Serendip Studio

Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

How do you learn?

Submitted by et502 on Thu, 04/18/2013 - 11:09am

Just Dewey It

A few years ago, I signed up to get email updates from Sophia.org, a site that compiles online tutorials and resources for both students and teachers. Today's email: Do you know your learning style? Find out using SOPHIA's learning preference assessment. Take our two-minute adventure and you'll be on your way to making the most of your learning potential.

So of course, I took it. While I think my learning style is slightly more nuanced than their response, it was fun to reflect on the kind of teaching that I respond to..

et502's blog

field notes exceprts thinking more about classroom management

Submitted by transitfan on Wed, 04/17/2013 - 4:17pm

Glittery Life

(College)

Today only 1 student shows up. He was absent last week and is eager for a private lesson to help him catch up. We review and learn to identify scales. Due to lack of time, the other students in the class will not learn this; it's not essential to identify harmonic and melodic minor scales but it's nice. One student who was absent has missed three weeks in a row, she told me in an email she has been off-campus on weekends due to a combination of family emergencies and other commitments. She says she is practicing on her own so next week we'll see. I emailed the choral director to let him know, but he didn't seem upset. I think it was a mistake to schedule Sunday afternoon class, although it sounded like a good idea at the time.

(Fourth Grade)

...I lead a somewhat complex activity in which the students broke into groups of four and “composed” a rhythm of 8 measures in 4/4 time then performed it. Some groups really took it a great level by adding movements to their performances. Overall, there was a huge range in how long it took groups to write. I tried to hurry some groups along, which didn't really work. I didn't have a back-up for when students finished writing. There were a few times I struggled to get their attention. Ms. Presley urged me to be more “alpha” and to be sure to get them quiet rather than trying to talk over them. This also came up during the “performances”; some were not very good listeners.

Field Notes 4/17

Submitted by Laura H on Wed, 04/17/2013 - 11:16am

CHES

Field Notes 4/17- Ms. R 11th grade American History, Mr. T 10th grade English

Today in my field placement I noticed the different teaching styles of Ms. R and Mr. T. They are very similar in they way they plan their lessons, because they are based around Tech Prep’s core values (inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, reflection). The assignments are often very open-ended and push students to think critically and be creative (I could do a whole post about the actual projects themselves). However, it seems my two teachers have approached this type of project-based curriculum in different ways.

Field Notes 9- 4/12 and 4/16. Interdisciplinary Lessons and Projects

Submitted by mschoyer on Tue, 04/16/2013 - 9:30pm

CHES

4/12/13

Ngozi Onwurah

Black British filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah takes on the issues of time and space in her work which embraces heterogeneity and multiple sites of subjectivity. Onwurah consistently navigates and challenges the limits of narrative and ethnographic cinema by insisting that the body is the central landscape of an anti-imperialist cinematic discourse. An accomplished director with several episodes of the top British TV drama series "Heartbeat" to her credit, Ngozi Onwurah also wrote and directed the prize-winning feature "Welcome II the Terrordome." Sometimes fierce and at others more gently humorous, Onwurah tackles the clashes and ironies of the apparent gulf separating black and white, whilst showing that under the skin, emotions are universal. Onwurah’s films have won prizes at the Berlin Film Festival, Germany; Melbourne Film Festival, Australia; Toronto Film Festival, Canada; and at NBPC, USA. (“Women Make Movies” - http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm280.shtml)

Tina Mabry

A native of Tupelo, Miss., Tina Mabry graduated from the University of Southern California, School of Cinema-Television, with an MFA in Film Production in 2005. Her first short film, Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan, which she wrote and directed, has been screened in more than 50 film festivals worldwide. In 2007, she also co-wrote a feature screenplay entitled Itty Bitty Titty Committee, directed by Jamie Babbit. In 2008, Tina participated in the FIND Directors Lab with her feature film, Mississippi Damned, which an impressive 13 awards from participation in 15 film festivals, including the awards for Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay at the Chicago International Film Festival (2009). The film premiered on Showtime in February 2011.Tina was named among the 25 New Faces of Independent Film in Filmmaker Magazine in July 2009 and was recognized by Out magazine as one of the most inspirational and outstanding people of 2009. Huffington post description- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-mabry

Rashaad Ernesto Green

Graduate of Dartmouth College and NYU Graduate Film School, New York native Rashaad Ernesto Green was included on the 2010 edition of Filmmaker Magazine's elite 25 New Faces of Independent Film list as well as indieWIRE's 2009 Ten New Voices in Cinema. He won the 2011 Horizon Award at the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. His short films have screened on HBO, BET, at the Sundance Film Festival, and have won accolades at festivals internationally. Green, Rashaad Ernesto. “About the Director.” Mi Alma Films. Accessed November 3 2012. http://www.mialmafilms.com/aboutdirector.html.

Rose Troche

Writer/director Rose Troche grew up in the Midwest suburbs as part of a large Puerto Rican family, which may be related to her knack for ensemble casts. After making short films and videos, she made her feature debut with the romantic comedy Go Fish, which she co-produced and co-wrote with lead actress Guinevere Turner. Shot in 16 mm black-and-white around the Chicago neighborhood of Wicker Park, the film premiered at Sundance and has become something of a lesbian cult hit. In 1998, she directed the British romantic comedy Bedrooms & Hallways about gay men in London. She focused on the heterosexual suburbs her 2001 feature The Safety of Objects, an adaptation of several short stories by A.M. Homes starring Glenn Close and Dermot Mulroney. Moving over to television, she directed an episode of Six Feet Under for HBO. Her latest project is a series about the lesbian community in L.A. called The L Word, which premieres January 2004, on Showtime. (Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide - http://movies.nytimes.com/person/166476/Rose-Troche)

Maryam Keshavarz

Maryam Keshvarz is a New York born Iranian director receiving her MFA in film direction at NYU’s Tisch School of Arts. She has directed four films; the documentary styled Rangeh eshgh (2004), two shorts in 2006, Not For Sale and The Day I Died. Her film Circumstance (2011) won the Audience Award at Sundance. Her newest project is called The Last Harem. http://www.stardustbrands.com/directors/maryam-keshavarz/bio

Campbell X

Campbell’s previous films include the award-winning BD Women about Black lesbian lives and history; Legacy which explores the lasting impact of slavery on Black families; and Fem, a butch homage to queer femininity. Campbell curated No Heroes as part of the Progress Reports 2010 at Iniva. They have written published short stories and articles on film, sexuality and gender for Diva Magazine, Feminist Review, The Pink Paper, Critical Quarterly, Chroma Magazine, BFM Magazine, Luxonline, and BFI Screenonline.