Guidelines for Class Sessions
Freshman Studies is based upon
class discussions. But lively discussions don't just happen
spontaneously. They require careful preparation and
conscientious effort.
Preparation
First of all, intelligent discussions
of the works used in Freshman Studies require close familiarity
with those works. So you need to go over each of
them carefully and completely. Make it a practice to
read or go over each assignment more than once. On the first pass, take
time to make thorough notes, copying
down the names of main characters or special terms, listing principal themes
or arguments, and identifying key passages. Then go back over sections
a second or even third time, using these
notes as a way to get at broader meanings and less obvious implications.
Periodic quizzes will be given to encourage attention to details of the
first sort, and midterm and final exams will text your skill at drawing
out the larger interpretations.
The "reading" necessary for this
level of study, whether of books or other materials, is very different
from the casual attention most of us give to newspapers, magazines, and
television. So allow yourself ample time to go over the works and develop
a systematic approach to mastering them. For some suggestions
on how to improve the way you read and review material, check out:
Freshman Studies lectures also require more than casual attention.
The lectures generally offer very discussible interpretations of the works
that speak to their over-all significance or value. These interpretations
not only offer a framework to help you make personal sense of the works;
they provide good starting points for class discussion. Pay particular
mind to the major claim or contention each speaker makes and the way in
which she or he substantiates it with secondary points. Argumentation
of this sort provides a model for informed discussion and writing. So make
sure you attend the lectures, discern the arguments made, and reflect upon
their import.. Occasionally you may be asked to provide written comments
to this effect.
Participation
For lively interchange to occur
daily, everyone in the class has to take part in the discussions . Regular
attendance and active participation are thus important, and
they are the norm against which class performance will be graded. Some
absences are excusable--if you have an appropriate person contact
me on your behalf. The college nurse, Carol Saunders,
deals with sickness; Dean Gajewski takes care of personal problems,
and athletic coaches handle team road trips. But if you unaccountably miss
more than a few classes, expect to pay a penalty.
Besides attending class, of course,
you must make your voice heard. So give some thought before class to what
you can contribute to the day's discussion. Discussions in Freshman
Studies should be directed toward deepening our understanding of the works
through collective analysis and reasoning. The best way to begin
that process is to identify key questions that can "open" the work
to further inquiry. Take a look at the Questions
to Consider that I have provided as examples for each work. Think about
how you would answer them. But more important, use these them as models
for questions of your own that we can use in class.
As The Freshman Studies Handbook
notes:
"You can help focus and
enliven the discussion by raising specific questions about those aspects
of the work you have not understood, by pointing to specific portions
of the text to support your understanding of it,
and by thinking hard about a work's ideas
so that you can begin to arrive at your own well-considered opinion of
them --in that order (p. 20)! "
To ensure that everyone does raise
questions and participate in the discussions at one time or another,
I will assign student teams to take turns initiating
questions for discussion. Good discussions, like anything else of value,
require some thought and planning. For ideas about how to spark and maintain
discussions, check out the online selection
of "Discussion
Strategies" in the TA's Handbook of the University of California at
Santa Cruz or the "Frequently
Asked Questions about Discussions" site maintained by the Teaching
Research Center of the University
of Indiana. Though aimed at teachers, both offer basic guidelines
for running class discussions that will stand you
in good stead throughout college.
revised January 24, 1999
Franklin.M.Doeringer@Lawrence.edu
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