Just after the Spring Break reading week, I asked students at the beginning of class to get into groups of three and come up with three comments or observations on the course and how things were going. At least one of these comments had to be positive, and one negative.
I’m interested in getting midterm feedback in part because it can help guide the second half of the semester: if necessary we can make changes or follow up on the feedback given.
But I am also very interested in feedback because I recognize that this is an unconventional course in many ways (in terms of its structure and grading, for instance), and I am keen to know how it is seen and experienced by students themselves.
February 28 feedback (Google doc, produced during Zoom session)
Summary
It was great to see that on the whole students are happy with the course structure and (though it was mentioned less) content. Above all students mentioned flexibility and consistency or predictability.
People like the contract grading, which is repeatedly described as “low stress even,” as one group noted “if it takes a lot of work. Contract grading is described as “fair grading: ‘you get what you put in.'”
Students also mention liking the “choose your own adventure” aspect of the course: “not forced to read book you aren’t interested in,” “gives you more agency/freedom,” though as one group noted this isn’t necessarily a guarantee that they would like every book.
People mention the blog posts as positive, perhaps especially as (one group said) there is “limited pressure on the blog posts allow[ing] us to enjoy the reading more and come up with more experimental and creative responses.”
Students also like the variety of the texts and even the fact that, as one group said, they “get through so many readings. Really feel like we’re getting a foundation in Latin American literature.” (This comment really made my heart warm!)
Though there were some exceptions, on the whole students also seemed to find class discussions useful, helpful, and even enjoyable. They also mentioned the positive “ambiance”: the drinks and readings.
Many thanks for all this feedback! Do feel free to follow up with further suggestions or comments whenever you want. I myself am very much enjoying this class, and all the work and thoughtful contributions that you all are putting in. In the end, it’s the students who make a course successful, far more than the professor.
Response
Again, I’m very happy that on the whole students are finding the course a positive experience.
Regarding the suggestions for improvement, let me respond to at least a couple of them…
A few groups mentioned ways in which classroom discussion could be improved. One group said that there was too much “Jon talking.” I will work on that! (Though I will say this is in part up to you… interrupt me when you feel that’s necessary!) Also there was some request for more “guided discussion” and for more “interactive” or “immersive” activities. I will try to think of ways to improve on this and incorporate these ideas.
In subsequent discussion about these comments, it was also mentioned that we could make more connections between the texts… I will definitely try to ensure this happens.
Regarding the course content, there were suggestions for “more Brazilian literature” and “more popular modern-day authors.” I’m definitely in favour of the former. About the latter, we can talk… 🙂 On the whole, this is a course on the canon–books and authors that are regarded as important and significant. That may mean that some of the readings feel “heavy,” but perhaps I can work more on maintaining a playful attitude towards even such more difficult texts.
I try to give context where I think it is helpful (especially in my lectures), but I feel that too much can be overwhelming, and the stress in this class is unashamedly on careful reading of the texts themselves.
I have given some suggestions as to what seems to me to make more productive and helpful blog posts, but don’t want to stifle your own creativity and imagination too much by forcing you into a single mould or model.
Finally, I’m all in favour of “back-and-forth conversation” in the blog comments, and do encourage it. Perhaps at some point “bonus points” for this could be introduced?
| Positive | Negative | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Only one class per week Contract grading (fair grading: “you get what you put in”) The music |
Inconsistent attendance: one class it’s super full, so there’s lots to learn, but other classes are super empty and hard to make friends | |
| Good pacing Like the fact that lecture is online Presentation style: enjoyable lectures, drinks, choosing own grade, ambiance (music) |
Hoping for more guided discussions | |
| Getting to read different perspectives through blog posts Great selection. Empowering for Latin Americans and others who identify with the ideas proposed |
Could have more interactive activities… “dancing” More Brazilian literature Maybe more historical context or description of when the novel was written, from the author’s region |
|
| We like the independent aspect: choice of reading; self-determined schedule of sorts; set exceptions from the beginning We like group work… collaborative |
Sometimes we get side-tracked during class… lots of (Jon) talking; sometimes would be nice for more immersive/active activities | |
| Flexibility to choose between not only the books but also between the days each week The contract grading takes away a lot of the stress, especially when we’re not being graded for the quality of our writing. |
Some of the readings are too heavy. Specifically for this week [on GarcÃa Márquez], having to write two blogposts for the same book isn’t the most exciting. | |
| Limited pressure on the blog posts allows us to enjoy the reading more and come up with more experimental and creative responses. We appreciate the freedom to express what we feel and think without any judgment or pressure to match professor’s opinion. We enjoy the contract grading system and find that it reduces stress and increases predictability. |
Maybe more popular modern day authors? Isabel Allende? | |
| Love the contract. Low stress, even if it takes a lot of work. No organisation labour, just actually doing the work. In class group discussions work and mean everyone gets their say. Blog posts are great. Based on own ideas rather than extensive research. Great to get through so many readings. Really feel like we’re getting a foundation in Latin American literature. |
We didn’t enjoy some of the books but that’s just personal preference. | |
| We really like the course layout, and with it, we are able to take our time reading and appreciating the books rather than stressing about them. We like the broad strokes approach to reading a great diversity of Spanish authors and perspectives – especially with the different time periods and literary styles. |
We appreciate casual blog posts – maybe there should be some guidelines for blog posting though – (give some quotes, some specific examples, and talk about specific themes rather than generalities). | |
| Get to go at your own pace makes it low stress, which is very appreciated Not forced to read book you aren’t interested, in most other classes you are forced to read book you aren’t interested in which makes it harder to care (we love the option to choose) |
Engage more as an entire class (maybe less work) [I didn’t quite understand this comment, and wasn’t sure if this was negative or positive or why.] | |
| Contract/ungrading system is really great! Relieves anxiety. Choose your own adventure is really nice – gives you more agency/freedom in planning your schedule |
We wish there was more leniency in terms of reading pressure, not everyone can commit to reading that many books but may have to settle for lower marks. (Perhaps adjusting grade scale a bit for a smaller number of books) We wish the blog comments could be more conducive to back-and-forth conversation; bonus points for replying to comments on your posts? |
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| The flexibility of the course is very beneficial- from being able to go at our own paces, or dictate what our blogs will feature, or choosing books to read Consistent scheduling (same deadlines every week etc.) is very beneficial for organization |
Blogpost deadline could be more accommodating for Thursday classes | |
| We are really enjoying the “choose your own adventure “ style of the course as it allows us to have more practice with reading and analyzing different type of text that we are interested in. Like the variety in the book choices each week |
Sometimes the expectations are a little unclear (but overall communication is clear). This was mainly at the beginning of the course |
