Category: Group 6

Open Letter:

My original assignment was what I call a “Reading Response”. A Reading Response is pretty vanilla basics. It is simply a homework assignment which asks a series of questions based on the assigned reading. The questions are either fact-based or based on judgments and inferences that need to be supported with reasoning and evidence. Typically these HW’s are treated as a kind of background assignment which help guarantee students read and read carefully, as well as to prepare them for class discussion of a text. Normally Reading Responses are simple two-step assignments, read and complete the questions. They do not involve any specific group activities outside of or in class except as they provide a foundation and background to lecture and class discussion.

The new assignment retains its base of reading the assigned text and answering questions. However, the new version is an interactive multi-level layered or scaffolded assignment where students provide feedback to each other at various stages in various modes within assigned groups. First they provide reactions to the text by making a simple short video for their group with their initial response to the text built around their own spontaneous reactions and broad questions which focus on their own judgements and opinions of it. Then they are to answer questions formally in writing and respond to each other’s work in terms of both writing quality and substance. These stages culminate in a group presentation where each student of the group is given a different question or different part of an answer to present to the class.

The main elements which changed are the use of multiple platforms and educational modes, the expansion of the assignment into a series of scaffolded procedures and steps, as well as the development of interactive steps where students respond to each other, including making them responsible for presenting the content of their work to the rest of the class (i.e. students who have not completed the assignment on their own group’s particular reading).

What’s left to do? While I have a schema here for a substantially revised assignment, I still have to go over the nuts and bolts of each step and brainstorm how they might best work, be effective and engaging. While the over-all structure of the assignment has found a definitive form, I need to think more carefully about the mechanics of each step and some of the wrinkles to illicit the interest and imagination of the students.

This seminar has provided a number of tools for me to integrate into my teaching repertoire such as a focus on scaffolding or developing a kind of multi-step multi-dimensional process for an assignment. It has introduced me to platforms like Vocat, that I would not have otherwise considered because it provides a convenient and practical format for students to communicate via video. I tend to avoid a variety of multi-media functions Blackboard offers precisely because of its limitations in terms of user-friendliness. These limitations turn into practical teaching limitations which can result in a less than engaged or satisfying experience for students. Meanwhile, Baruch Blogs and Vocat offer platforms that, because they are more user-friendly, are more practical to integrate into lesson plans and assignments. More generally the seminar has provided me time to “spitball” not so much about content issues which tend to be the focus of my class prep, but on matters of delivery of content and the structure of class/class assignments.

In terms of questions, I would really be interested to get more concrete information on scaffolding in terms of both a better understanding of what it is and its purpose as well as specific examples of how a basic assignment might be broken up into different types of scaffolded activities which might apply to any kind of educational content.

My teaching artifact is guidelines for the implementation of Slack as as class discussion and community building platform. In the past I’ve used Blogs@Baruch discussion boards and other forums to try to encourage my students to interact, but it hasn’t taken well- they mostly write to me. It also ends up being a lot for me to read and keep track of. The plan below will hopefully allow students to interact more with each other, as well as puts the onus on them to read and engage with the material and each other on their own, first, before discussing it as a class.

My biggest lingering questions are about how to encourage students to actually do this- how to grade them or assess them or convince them it’s important. I really want this to take off and feel fulfilling for them, and not just another box they have to tick. Also, logistically, I want to figure out the right number of channels, because I tend to go overboard and want a channel for everything but I don’t want to overwhelm the students. And, finally, I’ve never done semester-long study groups before, so I’d like to think through that a bit more and make sure I know what to do if, say, some groups are not gelling or don’t get along, etc.

Artifact:

For the purposes of my course, I’d like to set up the following prior to the start of the semester:

1. Study groups of 3-4 students, with a dedicated channel for each
2. Channels for each of the following:
   1. General questions
   2. Fun stuff unrelated to class
   3. Each week of class
   4. Each major assignment (Question: is this too many channels? I don’t want it to be confusing!)

The first week of class, I’ll assign each student to answer a few Getting to Know You questions in the Fun Stuff section and have each student reply to at least two other students, in a bid to encourage discussion and camaraderie.

For each week of class, I’ll encourage students to post questions and comments on the readings to their study group thread and challenge the groups to answer each other’s questions. I’ll monitor to make sure the students are posting as required but I won’t read them closely or grade the quality. I’ll also answer any big serious questions that come up.
Also for each week of class, I’ll assign one or two students to lead a Slack discussion thread that will be hosted on the weekly channels (number 3 above). The leader will be asked to prepare discussion questions regarding the readings for that week (maybe prepare five?) and moderate a discussion, which the other students will be asked to contribute two at least twice over the week. That student will also present a short report on the discussion in the next synchronous class.

I will also encourage use of the assignment-specific channels for questions and comments regarding the assignments, and maybe assign peer editing using these, too, but I have to think through the functionality of that.

This assignment is a revision of the research project assignment from my Writing I class that I’ve adapted to be the final assignment for Writing II—a “creative remix” of a research argument. At first, I wanted to make this assignment more open-ended—to let students do basically whatever they wanted for the remix—but, after talking to Seth during our one-on-one meeting for this class, I decided to give students two clear options of ways they might take the assignment: a documentary trailer or a podcast. I’ve still included an option for them to suggest something different, but I do think that having some clear suggestions is helpful. My meeting with Seth also encouraged me to turn the project into a group project—something that I’ve been struggling with is how to have students do more collaborative work in groups, which I think really helps with student engagement, while also trying to avoid a situation where one student does all the work. By having students write individual research papers on related topics first, and then work together to present their research, and by giving them a lot of time in class to work together on the final project, I hope to avoid this issue.

My scaffolding for this project is basically as follows:

I’m going to have my students watch two documentaries on the same subject, from opposing perspectives, early in the class (I would love recommendations!). They’ll also be listening to and discussing podcasts, really thinking about how these texts make medium-specific arguments, and how they appeal to different audiences. Students will work together in groups to create basic analyses of the documentaries that we watch, in class. I will put students in groups early, and each group will choose a broad topic to focus on (criminal law reform, climate change, the education system, social media, etc). Then, for Assignment I, each student will write an individual analysis essay about a documentary or podcast related to the topic that their group chose. Assignment II will have students write an argumentative research paper on some aspect of this topic (so one group might have a students writing about police reform, one writing about the death penalty, and one writing about drug laws). This will all led to the Creative Remix assignment, in which students will combine their research into a short, multimedia project.

The below is still very drafty, so I’d love any feedback that people might have!

Major Project 3 / Creative Remix of Research-Based Argument

The creative remix or assignment engages one of the five major course goals for ENG 2150(T):

Use a variety of media to compose in multiple rhetorical situations: Apply rhetorical knowledge in your own composing using the means of persuasion appropriate for each rhetorical context (alphabetic text, still and moving images, and sound), including academic writing and composing for a broader, public audience using digital platforms. As you work on this assignment think about the following questions: How do different media offer different affordances? Does the medium change the message? How can remediation be used as a lens to see an argument in new ways?

For this assignment, students will work in their writing groups to create a podcast or documentary trailer using the research that you conducted for you individual research papers. Think about the way that the documentaries that we watched/podcasts we listened to in class[*] use rhetorical strategies to present their arguments. How do these strategies work differently than they might in a traditional research paper? Think about how you might need to present your evidence differently in this new medium.

This is a creative project, and I encourage you to take it in any direction that you like—if you have an idea for a way to present your research that is not a podcast or documentary trailer, please run it by me!

In addition to the multimedia project, each student will turn in a written reflection (about 3-4 double-spaced pages). In addition to thinking through the questions listed in the first paragraph of this assignment sheet, use this as a space to reflect on your role in the project. How did your individual research fit into the larger argument? What was your role in creating and editing the final product?

Projects will be graded based on:

• Argument: Is the thesis clear and compelling? Is it backed up with evidence? Are the stakes of the argument clear? (25%)
• Structure: Does the argument flow clearly? Is the project the correct length (about 2-3 minutes for a trailer, 3-5 for a podcast)? (10%)
• Sources: Are sources clearly cited? Are sources that support your argument peer-reviewed, or otherwise from trusted sources? You might include a credits scene, where you list credits for music/clips that you used in your trailer (or where you read these credits in your podcast). (15%)
• Creativity: Does the piece use creative strategies to engage its intended audience? Do the authors tell a compelling story using images, audio, and rhetorical appeals (appeals to logos, pathos, etc)? This is a creative remix, and so you should have fun with it! (25%)
• Revision: How does the piece revise its authors’ original research papers to fit a new medium/audience? Are the authors clearly thinking about creating for a new medium, or are they merely restating their arguments in the same way they might in an essay? (15%)
• Individual author’s written reflection (10%)

Your grade on the remix project makes up 30% of your course grade.

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[*] I will name them in the actual assignment sheet; I’m planning to have us watch two documentaries on the same topic from sort of opposing points of view, but I haven’t decided what these will be yet—I’d love suggestions! They’ll also listen to some episodes of This American Life.

*Note: Below I added an attachment of the grading rubric I created for this assignment since I am still working on the language I’m going to revise for the Spring 22 version of the course syllabus.

What was it? What is it now? What changed? What’s left to do?

Prior to the seminar, my teaching artifact was very ambiguous in the way it was described and presented. The assignment itself asks students to lead the class discussion (in teams of 2-3). Each class discussion topic and it is assigned by asking students their preferences at the start of the semester. New components of the assignment include: having students provide peer feedback, a structured rubric, and more scaffolding opportunities.

For example, I’ve identified three scaffolding activities that I can engage students with prior to their facilitations. The scaffolding steps below represent new aspects to the project:

Step 1: in-class I will provide students with a mini workshop on how to write effective discussion questions, which they will have to do for their facilitation assignment. The workshop will provide them with examples of close-ended questions (what they should avoid) and open-ended questions (which they should use). I will also put students into teams where I will give them a short article to read, and then they will come up with 2-3 open ended questions.

Step 2: I will provide a mock demonstration of what the class facilitation should look like

Step 3: will consist of a mini workshop that will help students with providing feedback. I find this important because many students may be in a position where they have never had to give feedback. So, the purpose of this to show them what constructive feedback should look like. I will provide examples of non-constructive and constructive feedback. I will have students get into teams of 3-4 and ask them to provide anonymous feedback about the mock presentation that I gave. Then as a class we will look at provided feedback and talk through the strengths and areas of improvement.

Step 4: I will put students into teams of 3-4 where they will have to give a “blitz” presentation on a I/O topic. Afterwards I will give students the opportunity to practice giving constructive feedback here as well. I will have them post it on the discussion board where I will then be able to provide feedback for them.

How does it facilitate student engagement?

The entire assignment is centered around student engagement because it helps students take an active role that helps them reinforce their public speaking skills and encourages them to find ways to engage their audience. I think the engagement aspect is critical for students, regardless if they decide to pursue a career in I/O psychology or not. The assignment requires students to draw on media that covers the topic of the week, create critical thinking discussion questions, and encourages them to incorporate an activity for the week.

How has the seminar influenced your decision-making process for revising your artifact?

It has made me more aware about the importance of scaffolding and has made me realize how intimidating this assignment might come off without easing students into it.

Are there any lingering questions or concerns you want to return to?

Not any that I can think of at the moment!

Attached you will find an attachment of my structured rubric. If anyone has any feedback on how I could make this stronger, I would love to hear it.

The teaching artifact I would like to revise is based on a reading responses to a grouping of short essays about the meaning and function of reading and literature. I call these texts “Readings on Reading.” While all the texts are mandatory reading, I break up the reading responses alphabetically by last name so that each student only writes on one text. This results in groupings of about about 4-5 students who have both read a given text and written a response.

This is a mid-level assignment which requires a bit more time and attention that a typical reading response. A reading response is simply a series of question which are typically specific to a text. Normally I have these assignments posted in the Discussion Board. They normally involve a combination of different types of questions, either factual, interpretive or asking students their opinion and reasoning for it. Students are expected to answer each question in a few sentences and the typical function of such responses are to guarantee that students read for class and to have them thinking about matters and themes central to class discussion in preparation for it.

This particular particular response asks general, non-text specific, questions which apply to all the “Readings on Reading.” Typically when I cover the text in class I will make a point to call on those students who wrote on the text under discussion. However, I’ve never completely taken advantage of the group format. I would like to make this a more collaborative project in which the students formally assemble in blocks and collaborate as a group which would culminate in a group presentation to the class. This would allow students to engage with each other in different modes, as a group and then as a group interacting with the whole class. Each group would then run class for the duration of their presentation.

Here each group would lead class discussion of the text they wrote on. I think I envision this as a kind of semi-formal presentation in that one the one hand, they should have mastered their content by completing the written assignment, while on the other hand the presentation itself is a bit more impromptu and spontaneous, with me asking them question periodically, rather than something that is completely rehearsed and polished in advance.

Therefore, the assignment would consist of two graded components: a written part and an oral part in which each member of the group would be responsible for addressing one question or some portion of the overall assignment. The written component would be graded on both the substance and the quality of the writing and the group presentation on their general preparedness.

I’ve considered also having them include some small element of a PowerPoint presentation in order for the rest of the class to follow along visually and for the presenters to more easily stay on point. This is a type of project that could work in person and in the Zoom on-line format. I’d like to avoid asking students to meet outside of class to prepare their presentations because their schedules and their commuter status often make this burdensome. Breakout rooms on Zoom could be used in order for them to have time to “huddle” and discuss their presentation. Meanwhile students who are listening could be required to provide feedback to remarks they found engaging by using the Chat function on Zoom.

To make this artifact more complete. I would have to provide more information about what I expect them to do in their groups, as well as provide a grading rubric for the written and and oral components with an explanation of the focus and structure of the oral presentation.

Reading Response Prompt:

Assignment 1.5 page double spaced essay on One Reading from “Readings on Reading”

Instructions:

1. Read all the “Readings on Reading”
2. Answer the following question on a given reading based on the alphabetical groupings by your last name.
3. Collaborate with your group and present your responses to the class.

Questions:

1. What do you think the main point of this article is? (1 paragraph)
2. How does the author of this article understand the primary function or purpose of reading/What function this author focus on? (1 paragraph)
3. Quote what you believe to be either the most important or most interesting passage in the text. Explain what you think it means? What is the author saying? Then explain why you think this is the most important passage and what is most interest about it. (2 paragraphs)

Classwork: (10 mins)

1. Get in groups based on the reading you selected.
2. Talk about each of the questions in order. Debate and dispute with yourselves on what you think the answers are and reach some general consensus. Additionally discuss that things you do not agree on and reach and understanding of what your differences of thinking are which led to your differing conclusions.
3. As a group present your findings to the questions in order to the class and we will initiate our discussion of the reading based on your opening remarks.

For my teaching artifact, I’d like to implement a Slack channel. My main goal with this is to build community in my online classroom, which I hope in turn would foster better group and class-wide discussions.

I have never moderated a Slack group before, though I have used the product in my own personal and professional life. In Slack you can have channels for different purposes. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm the students with channels, but I think I would have a general questions channel, along with channels for each major assignment (short papers and the final paper). I would also have a just-for-fun, getting-to-know-you channel.

I want to avoid implementing Slack as just another thing they have to do. I want them to use it and get something out of it, rather than be forced to do so. For that reason, I’m thinking about setting up semester-long study groups for them to participate in- each group would have a channel. I would want to develop a scaffolded approach to sort of “seed” participation, though- I want to set it up, and encourage it, but not force it? And hope it takes hold and increases from there? That is the part I’m trying to work out how to do. I’d be very happy to see any guidance or tips from someone else who has used Slack in this way!

I don’t have a current version of this to paste here, as there is no extant version of this for my course. However, I can tell you what I have done so far to build community that hasn’t worked/has only worked a bit:

• Have students each post a self-introductory blog post, and then have students start a conversation off those posts by commenting on someone else’s post
• Comment on each other’s blog posts
• Comment on Hypothesis comments for readings
• Breakout rooms
• Shared Google doc annotation

The material that I plan to revise—my Teaching Artifact—is the final research assignment for my Writing I class. I want to adapt it to use in Writing II, which I’m teaching next semester. My main goal when revising this assignment is to allow students more freedom in how they present their research. Right now, the assignment is to write a 7-pg research paper. While I want to leave students that option, I also want to open it up to invite less traditional methods of composition—students could present their research as a podcast, for example, or they could create a website. I think that inviting students to think of composition as something beyond just writing papers for class is a really important part of my job as a writing teacher, and I hope that this assignment will help do that. It will also encourage students who might have really exciting skills that maybe fall outside of structuring a traditional essay to bring those skills to play in the class, and it might encourage students who are traditionally “good” writers to move outside of their comfort zone and create something new and interesting.

The current assignment sheet is pasted below–the prompts would probably be different for the revised version, as it would be for a different class.

Major Project 3 / Research-Based Argument

Your final project of the term asks you to learn more about a topic related to the course theme or one that arises for you from the course readings. You’ll investigate the topic, form a guiding question for your research, and attempt to answer the question, using course texts and sources outside the course. You’ll integrate these sources into your own writing, ultimately coming to a (perhaps tentative) conclusion or claim (thesis) from your research and learning.

I encourage you to take this assignment in any direction you like—research a topic that you are genuinely interested in and excited about. It does not have to relate to anything that we’ve read or discussed in this class. If you’re looking for places to start, though, looking back at some of your earlier assignments and prompts might be helpful. You might write an essay about code-switching, conducting personal interviews and reading articles that would help you form a thesis about how code-switching works, when and why it might be necessary, and when and how it can be harmful. Your literacy narrative or analysis project might have raised questions about language, culture, or the histories of a particular text or movement that you want to explore further.

If you’d rather work on something new, and don’t have anything that you’re particularly excited to research in mind, here are two prompts that you’re welcome to use:

1. In “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about how the stories that she read as a child did not contain characters who looked or lived like her. As a young reader and writer, she internalized the idea that characters in books must be white, upper/middleclass, and from a certain background. Using Adichie’s talk as a jumping off point, you might research a specific aspect of representation in literature/film/other media. Why does it matter if people (particularly, perhaps, young people) see people who look/live like them? What studies have shown that representation matters, and how? You might focus on the push to diversify school curriculums, children’s literature or television, museum collections, or something else that isn’t listed here.

• In her essay “The Egg and the Sperm,” Emily Martin shows how language and narrative infuse gender stereotypes into scientific discourse, even on a cellular level. Think of other cases where something similar may be happening, and research one of them. How does language—and how do the stories that we use to frame our understanding of the world—imbue other discourses that are supposed to be unbiased with bias? What values do words bring with them, and how does that shape discourse? You might think about another aspect of science or medicine, or an aspect of technology, schooling, or political discourse.  

Essays should be around 7 double-spaced pages, and should cite roughly 7-10 sources.

Final drafts of essays will be graded based on:

• Argument: Is the thesis clear and compelling? Is it backed up with evidence? Are the stakes of the argument clear? (25%)
• Structure: Does the argument progress and flow logically? Are paragraphs clearly marked with topic sentences? (15%)
• Research: Does the essay have enough sources? Are they peer-reviewed, or otherwise from trusted sources? Does the author acknowledge sources that may be biased, or otherwise flawed? Do they interrogate the sources critically? Has the author clearly done research from numerous sources, from varying backgrounds, and not just tried to find sources that support one viewpoint? (25%)
• Grammar, structure, etc. (10%)
• Editing: Has the author taken the feedback given by the professor and by peer reviewers into account when editing the essay? Have they made meaningful changes to the essay that clearly improve the above categories? (25%)

Your grade on the final draft of the research project makes up 30% of your course grade.

Hi everyone! I am planning to revise an existing assignment for my PSY 4181 (Advanced Organizational Psychology) course. The assignment is a “class facilitation” which requires students to pair up in teams of 2-3 (depending on the class size) and to lead the class discussion for the week. The goal is for the team to act as the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the week by presenting the major themes in the readings to the class and integrating. I have emphasized to students that the goal for this assignment is for them to also identify current trends on the topic they are assigned and integrating them into their presentation. The point of this assignment is not to summarize everything in the readings (that’s what my lectures). Instead I tell them to really focus on the “bigger picture.”

Currently, I feel that the assignment is quite vague from a student’s perspective. I’m struggling with findings the balance of how much guidance I should be providing because I don’t want to limit student’s creativity by providing them with strict parameters. While at the same time I don’t want to overwhelm them by providing vague instructions.

I would like to change the assignment by providing more instructions to students. This could be done by providing a structured rubric for students to show examples of the items I will be looking for in their presentation. If possible, I think it would also be nice to incorporate the use of some new tool for students such Blogs@Baruch or the Vlog tool. I also want to incorporate feedback from their peers into the assignment as well, so I’d like to develop a way or system for their peers to give constructive feedback for each presentation. I would imagine this would require a) the use of Qualtrics or some other platform to streamline the process, and b) giving students a “mini-training” on how to provide effective feedback.

If anyone does anything similar for their course or has any additional ideas, I would love to hear them!

Directions for the teaching artifact as currently stated on the syllabus:

For each week, 2 students (possibly 3) will be responsible for presenting the relevant pre-assigned readings, presenting the class with discussion questions, and leading these discussions. This should be an integrated 30-minute presentation that presents an overview of the major themes for the week. In other words, you will act as the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the particular topic of that week. Your role is to present the “big picture” emerging from the assigned readings, not present on every single detail. Successful presentations will use the following strategies:

• Present the topic in a formal way using PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.
• Engage in active learning instructional strategies that emphasize audience engagement (quick activity, asking broad questions that stimulate class discussion, etc.)
• Gather from sources outside of the assigned readings.
  • External scholarly articles.
  • Information from contemporary mainstream media (e.g., a clip from a news outlet) related to your topic.
  • Case studies related to your topic from real-world organizations.
• Multiple types of media (e.g., videos, handouts, etc.)

In your presentation you should focus on major themes, arguments, contradictions, practical challenges, etc. However, please feel free to be as CREATIVE as possible while also providing the class with the “big picture.”  Presentations must be submitted via Blackboard in advance of your presentation by only one member.

1. Hi! Nice meeting you! Could you introduce yourself? What department are you from? What courses are you teaching or have been teaching? What are the classes you teach like, such as format or class size? Is there anything you want to tell us about your teaching, research, or other projects? 

I’m Jessica Webster, and I am on the library faculty. My work is in the Archives and Special Collections department and I focus on Digital Initiatives. I teach in the information studies minor; my courses focus on the interplay between archives, digital materials, history, media, and current events. This is my second semester teaching an online synchronous course. My classes tend to be small (15-25 is average) with a lot of lecture, discussions, and group activities. I focus a lot on active learning techniques but have really stalled on implementing them in an online environment; I seem unable to get students to really engage with each other and have the vibrant discussions I foster in in-person sessions.

1. Could you talk a little bit about that course you’ll be working on during this seminar? 

I’m preparing to again teach LIB3030, Archives, Documents, and Hidden History, which focuses on ways to locate, think about, and use a variety of types of primary sources (along with some basic archival theory). In this course we have units learning about how to think about, engage with, and use different types of primary sources in research. I’m also planning to apply techniques learned here to future versions of my Digital Archives and Current Events course.

1. What are the listed learning goals of your course? They could be ones provided by the department, or ones that you have written for your syllabus? Please list them (pasting is fine!).

1. Understand the origin, storage, retrieval and use of primary and secondary information sources.
2. Identify the relationship between finding aids used to describe archival collections and primary sources.
3. Access and use archival and/or primary source materials for research projects.
4. Interpret historical, social and cultural issues through the use of archival primary source materials.
5. Employ organizational skills to formulate and interpret research questions as necessary.      

1. What class materials are you planning to develop? What goals do you have for them?

I’d like to develop an approach for students to engage with each other outside of class sessions more readily, to help build a course community that feels more engaged and foster discussion during classtime. But I don’t know what this should look like yet: a discussion board? A slack channel? A google doc? Standing discussion groups? I’d like to get some ideas for this during the class.

1. Hi! Nice meeting you! Could you introduce yourself? What department are you from? What courses are you teaching or have been teaching? What are the classes you teach like, such as format or class size? Is there anything you want to tell us about your teaching, research, or other projects? 

Hi everyone! My name is Wiston Rodriguez from the Psychology department. I am a 4th year PhD student in the Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology program at The Graduate Center & Baruch College. All of the courses that I teach (or have taught) are I/O courses (e.g., Intro to I/O Psychology, Advanced Organizational Psychology, Motivation, and Leadership). All these courses have been taught as in-person, hybrid, and/or fully online (synchronous and asynchronous). Outside of teaching, my research focuses on employee well-being, the work/non-work interface, and diversity issues in the workplace.

Could you talk a little bit about that course you’ll be working on during this seminar? 

The course I will be working on during the seminar is PSY 4181 (Advanced Organizational Psychology). This course is an extension of PSY 3181 (Introduction to I/O Psychology) and discussions are structured to look like discussions that at the graduate level (e.g., discussion implications of research findings and discussing solutions to workplace issues).

What are the listed learning goals of your course? They could be ones provided by the department, or ones that you have written for your syllabus? Please list them (pasting is fine!).

1. Summarize, interpret, and critically evaluate theories, and empirical findings in organizational psychology.
2. Apply content knowledge to understand employee’s behaviors in real organizations.
3. Analytically describe how organizations can utilize psychological concepts, theories, findings, and research methods to influence their employees.
4. Demonstrate your ability to collaborate with peers in and outside of the classroom.
5. Deliver your own thoughts to others through written assignments and in-class discussions.

What class materials are you planning to develop? What goals do you have for them?

I would like to revise an assignment that already exists or see if I can come up with a new assignment for this course. The assignments I’m thinking about revising are either a) the final presentation at the end of the semester where students have to present on an organizational issue and discuss how they would solve it, or b) the class facilitation assignment that students complete as a team of 2-3 students and lead the class discussion. I’m probably learning more towards the class facilitation since students struggled with the engagement aspect of the assignment.