Whoa! What happened to this semester? 15 weeks of fun and love and good times just flew right by. I had so many things I wanted to say. So much I needed to cover. Oh well, I guess it's better to remain quiet and be thought of as an idiot than to speak up and prove yourself so. Or, something along those lines by Mark Twain.
First, ungrading has been a rousing success this semester. I was much more clear about the expectations. Much more focused on what I needed the students to address. The results were ungrading essays that were around 750 words each (3x throughout the semester). They were holistic. They demonstrated metacognition. And the students used specific and detailed evidence to support their positions regarding their earned grades.
Second, students thoroughly enjoyed OER classes. One student said offering OER demonstrates I have an understanding of their economic realities. Another student remarked that she felt stronger ties to her professors when they use OER because doing so shows "they are thinking about us."
They said the OER textbook, Our Story, was equally rigorous as any for-profit textbook they've used. They felt the OER textbook we used was written with them in mind. Sounded like someone speaking to them (this is a comment I've heard many times before).
Students said they particularly liked the use of student content. Some said the student content raised the bar -made them become better writers. Some said the student content made them "happy" to read because it was a goal of theirs to be added to the student voices. There were many comments about the student content. Much of this concluded with the excellence of their past colleagues, especially when the content came from groups. Students were not excited about having to do group work, but some noted when they read student content was created by groups, then made them pause to think about how groups might work well together.
Third, except for the self-reflections (those ungrading essays), everything else was completed in groups. There was much disappointment across the rooms when I noted this on Day 1. But then I introduced my strategy of group-building: playing Dungeons and Dragons.
I created the groups upon the students completing a short thinking and writing exercise:
1. What is your superpower and why is that your superpower?
2. What is your most prized possession and why is that so?
Then I build groups based on the results of their responses to those two questions. While I'm going over their responses, students are reviewing some of the rules for D&D.
Those groups start off by playing a single character. We will do that for a week or two. They learn about each other, learn how to work together, learn about each other's strengths and weaknesses, how to solve problems, and how to make decisions, all as a group. Then, the class begins and the groups start working on their first assignments.
Only 1 student dropped. One. Uno. Eines. I have never had so few students (well, a student) drop.
I am going to call this semester a success in the classroom. One comment I got from a student is that the student would like a Glossary for the book. I don't know if the student meant "glossary," which is a list and definition of unusual, rare, or obscure terms, or if the student meant an index. A glossary is unnecessary, however, an index would be a good idea. It could not be a traditional index with page numbers because the book is edited/changed routinely. However, an index with chapter numbers might work. Maybe I will work on that over the break. Maybe I will just go skiing. I'll let you know in the next installment, in January.
To be a part of that particular semester sounds challenging and rewarding at the same time. I have only taken the eight-week 1301 online anytime course, so all of our work was individual and online. To be able to play dungeons and dragons with classmates that I would be working with in future assignments, sounds like a fun and interactive way to get to know those who you will be collaborating with. In agreement with how students felt from the referenced fall semester, I thoroughly enjoyed the ungrading assignments as well as the OER textbook. The expectations set out by the ungrading assignments made it easy to write a substantial amount. As mentioned in the Think Strategically lecture, in an ideal world a student would be able to focus 100% on this class, but the reality is as students, we have so much else going on within and outside of school . The ungrading assignments allow us to think outside of the box and allow us to consider those other things while completing an assignment for a history class. It was something that flowed. It required thought and self-reflection, but it was not so laborious that it was difficult or unpleasant to do. Although I have only had to pay for resources in one of my classes through HCC because of inclusive access, it was and is great to have open access to a piece of educational literature through a link that I can also access after the semester is over or even after I leave HCC. It makes it easier to access to reliable knowledge in the future if I ever want to reference it, which is not the same case for my other classes. As someone that has taken the 1301, I agree with the students of Fall 2022 that the way that the OER textbook is written seems more conducive to student learning than traditional textbooks. The included student written sections, such as the one found in Chapter 22 regarding women, such as Mary Harris, and immigrants really do feel like they were written for students by students . Although they are still written intelligently, they are not weighed down with academic jargon that is sometimes hard to decipher as in traditional textbooks.
ReplyDeleteBibliography/Sources
DeleteRoss-Nazzal, James and His History Students. Our Story: An Ancillary to US History, 2018. https://pressbooks.pub/ourstory/
Ross-Nazzal, James. “Think Strategically.” History 1301: United States History 1. Class lecture. Last accessed July 12, 2023
I really enjoyed this blog post “Fall 2022”. From this blog I read, it seemed like the 2022 fall semester was very detailed and it was beneficial to the students who decided to choose you for this class. From all the strategies the teacher provided it created a very friendly environment that I believed pushed the students out of their comfort zone. Honestly speaking I’ve never heard of the ungrading method before and seeing that majority of the assignments giving where ungraded you would think majority of the students wouldn't be motivated to write anything but with the topics provided even, I would be intrigued to write about it. The OER method is what I was intrigued by the most, a textbook that is different than any other history books out there.
DeleteMost history books would try controlling the narrative of the story rather than tell the truth. Whereas OER does the exact opposite and gives it to you straight. When it comes to having to read articles or write about how I view a certain topic. I’m not the most open about writing about it because of how poorly educated I am about it. But looking at the way you handle things especially with these crafty methods I feel like I’ll learn more in here then in the average history class.
Bibliography:
Ross-Nazzal, Jim, and Students. Our Story An Ancillary to US History, 2018. https://pressbooks.pub/ourstory/. Last Accessed July 14, 2023.
Ross-Nazzal, Jim. “Post Factual America”. History 1302: United States History 2. Class Lecture. https://eagleonline.hccs.edu/courses/226558/pages/this-isnt-normal-dot-lectures?module_item_id=14200967. Last Accessed July 14, 2023.
Fall 2022 semester must have been very interesting and engaging. From the breakdown of the strategies employed in teaching I can agree it was student-friendly.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the ungrading method of assessing students, I am of the opinion that it should be encouraged, in both k-12 and higher institutions. My first introduction to ungrading (I only knew it as feedback until now), was in my first semester course (EDUC 1300) at Houston Community College (HCC), the instructor had asked us to give feedback before turning in the assignment. I clearly remember being excited at first and my respect for the instructor doubled because I saw that she actually cared to know what I had learned. On the other hand, I was taken aback when I discovered I had not learned anything. I knew that because I could not conveniently respond to the questions. I had no metacognition regarding the topic. At best I could say I summarized what I had read but there was no deep processing, just as you mentioned in one of the ungrading videos that it makes the student learn the material better because they can think on a deeper level. Ungrading helps the student actually learn not just to pass examination but for life's application. On the OER, I would say it is highly commendable that it is tailored to the needs of students. My first impression of the US history ancillary felt like a written anthology. Well written with adequate information but presented in a user- friendly manner. Looking at working in a group, some students do not like it because it is sometimes difficult when there are some in the group who are not committed to the work.However, working in a group ensures the student is exposed to other ideas that are equally relevant. Group offer support. Almost all of the civil rights movement are group based. It is easier to accomplish an assigned task working as a group. In chapter 32 of the textbook, several landmark cases of the Supreme Court, such as Brown v. Board of Education received much attention because it was backed by the NAACP and several other cases as listed in the chapter.
I enjoyed the blog post "Fall 2022: Is this the end." I had never heard of an ungrading or an OER class before July 10th, the day Canvas allowed me to access the class materials. I can be hesitant to try new things, but I make an effort to push through my tendency to stick to what I know. Reading this blog post gave me a bit of reassurance because of how successful it is depicted to be. I have been enjoying the class so far, so hopefully I can join the previous students in their praise for the class. Another place of reassurance came when I was reading the textbook. In the prologue titled “ ‘These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And [they] call for extraordinary measures’~Dan Rather, 1/22/2017,” there is a theme of change. The life we live today is so drastically different from the life of those in the 1700s. It makes sense that education would follow that as well. If we are so different as a society, then our teaching methods should change too. This is why I am in support of ungrading assignments. Also, it gives us the ability to be individuals rather than a name on a screen. It seems like a good way to make the student feel seen because the professor recognizes success looks different for each student. This willingness to adapt is depicted in his “Think Strategically” lecture. He shows different ways in which a student can succeed in his class. His adaptability acknowledges the diversity of students in the classroom. The same thing will not work for everyone. The combination of the blog post, lectures, and textbook has me optimistic for the summer semester.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Ross-Nazzal, Jim and Students. Our Story: An Ancillary to US History, 2018. https://pressbooks.pub/ourstory/
Ross-Nazzal, James. “Think Strategically.” History 1302: United States History 2. Class lecture. https://eagleonline.hccs.edu/courses/226554/pages/welcome?module_item_id=14200383
I can honestly say that before reading this post, I was a little hesitant on this class and even you as a professor, but now I feel like maybe I could have taken this class in person. I will say that I am one of those people who do not enjoy group work simply because I have always dealt with people who either don’t want to contribute, or their contribution is halfhearted—and this is coming from someone with two neurodevelopmental disorders that make doing school and group work almost physically impossible sometimes. I already have to work twice as hard to get my own work done, but then I have to pick up the slack for someone who is just being lazy, I am sure you can understand how frustrating that is for me. All that to say that the idea of turning group work into a sort of game such as D&D is a very engaging concept to my already difficult brain. I am also finding the OER textbook to be more engaging for me as well despite the grammatical errors. To be able to actually understand history from a marginalized point of view is the kind of reform that is needed within education. As referenced in chapter 12 of the OER textbook within the first paragraph, the question is how much reform is for the betterment of society and how much of it is to control society. The point of creating a system of ungrading and OER is to reform education which in itself reforms society without controlling society or a certain narrative. In a way I feel that some historical textbooks try to control the narrative of history under the guise of presenting the truth. It’s similar to the way that certain politicians and media outlets will attempt to control the narrative through the use of alternative facts—a term that in itself is a form of narrative control— as mentioned in the Post Factual America Lecture. I say all of this to say thank you for trying to use your position to help present a more truthful view of history by giving voice to those who are forgotten, and to those who are fighting not to forget.
ReplyDeleteBibliography:
Ross-Nazzal, Jim, and Students. Our Story An Ancillary to US History, 2018. https://pressbooks.pub/ourstory/. Last Accessed July 14, 2023.
Ross-Nazzal, Jim. “Post Factual America”. History 1302: United States History 2. Class Lecture. https://eagleonline.hccs.edu/courses/226558/pages/this-isnt-normal-dot-lectures?module_item_id=14200967. Last Accessed July 14, 2023.