In what ways was our first class different from what you expected it to be? Be sure to include at least one precise example of what you expected and what actually transpired.
15 thoughts on “Blog Post #1: Our First Class”
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In what ways was our first class different from what you expected it to be? Be sure to include at least one precise example of what you expected and what actually transpired.
Comments are closed.
A way in which the class was different than what I had expected it to be was the class size. The classes that I had attended prior to English was larger and took place in a Lecture Hall. This set an expectation that I would face a similar situation, however, I discovered that it was in a much smaller setting.
Another way in which the class differed from my expectations was that everyone in the class was able to have an introduction. This would not have been feasible during my earlier classes and let me believe that something of this nature would not occur.
Typically when students think of a class setting, they envision the professor at the head of the class teaching and students learning. Coming into class yesterday, I quickly realized class is going to be different. There is a shared opportunity for knowledge and learning, in which it is on behalf of the students to contribute and guide class discussion, making it more likely for professor Corva to learn something new as well.
The first day resulted in more of an introduction, rather than diving full force in to the workload. I expected to start writing or analyzing a piece of text; instead, students paired up with a classmate to learn more about each other. I think this first class set the tone for the rest of the year, and established proper expectations for the rest of the year to run just as smoothly as the beginning of the semester.
One way our first class differ from what I was expecting was having everyone in the class pair up to get to know each other better. This wasn’t something I was expecting because college lectures are usually just the professor lecturing and it wouldn’t be necessary for the class to learn about each other. I feel that by learning a little something about each other makes the class feel a bit more comfortable.
Another difference was that this class is small. All my other lectures in college so far have been bigger. I feel that the class being smaller is better because later in the semester when we have to present it won’t be as stressful.
Honestly, our first class was very different from what I expected it to be. For instance, based on my experience with my previous english classes, usually the energy is dull, everyone is tired with few people sharing their stories. After yesterday’s class, I noticed the energy was exciting and felt like a safe zone to share your thoughts in front of the class.
Coming into the first class, I did not expect the experience to be so similar to my previous writing class experience at my previous institution. Our grades mainly revolve around 3 major papers that we will be writing throughout the course. Another similarity is that the class is not too large which makes it possible for everyone to participate and get a lot of feedback from the professor.
One big thing that I did not expect was everyone getting up and moving around to introduce themselves to another classmate. Usually, icebreakers are done at the student’s seats and anything the person says is usually forgotten. With the one on one introductions, I feel like everyone got to know at least one other person in the class really well which is great since the majority of the class seems to be either a freshman or a transfer student.
The first day of class met many of my expectations. For example, the class went over the course syllabus together, did some quick, interesting introductions of each other. However, two things that surpassed my expectation for the first day of class was the attitude of the professor and the spirit/mood in the classroom. Before coming into class, I was expecting the course professor to be serious and stern and would go straight into point on topics and assignments. Interestingly, Professor Corva was different compared to my expectation in which he first introduced himself instead, described his past working experiences to the class and demonstrated his passion in teaching and learning about the people he taught. In addition, the classroom size for this course is not as large as my expectations. Because the room for this class is relatively small, students get the opportunity to interact with each other in a friendlier environment, and the mood in the room is then not as grim as other big lecture hall based class where everyone just minded their own business and focus solely on the lecture for the day.
I’m actually pleasantly surprised after our first class. For some reason I was expecting it to be a class where we have to write a lot of long papers and read a lot of longer works of literature without any control over the topics, but I was surprised to learn that we would have freedom to express ourselves and share our own thoughts through our writing. Being able to choose our own topics to write about will make the course more enjoyable and personal.
I wasn’t expecting to have to present in this course. However, doing the one-on-one icebreaker where I got to learn about my classmates made me feel more comfortable and looking forward to hearing from them more as well as sharing my own thoughts.
The first day of class definitely set the tone of the class culture. It was made clear that this would be an interactive and student-based open forum. As an introduction class, I expect a typical ice breaker where you introduce yourself. I was not prepared to introduce a fellow classmate. I found it a refreshing way to get know my new peers. Asides from the icebreaker, I was (pleasantly) surprised that the final paper would be so short. My last introduction to writing class required at least ten pages. The class illuminated what to look forward to in the semester: a less professor-centric mode of teaching and an emphasis on quality over quantity of writing.
I definitely expected to be writing on the first day of class, since it is after all a writing class. However, I’m glad that we instead spent the class making introductions and having discussions.
The college English courses I have taken before were much different than the vibe I got during our first class. Most of the time, the attitude is focusing on yourself and your essays only, and work on them on your own. It seems this class will be much different though. I am looking forward to be able to hear other peoples work and perspectives during the class. This will be especially interesting since Professor said we get to choose topics we are interested on. This means people will be writing more interesting, and relevant pieces that will reflect themselves.
Coming into the first day of class, I fully only expected a rote glance over of the syllabus and brief introductions from everyone in the class. My previous writing course, though collaborative, focused more on your own writing experience. It was a nice turn of expectations to see a class start with collaboration as the main emphasis instead of a professor speaking about peer reviewed drafts for three minutes. The classmate interviews in lieu of a self-introduction was especially a welcome change of pace from my previous experiences.
Something different about our first class meeting that I liked was how Professor Corva made it a point to let us know that this course wouldn’t be completely lecture-based, but rather a more reciprocal environment where we can all learn from each other’s ideas and points of view. To me, English is a class where there is no right or wrong answer, so to be in a setting where everyone will be able to share their opinions and potentially change their peers’ opinions is exciting to me.
The first day of Eng 2100 was not at all what I expected. I was hoping to receive assignments on specif topics, outlined a certain way. However, the class and professor seemed to be very open to listening to students and incorporating students ideas and writing into there own works in this class. Thus, it is something that I am looking forward to exploring and being able to be a creator, not a robotic machine that spits out content.
This class was different because i expected a boring teacher but my teacher is actually pretty cool
This class was different from what I expected it to be. I thought the class was going to be boring and more of a lecture type of class but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how outgoing and interactive you were with the class. I was also surprised at the number of transfer students we had because I had expected to be only one of few people in the class that actually transferred. Instead, we had a good amount of transfer students especially from Stony Brook University. Another thing that I expected was for the icebreaker to just be us talking about ourselves for a brief moment but instead, we had to introduce partners.
Walking into class, I definitely found it way more productive than the generic syllabus reading and simple introductions of the first day. Instead of walking into a quiet room, I found that we were all quite fascinated about our professor’s background and past experiences with teaching this subject. With the overview of the class schedule, I focused mainly on the three graded paper assignments. In my head, I was reminded of the ten-page minimum research papers required in my last college level writing course, but to my surprise the longest paper is estimated to be only around eight pages.
I also anticipated a writing assignment solely for the purpose of passing time on the first day of class, but I liked how we actually saved that for our next meeting. Rather, we had the chance to meet someone new and practice speaking in front of the entire class, something we will eventually have to do with our own writing. When sharing about what we learned about our fellow partner, I found that we were both transfer students from Stony Brook and we were certainly not the only ones. Something as simple as that already made me feel more comfortable and at ease being in class on the first day as well as for the rest of the semester.