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mschoyer's blog

Field Notes 1- Comparative Literature Class

Submitted by mschoyer on Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:04pm

These field notes come from the second meeting of a Comparative Literature class
Course is taught by Professor Reynolds*, a Classics professor who also teaches one course in Comparative Literature
There are about 25 students in the class
- College sophomores, juniors, and seniors
- About ¾ female and ¼ male
Class began by the teacher bringing up a key question and asking the students to answer using one of the readings as a guide
- Discussion was technically student led, but it was interesting to see how Professor also shaped the discussion
  - With certain points made by students, Professor Reynolds continued to ask questions (either to that individual student or the entire class).
  - With other points made by students, Professor Reynolds would just nod or say okay, and then call on another student
    - What determined which points/comments were elaborated?
      - I assume Professor Reynolds pre-determined a direction for the conversation to go and addressed points that fit that mold.
      - Professor Reynolds could have also highlighted comments that she felt were particularly insightful or interesting
      - She didn’t say any one’s comments were wrong or irrelevant, but did not fully acknowledge them
      - How would this method work in a classroom with younger students?