Received: from weber.ucsd.edu (weber.ucsd.edu [132.239.147.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.7.6/8.7.3/CNS-4.0p) with ESMTP id OAA09910 for ; Sun, 2 Feb 1997 14:29:02 -0700 (MST) Received: (from lmiller@localhost) by weber.ucsd.edu (8.8.3/8.8.3) id NAA18120 for socgrad@csf.colorado.edu; Sun, 2 Feb 1997 13:29:00 -0800 (PST) From: Laura Miller Message-Id: <199702022129.NAA18120@weber.ucsd.edu> Subject: Petite Flying Chaos (fwd) To: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu Date: Sun, 2 Feb 1997 13:29:00 -0800 (PST) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Forwarded message: > > The message is included below: > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >From TR.Young@uvm.edu Sun Feb 2 07:30:32 1997 > Date: Sun, 2 Feb 1997 07:30:30 -0700 (MST) > X-Sender: tryoung@pop.uvm.edu > To: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu > From: TR Young > Subject: The Petite Flying Chaos Learning Circus > Cc: David Langer > > In the past few months, I have posted a few ideas about teaching and > learning which may be of aid to those of you who are/will soon teach. > In this post, I will share some ideas I am using at U/Vermont where Beth > Mintz and the Sociology faculty have been kind enough to permit me to > experiment with a fairly large class...about 100 Intro students. > > I prefer, of course, small class of 25-30 but that is not a choice in > these days of speed-up, down-sizing, rationalization and other forms > of pedagogic penury. > > The Great Flying Chaos Learning Circus is a syllabus created at Virginia > Tech about four years ago...for a class of 580 students. You can down- > load a copy of the Syllabus on www at: > > http://www.uvm.edu~tryoung > > THE PETITE FLYING CHAOS LEARNING CIRCUS at the University of Vermont, > Spring, 1997: An Over-view. > > The point of the Syllabus is to provide an Interactively Rich and > Informationally Rich Learning Experience for students in large classes. > > To do that, I am using four new technologies and one undergrad Teaching > Assitant, Michael Sozzi. > > A. The Syllabus. The Syllabus is the central technological innovation > here at U/Vermont for the Intro Class I teach. It > features a POINT MENU from which students can create > their own pathway through the knowledge process. > > The Point Menu permits the students to 'invest' up > to 100 points in Movie labs, Field Assignments, Special > Projects and Self-Organizing groups... > > I keep careful records of who spends which points on > which menu item...there is a limit, for example, on > the number of movie labs one may attend...in order to > push for diversity in learning/working/acting. > > The pedagogic point is that students remember what they live/do > better than they remember on paper/pen tests. So geting them > involved in some activity is informationally richer than mere > note taking/test taking. > > A. Second new technology used in the PFCLC is Powerpoint. Power- > point is a special software package which can be used with > graphics to make a book/lecture come alive. > > The graphics I use come with Jim Henslin's new Intro book, > Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. Use of the graphics > involves a lap-top computer with both powerpoint and the > Henslin Graphics on hard drive. > > There is, as well, a special piece of equipment which stays > in the class room and is similar to an over-head project > but has a cable link to the laptop. > > The graphics are smashing! They are so much better than > the home made transparencies most of us make...and they > are closely coordinated with the Henslin text. > > There are problems of course. I think Henslin leaves out > a lot; there is some material which is out-dated; there > is a LOT! of material on the slides leaving little room > for the special knowledge of the professor...but one can > work with that...I skip some stuff...insert other stuff. > > Then too, I have the Menu to cover material I want to > include. > > C. Eudora and the Class List...I have forced every student in > the class to sign on to the Intro Class List on Eudora. > This enables me to send special assignments to all in the > class...usually, the first 20 who sign on get to do the > movie lab/field assignment/project. Then too, I can > supplement class room annoucements on email > > D. A Home Page: STUDENTS OF THE WORLD. The good folk here at > U/Vermont have helped me create a Home Page. Each of > the three classes I teach have their own section. > > I have two people helping me adapt the page to my needs. > David Langer, an older, knowledgable freshman here at > U/Vermont and Christina Myers, a grad student at Okla. St. > Some of you may know Christina...she has a lot of the > back files on the socgrad lectures on a home page at > Ok. State...if you are on www, you can go to Ok State > Home Page, go to Sociology and find those lectures. The > full address is: > http://www.okstate.edu/gopher-data/Academic_Services/sociolo > gy/.html/00.htm > > > Before I return to Michigan Christina, I and David will > have the following items on my Home Page: > > 1. The Socgrad Lectures > 2. Chaos Theory papers on Non-Linear Social Dynamics > 3. The Transforming Sociology papers from the Red Feather > Institute > 4. FROM THE LEFT; electronic versions of the newsletter > I edit for the Marxist Section of ASA...in which > I try to help transform/expand radical/critical/ > feminist theory for the 21st Century. > > E. Dramaturgy. In the class-room itself, I use a lot of socio- > dramaturgy in which I try to make the lectures come alive > for the students...this does not translate well into words. > Let's just say that I have a lot of fun in the lectures > enacting/embodying some of the concepts/theories. > > Conclusion: It is possible to de-massify the learning experience...even > in large classes. It is labor intensive work...I spend a lot of time on > the movie labs, assignments, projects, email and keeping records. But > the alternative is a deadening, discouraging introduction to sociology. > > I think sociology is one of the most important knowledge tools a citizen > can have...so I don't want to waste the time of the student and subvert > the knowledge process with depersonalized lectures/tests/grades. > > If you need/want help with your teaching, I have a lot of files I can send > along and you are most welcome to use any ideas in these lectures and make > them your own. > > gladly do I teach, and gladly learn, TR > > >