Here is the url of Isha Gandhi’s website:
http://english106meltingpot.weebly.com/index.html
Click to go to Isha Gandhi’s website (December 11, 2009)
This student has made this website on her own, for extra credits.
This is not required of all the students in the class.
This semester I switched to a textbook that is pretty demanding for college freshmen. I did not require students to do project reflection, which was mandatory when I taught 106 before. The mandatory requirement was after the completion of each project, each student had to write down what they remembered about the project’s purpose, what skills they learned, and what things they might want to improve for the next project. They could also propose changes for the instructor to improve the project later.
Each reflection was one page, double-spaced, and worth one point towards the course grade. So five pages, five points. They did not need to care about how to structure it. As long as they got down their ideas, it met the purpose.
Such a conscious process of learning and reflection had proven very effective.
Isha Gandhi, in designing the website, follows the same spirit. She has stressed the purpose of each project right on top of each webpage, in the conspicuous heading section, before she uploads her final paper into the main body of the webpage. After that, she has bulletined the main skills she has acquired through each project.
I only mentioned very briefly what she could do for the website. Maybe even less than ten minutes before she has delivered this website. She works fast. As long as she understands what the projects ask, she delivers the goods promptly. She is not that picky about her language or word choice. So I remind her.
I think she has done a very good job, besides a few places I will remind her. Next semester I am asking each student to design a website like this. It will show what they have accomplished through the semester. By designing this, the students will know about visual design skills. At the same time, the process is also a very conscious process for them to evaluate their own progress.
It is a very good idea. Consequently I might take out the autobiography project and the powerpoint.
