Freshman Studies
                   Winter Term, Section 02D
 
  
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