Spring semester notes

It’s been a crazy busy semester this spring, and I’m in the middle of final grading right now…which explains why I’m posting, right?

Some spring semester notes (teaching related primarily, but also a bit of a hodge-podge):

• Never, ever, ever will I ever agree to multiple independent studies in the same semester; I ended up teaching the equivalent of 7 courses this semester (4 regular and 3 independent studies).
• Responsive web design is cool. So cool that one of my comp 2 students will be designing a super-fancy website for me that will house all of my class blogs as well as this blog (I hope) and follow RWD principles. Check out a short video about responsive web design (created by the same student) below:

• I’m getting better at balancing the scholarship-teaching-service thing, but I’ve still got a ways to go.
• Peer tutoring notes: keep the projects, revise the form that students use to keep track of hours, make the D2L forums more interactive, make the “in the center” project due about 2/3 of the way through the semester (instead of at the end with the tutoring reflection): then, it would be case study 1/3 in, in the center 2/3 in, tutoring reflection during finals.
• Comp II: revise the sequences yet again to give students more time in the persuasive text sequence. Here’s my idea now: 1. interview write-up; 2. annotated bib (& extended memo/position paper?); 3. persuasive text (longer sequence that includes some genre analysis discussion, among other things); 4. research binder with intro memo & completed rubric (the one we have to use for the course assessment, filled out by student). My thinking now is to have students fill out rubric for themselves at the beginning of the semester and again at the end of the semester, then put it in their binders to give to me. Hmmm…..there’s promise here, I think.
• I’m not really a fan of summer teaching, but if I have to do it, it’ll be online (unless things go horribly wrong this summer).
• Thinking ahead to fall, and fundamentals of English: require out-of-class feedback sessions (with me or writing center?); change up the letter portfolio assignment a bit (letters to 3 different audiences, including working on a cover letter for a job?). Make everything worth points, especially attendance, and make sure they know where they’re at as early in the semester as possible.
• WHEN WILL I EVER FINISH THE BOOK MANUSCRIPT, fortheloveofallthatisgoodandpureinthisworld? Ack.