Category: Report

Class Report: ENGL 135, 5 November 2018

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For the first week of class, students were asked to introduce themselves and to work through developing a topic for the session-long course project. Instructor comments on the latter were offered in the hopes of prompting deeper consideration and more engaged, authentic work. Students were further asked to check in to ascertain early progress in the session.

The course roster showed 25 students enrolled; 23 participated in online discussion during the week. An online office hour was held on Monday, 29 October 2018; one student attended.

Students are reminded that another office hour is scheduled for tonight, Monday, 5 November 2018, at 6pm Central Standard Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Standard Time) on 11 November 2018:

  • Discussion Threads: Summarizing Sources and Internet Reliability (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: Research Proposal and Outline (due as a Word document in APA format)
  • Information Literacy and APA Format Quiz (due online)
  • Week 2 Pulse Check (due online)

Class Report: ENGL 112, 31 October 2018

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For the first class meeting of the session, introductions were made to the discipline, course, and instructor. The materials provided in the course shell were expanded upon, assignment guidelines were reviewed, and time was afforded to students to work on their assignments.

The class met as scheduled, at 1800 in Room 106 of the San Antonio campus. The course roster showed 13 students enrolled. Five attended; student participation was reasonably good. An online office hour was held on Tuesday, 29 October 2018; no students attended.

Students are reminded that another office hour is scheduled for tonight, Monday, 5 November 2018, at 6pm Central Standard Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Standard Time) on 11 November 2018:

  • Discussion Threads: Introduction, the Brand of You, and Discovering an Angle (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Profile Process Planning Sheet, due online as a Word document
  • Week 1 Pulse Check (due online)

Class Report: ENGL 135, 22 October 2018

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Continuing on from the previous week, students were asked in discussion to consider their future prospects. They were also asked to connect their efforts in the current class and other courses to job prospects, working in part from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The course roster showed 13 students enrolled, a decline of one from last week; all participated in online discussions during the week. An online office hour was held on Monday, 15 October 2018; no students attended.

Students are reminded that the next office hour will be today, Monday, 22 October 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 27 October 2018:

  • Discussion Thread: Looking Ahead
  • Course Project: Career Connections (due online as an APA-formatted Word document)

Initial Comments for the November 2018 Session at DeVry University in San Antonio

geoffreybelliott1 Comment

I have been offered two classes for the November 2018 session, ENGL 112: Composition and ENGL 135: Advanced Composition. I’ve taught the latter before–during the current September 2018 session, in fact–but, while I’ve taught first-semester composition any number of times at other institutions (as noted here, among other places), I’ve not yet done so at DeVry. It is the only class in the main writing sequence at that school I’ve not yet taught, so it will be good to get that course under my belt and get a full view of what DeVry asks its students to write.

This would be a nice classroom to have.
Image from University Business.

It will have been noted, I hope, that I have resumed generating examples for my students to follow. I do not think I will do so for ENGL 135 quite yet again; I’m presently in a cycle of doing so, anyway. But I will doubtlessly do so for ENGL 112, partly for the reasons I’ve tended to do so in the past, and partly to help me get a feel for the course cycle expected of my students. (Too, I feel compelled to put materials into this webspace, and doing so for my students helps with that.) I also mean to continue my practice of posting class reports, although the timing on them will shift to reflect the fact that I have an actual class meeting schedule this time around.

To wit, the ENGL 112 class will meet on Wednesday evenings at the San Antonio campus; the ENGL 135 is another all-online section. Both classes begin on 28 October 2018 and run through 22 December 2018. I am happy to have the opportunity to teach once again and put the skills I have theoretically developed through more than a decade of teaching and more than a decade of study to use one more time.

Class Report: ENGL 135, 15 October 2018

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Continuing on from the previous week, students were asked in discussion to present a draft of their presentation for peer review. They were asked to revise the previously submitted second drafts in light of instructor and peer comments, as well, improving upon the earlier materials and generating said presentation.

The course roster showed 14 students enrolled, a decline of four from last week; 13 participated in online discussions during the week. An online office hour was held on Tuesday, 9 October 2018; two students attended, albeit briefly.

Students are reminded that the next office hour will be today, Monday, 15 October 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 20 October 2018:

  • Discussion Thread: APA Workshop (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Discussion Thread: Project Design (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: Final Draft (due online as an APA-formatted Word document)

Class Report: ENGL 135, 8 October 2018

geoffreybelliott1 Comment

Continuing on from the previous week, students were asked in discussion to present a draft of their course project for peer review. They were asked to revise the previously submitted first drafts in light of instructor and peer comments, as well, improving upon the earlier materials.

The course roster showed 18 students enrolled, a decline of one from last week; fifteen participated in online discussions during the week. An online office hour was held on Monday, 1 October 2018; no students attended.

Students are reminded that the next office hour will be tomorrow, Tuesday, 9 October 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 14 October 2018:

  • Discussion Thread: Presentation Peer Review (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: Presentation (due as a narrated PowerPoint or similarly accessible presentation)

Class Report: ENGL 135, 1 October 2018

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Continuing on from the previous week, students were asked in discussion to present the first paragraphs of their first drafts for student critique and to analyze sample arguments. They were also asked to draft and submit first drafts of their papers for instructor review.

The course roster showed 19 students enrolled, a decline of two from last week; all but one participated in one or more online discussions during the week. An online office hour was held on Monday, 24 September 2018; no students attended.

Students are reminded that the third office hour will be tonight, Monday, 1 October 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 7 October 2018:

  • Discussion Threads: Course Project Peer Review (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: Second Draft (due as a Word document in APA format)

Class Report: ENGL 135, 24 September 2018

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Continuing on from the previous week, students were asked in discussion to practice annotated bibliography entries and to discuss presentations of ideas. They were also asked to produce a brief annotated bibliography and to submit a final pulse-check.

The course roster showed 21 students enrolled, a decline of six from last week; all but two participated in one or more online discussions during the week. An online office hour was held on Monday, 17 September 2018; no students attended.

Students are reminded that the third office hour will be tonight, Monday, 24 September 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 30 September 2018:

  • Discussion Threads: The First Draft and Analyzing a Sample Argument (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: First Draft (due as a Word document in APA format)

Class Report: ENGL 135, 17 September 2018

geoffreybelliott1 Comment

Continuing on from the previous week, students were asked in discussion to work through summarizing a source and investigate reliability of online sources. They were also asked to sit for an online APA quiz, to complete a “pulse check,” and to draft a topic proposal and tentative outline for their course project.

The course roster showed 27 students enrolled, a net gain of one from last week; most participated in one or more online discussions during the week. An online office hour was held on Monday, 10 September 2018; no students attended.

Students are reminded that the third office hour will be tonight, Monday, 17 September 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 23 September 2018:

  • Discussion Threads: Presenting Ideas and Annotated Bibliography Practice (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: Annotated Bibliography (due as a Word document in APA format)
  • Week 3 Pulse Check (due online)

Class Report: ENGL 135, 10 September 2018

geoffreybelliott1 Comment

While it might seem somewhat odd to offer a report of activities for a class that does not actually meet, some running commentary seems in order for even a wholly online class. To that end, the following:

During the first week of the session, students were asked to introduce themselves and to work through developing a topic for the session-long course project. Instructor comments on the latter were offered in the hopes of prompting deeper consideration and more engaged, authentic work.

The course roster showed 26 students enrolled; 19 participated in online discussion during the week. An online office hour was held on Tuesday, 4 September 2018, adjusted from the normal Monday meeting due to a holiday; one student attended.

Students are reminded that the second office hour will be tonight, Monday, 10 September 2018, at 6pm Central Daylight Time. Students are also reminded that the following assignments are due before the end of day (Mountain Daylight Time) on 16 September 2018:

  • Discussion Threads: Summarizing Sources and Internet Reliability (3 posts/thread, rubric online)
  • Course Project: Research Proposal and Outline (due as a Word document in APA format)
  • Information Literacy and APA Format Quiz (due online)
  • Week 2 Pulse Check (due online)