tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post8445773813548241327..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: Defining TermsBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-832693370109609812013-09-10T20:22:11.378-07:002013-09-10T20:22:11.378-07:00That does sound like a great assignment!That does sound like a great assignment!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-16747598270781489482013-09-10T20:21:48.183-07:002013-09-10T20:21:48.183-07:00Wow, asphalt? And which meaning of sow were they ...Wow, asphalt? And which meaning of sow were they looking for?Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-41012441364841382012013-09-10T20:21:12.971-07:002013-09-10T20:21:12.971-07:00I think any student here who didn't know "...I think any student here who didn't know "heifer" would be kicked out of the state. But the other things? Not so much.Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-16914004279151199922013-09-10T17:36:30.448-07:002013-09-10T17:36:30.448-07:00In my intro to the major class I do a presentation...In my intro to the major class I do a presentation assignment (very low stakes, it's like a 5 minute presentation) where each student in the course (there are 25) are assigned a "term" (a word or phrase) and they have to define the term, explain the area of the discipline to which it relates, and talk about some courses that we offer in which knowing that term would be useful. The terms I've chosen are sometimes more high-falutin and theoretical, but sometimes they are things we take for granted, lie "close reading." The assignment sheet gives them a list of appropriate resources to consult in order to prepare for the presentation. So far, this assignment has been great because it does two things: 1) the whole class hears about a bunch of terms that they might not have known much about before and 2) they learn where they should go to look something up if they encounter a term in their English courses that they don't know. And as somebody who teaches British literature after 1900, I can report without hesitation that college students have no idea what "modern" - much less "modernism" - and "postmodern" mean. None whatsoever.Dr. Crazyhttp://reassignedtime.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-32822595869814099852013-09-07T16:10:04.250-07:002013-09-07T16:10:04.250-07:00I've had a couple who were confused by "e...I've had a couple who were confused by "ecstasy" and "heifer," having only ever encountered the slang meanings. It was pretty hilarious, especially because the "ecstasy" thing happened the day before we read "Kubla Khan" and some excerpts from <i>Confessions of an English Opium Eater</i>. ("Funny you should mention drugs, that's what our NEXT class is going to be about...")Fretful Porpentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165078003123517013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-35810909209930795622013-09-06T16:39:10.323-07:002013-09-06T16:39:10.323-07:00This week I did an exercise with my at-risk class ...This week I did an exercise with my at-risk class in which they had to look up unfamiliar words they encountered in poems. Among the words they looked up were "peril," "asphalt," and "sow." What would they do with "poststructuralism"? I don't want to know.Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05412883073330413390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-30648148572762544202013-09-06T12:01:03.856-07:002013-09-06T12:01:03.856-07:00Ha! "Prefect." Well played.Ha! "Prefect." Well played.radagasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07767542536330366317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-27630432644339262812013-09-06T11:04:54.852-07:002013-09-06T11:04:54.852-07:00I do this exact same thing for the exact same reas...I do this exact same thing for the exact same reason. I was not an English major in my undergrad, so I felt that I started graduate school at a deficit. Now that I teach undergrads, I want them to have the vocab in their tool boxes, so I define just about everything. I hope they find it useful. Fie upon this quiet life!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12047096700049201873noreply@blogger.com