BLOG OR DISCUSSION THREAD AUDIT:

Towards the end of the semester, ideally before assigning final papers and projects, ask students to read back through all of the posts that they have contributed to online discussions in the class and write a reflection on their own work. Ask them: How do you feel about your writing and thinking over the semester? Do you think your writing changed at all? If so, how? What post are you most proud of, and why? Which do you feel least happy with, and why? Do you notice any patterns in the topics and ideas that you gravitated towards? If so, what are these? Students may wish to use this reflective assignment as a jumping-off point to determining the subject matter of their final papers or projects.

• Activity may take place individually
• Submit assignment: in person, email, learning management system / online post

CREATIVE FINAL PROJECTS:

There are many formats and approaches to assigning open-ended creative final projects. The example below brings together critical making and analytical writing, and integrates a multi- stage process that includes a proposal phase, an online exhibition that the whole class can view and comment upon (this may be developed as a separate assignment once they are all uploaded to a course website or learning management system), and a critical statement/essay.

Instructors are encouraged to provide feedback at the proposal stage, either in writing or in one-on-one meetings, as this is a key moment to help guide students as they think through and develop their projects. In addition to or in place of the proposal, instructors can build in a “draft” and “feedback” stage of the final project, even if you are not able to have students share their drafts in class. For instance, students can share an outline, script, video, object, etc., and you can assign them round-robin-style to offer feedback on 1-2 other students’ projects.

Sample assignment:
Working on your own or in groups of up to 4, design a project that speaks to one or more of the major themes from our course this semester. You must develop your own question about some element of the course content, and attempt to answer or expand upon it in a humanistic essay that take a form other than academic writing. Your project should draw upon at least (x number of) primary and (x number of) secondary texts that we have covered together during the semester.

To create your project, choose a medium in which you have some measure of technical expertise and which fits your topic. This may be something we’ve used in class, a digital medium, or something else entirely. Choose a medium that makes sense in the context of your project’s interests. Beyond this, be creative!

Submit 1-page project proposal by (date, time) via (method of submission). This should include your name(s), the question you are posing, your proposed medium, and at least one key quote from a relevant theorist, critic, or thinker we have discussed in the course.

Your final project is due on (date, time) via (method of submission). You should accompany it with a brief (200-300-word) abstract describing the question you’re addressing, and how your project attempts to tackle it through your chosen medium. These will be posted for the whole class to see and share in a virtual exhibition.

In addition, you will need to submit a (x)-page statement essay on (date, time) via (method of submission). The statement must:

• a) Identify the question you’re addressing
• b) State your argument in the project
• c) Engage maturely with (x number of) primary and (x number of) secondary texts that we have covered together during the semester. Describe what elements of these texts come into play in your project, and explain how or where they appear in your project (essentially, close-read your own piece)
• d) Describe each group member's contribution to the project (for groups)
• e) Include a bibliography

Your project will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Maturity of the question you are exploring
• Clarity of your argument
• Understanding of relevant sources
• Quality, creativity, and appropriateness of project
• Thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and writing quality of the statement/essay • Timely completion of each stage of the project

Activity may take place: individually or in pairs / small groups via an array of communications media

Submit assignment: in person, email, learning management system / online post

DESIGN ANOTHER COURSE UNIT:

If you are using a course reader, anthology, or course textbook, have students explore parts of this text not covered by your course (or recycle extant course readings into new pairings) in order to design a 1-week “unit” of readings (excerpts, chapters, poems, passages) complete with a short introductory lecture, handouts, and discussion questions. If you are utilizing video lectures and activities for your remote course design, encourage students to make their own video lectures. In effect, throughout the semester, model and unpack what you do to prepare for class as an example for what students might do for their final projects. If using a textbook, discuss your approach to presenting a chapter; if using an anthology of readings, consider how you approach your course unit “themes” and how you stage them. Students might design these final projects individually, or—better yet—in groups, so they can workshop ideas and activities with one another. If you have enough time and few groups, these units might actually be implemented in the course, but they might also just be made available to the class for continued learning. Students might, as a capstone, reflect on what it means to teach texts and concepts in your discipline in a final written assignment.

Sample assignment:

Phase 1: Professor discusses their own approach to “unit” design, and points to how they themselves used the course textbooks to structure these units. Reflecting on the syllabus as it currently exists, discuss the progression of the material, the learning goals, and how the activities relate to those goals.

Phase 2: Students, individually or (ideally) in groups, peruse the unexplored parts of the course materials, and “pitch” potential units to professors in 250-word abstracts outlining 1) the “concept” of the unit and how it fits into the course themes 2) potential readings from the course reader (or elsewhere)

Phase 3: Students write lectures or record introductions (in text, video, audio/podcast-- ideally, whatever the professor has been modeling) and design activities/discussion questions for their unit. These should be for each “session” the class meets within the unit (2 meetings allows for the readings to link to one another, meaning 2 introductions and 2 activities/sets of discussion questions).

Phase 4: Students present their units to the rest of the class. These can actually be implemented in the course (if there are only a few groups) or can be shared by the professor at the end of the semester. Once posted, each individual student will write a 2- 3 page reflection discussing either 1) their own approach to designing the unit and how it reinforces the methods and concepts of the course as a whole or 2) the success of the unit and course design once implemented (if possible) or 3) the success of another group’s unit, offering constructive feedback.

The project will be assessed on the following criteria:

• The coherence of the unit in concept and execution
• The introductions/lectures execution in terms of organization, attention to detail,and clarity
• The robustness of the activities in terms of attentiveness to the assigned materials/ readings (did you select good excerpts/passages to foreground?) or in terms of the materials introduced in class to accompany the readings (do the handouts offer productive new perspectives or raise challenging questions?).
• The thoughtfulness of the reflective essay in terms of composition, organization, and deliberation over how the core concept was translated into readings and activities

Activity may take place: individually or in pairs / small groups via an array of communications media

Submit assignment: “Units” may be submitted to the professor digitally, and distributed via the platform/mechanisms the class has been using throughout the semester