A Look Inside L204

A Look Inside L204 Miranda Rodak's Fall 2021: Canvas Site + Course Materials

Buttons on Canvas homepage centralize everything for students.

Each week begins w/ the overview + objectives.

Following the overview, students scroll to see each day's work.

Buttons at the bottom return to Canvas homepage or advance to next week.

Writing instruction is meaningfully scaffolded throughout the semester.

The course design models & emphasizes writing as iterative process.

"Professor Rodak is a great motivator, and she really cares for the learning of her students. She is a clear communicator and her schedule system [on canvas] is very easy to follow, one is able to know exactly what will be done in class before you show up" (student comment, FA21 OCQ)

The course design emphasizes self-reflective, multi-modal, active learning.

Each week includes individual, asynchronous work that guides students in processing what they've read and meta-cognitively taking stock of the skills they're developing. This includes daily reading quizzes, in- and out-of-class free writes, reading guides, and "scavenger hunts" looking for specific types of scholarly moves in the critical articles we've read.

Each week also includes asynchronous class / group work via discussion boards, Hypothesis social annotations, and Padlet posts. These digital spaces build our collaborative community and turbo charge our class time together since they get the wheels turning *before* class discussion begins.

Our class time then takes the form of interweaving class discussion with group activities. Regardless of whether we meet in-person or on Zoom, we use digital tools like Miro, Padlet, GoogleDocs, and GoogleSlides to collaborate, all of which tracks our work (for later reference) and deepens students' analytical reading & writing skills. The classroom & Zoom room are always full of buzz.

Students noticed this emphasis on active and self-reflective learning and the way that we worked together across activities, assignments, and discussions to build a true community in our "classroom" (whether that was on campus, on canvas, or on Zoom).

There was clear consensus that the workload of the course was overwhelming. While I make no apologies for rigor, I've calibrated the pace for my next L204. Even so, students clearly and unequivocally recognized the quality of the learning experience.

Created By

Miranda Rodak

Appreciate