the course learning aims! (NOTE: ALL labor must be completed for a student to choose an A as their final letter grade.)
- Tracking Your Labor — As you progress with your writing labor and complete your assignments, Checkmarks
will be placed in the Canvas Gradebook. You will be able to track your labor completion by accessing your “Grades” in Canvas (again, there will be no points or grades associated with your labor). I will also check your completion record periodically and will contact you if you are falling behind in the required labor outlined in the course. In addition, you will have the opportunity to gauge your progress with me at the midterm point via the Midterm Self-Assessment survey. Please remember, though, that it is your primary responsibility to maintain and track your labor in the course!
