The First Day

I love the first day of class. I really do. It’s exciting to start fresh and meet a new group of students. The fresh syllabus, the introductions, all of it. Of course, it’s a bit different online than in person, but I still enjoy it.  Yesterday was my first day for the spring 2021 semester and I met all three of my classes. We introduced ourselves to one another, went over the syllabus, and had a brief overview of what we could expect from our semester. The first day always involves a lot of talking on my part. Where I can create breakout rooms and encourage student discussion during most class sessions, the first day is a lot on my voice! Especially with three classes!

I still get a little bit of first day jitters. Nothing major, but just little things: will the technology work? will students be able to get the textbook? what kind of dynamic will this particular group have? will I remember to log in on time? I’ve been teaching since 2004 and it’s the same every year/semester. It happened when I taught high school, it happened when I taught in person, it happens even now with the classes online. But I love it. It’s an adrenaline rush of sorts. And I can’t think of a time when I didn’t feel relief at the end of the day after meeting my students. I mean, maybe not my throat, after all of that talking, but otherwise!

This semester was no exception. I am really looking forward to working with each of these groups of students. I am a little sad that it is unlikely I will meet any of them in person, but I’m encouraged by what I saw on the first day. Even the cameras! I had more cameras on yesterday than last semester. I tried a little something that I heard from another professor. They mentioned that they turned their own camera off for a few minutes and tried teaching that way. Then asked the students how it was for them to take a class that way. It really gave them a different perspective of what class can be like from the professor’s point of view and I was encouraged that a number of students turned their cameras on after that. So if you need a tip for encouraging cameras when they cannot be required – try that!

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Student-Led Syllabus

This semester I thought I’d try something new. Something I’d heard about, but always been a bit nervous to do myself. You see, I’m one of those people who likes to have EVERYTHING in place before the semester starts. I like to know not only what my students will be reading or learning about each and every week, I like to have a lesson plan prepped and ready to go for those topics. All before the first day of class. Or at least close to it. I like to create the formal assignments, I like to know what discussion questions we will cover, I like all my ducks in a row.

So, with all of that in mind, the idea of working with my students to create the syllabus for our class has me a little bit freaked out! How is this going to work? What elements am I willing to let go? What aspects of my syllabus are non-negotiable?

Ironically, I have found creating the bones of this syllabus to be more challenging than laying everything out myself. I am still working my way through things, but I think I have established which elements we will decide on as a class and which elements I was not willing to let go of. I am setting up the skeleton of the syllabus and then creating a document with suggestions for the elements we will establish as a class.

The plan is to take the first two weeks and really work through these elements together so that the class truly belongs to the students. There will still be weekly accountability, both synchronous and asynchronous as this semester is still online, but beyond weekly discussion posts and Teams meetings, we will figure the rest out together.

Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

  • Required Readings: I have chosen one book because the author will be speaking at the college this semester and I want my students to have a connection to her work when they attend her talk. I will provide students with a list of 8-10 more potential titles that are in line with the goals of the course and ask them to vote on those or suggest other titles they think might work. The goal will be to choose 4 of those texts. I will then base my lectures and our class discussions on the themes found in those works.
  • Synchronous Meetings: I will require students to meet at least once per week during our allotted course time. However, as a class we will decide whether we will meet twice a week or perhaps create an optional session on the other day.
  • Late Policy: This will be an interesting conversation I believe. In the spring semester, when we moved online, and in the summer, I was VERY flexible with due dates. That ended up being A LOT of work for me. In the fall, I created “units” of 3-4 weeks and made hard deadlines at the end of each unit. This helped, but oftentimes was still a heavy workload at the end of each unit. So I want to know what they think. How do they feel about late work? How flexible do they think we should be? Oftentimes students are harsher than the professor would be on these types of things, but an open conversation about how it affects them and how it affects me will hopefully help us establish guidelines that works for everyone.
  • Grade Breakdown: I am determining two components of their grade: Synchronous Teams meetings and Weekly Discussion Posts. Together we will decide the percentage value that will be assigned to them. I am then asking students to choose from a number of additional options for the remainder of their grade. They will be allowed to choose any number of items, but I will suggest 2-3. I have come up with six options for them to choose from, but will be encouraging them to think of other options to add to the list. We will then vote on them as a class. They could choose just one thing to add to the syllabus or they could add all six. The suggestions I am making include: Weekly Reflections, Periodic Checkpoints, Individual or Group Presentations to the Class, a Midterm Paper, and a Final Project. As a group we will decide on the “rules” for each component of the final grade breakdown.

As the flushing out of this syllabus will take time, I will be assigning readings for the first few weeks of the semester. I will also be providing supplemental and theoretical readings that will aid in our discussions. I do not expect students to teach themselves and I do not expect them to get through this without guidance. What I do expect is that they will feel a level of pride and ownership over their own learning that will make this one of the classes that sticks with them long after they leave Baruch.

As this is obviously a work in progress, and my first time trying this, I’ll post updates on our journey of creating a student-led syllabus periodically. I hope to have great things to share going forward.

If you are interested in creating your own student-led syllabus, here are some great resources to check out:
A Lesson Plan for Democratic Co-Creation: Forging a Syllabus for Students, by Students
Why My Students Design the Syllabus
Collaborative Syllabus Design: Students at the Center

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ODAAT Canceled

Well, it finally happened. One of my favorite television shows (and the subject of my current research) has officially been canceled. One Day at a Time is a multi-camera style sit-com that was filmed in front of a live studio audience. It is loosely based on the 1975 series by the same name. It centers around a Cuban American family comprised of a newly divorced mother Penelope, her Cuban mother Lydia, her two teenage children Elena and Alex, and her neighbor and landlord Schneider.

ODAAT debuted in 2017 on Netflix where it lived for the first three seasons. But not without struggle. After the second season, Netflix announced that they were planning on cancelling the show. However, due to a fan-led campaign on social media to save the show (#SaveODAAT), Netflix agreed to give it one more season. After the third season ended, Netflix decided they didn’t want to keep it. But unlike many “Netflix Originals,” ODAAT was owned by Sony and not Netflix, so they had the option to shop it around and see if another network would pick it up. Enter PopTV.

Season Four was picked up by PopTV in 2019 and began airing in early 2020. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, and the fact that they filmed in front of a live studio audience, production was shut down in March. And even with the creation of an animated episode that the actors recorded remotely, it was not enough for the network to keep it on. Showrunners Gloria Calderón-Kellett and Mike Royce decided to try one more time, and in October 2020, CBS aired the first six episodes of season four (those that had previously aired on PopTV) in an attempt to see if it would garner enough viewership to renew it for a fifth season on an over-the-air-network channel. And while the online evidence showed a strong turn-out for these reruns, it appears it was not enough. CBS decided that they were not going to pick up the show, and with a tweet from Calderón-Kellett and another from Royce, it seems as though that was the last shot.

It was the little show that could for four seasons. Really only three and a half, since there really wasn’t a conclusion to the story after episode six, but who’s counting. I will miss it quite a bit, but I know I can always go back and rewatch the show that provided such amazingly diverse and intersectional Latinx characters. And I’m writing an article on the show. It’s almost finished. It’ll be ready to send out to the journal at the end of this month. Although the academic publication timeline can be long, I expect it will be published at some point in 2021. Be on the lookout. I’ll be sure to announce it when it’s available.

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Learning from Experience

When I teach face-to-face, I like to include a variety of activities. We do a little bit of lecture, a smattering of group work, a video here and there, maybe some informal group presentations, or just an open class discussion. It can really help to switch up how I approach each lesson so that I can reach the greatest number of students.

And I still think this is a valid way to approach instruction, even in the online setting. However, what I have come to learn from my experiences over the summer and fall semesters is that maybe I don’t need to do all the things every week. My approach to classes this semester was to create 4 small assignments each week (100-150 words each) of varying types: discussion boards, individual assignments, group work, and blog posts. My thought was that it would give students a variety of ways in which to demonstrate their understanding of the topics at hand.

What I didn’t think about, was what that would mean for me. 4 assignments x approximately 80 students each week is a lot of work! And with my flexible approach under pandemic conditions, that sometimes leads to students submitting 3-4 weeks of work at the end of each unit. It is overwhelming.

So I’m rethinking this approach. Maybe I switch it up. Perhaps two assignments each week? Or perhaps one larger weekly assignment. Or maybe, and hold on for this one, maybe I discuss with the students at the start of the semester what they think the best approach is. Can we come to a consensus? Do we want to do a mid-term project and a final project? Or would we rather have monthly check-ins? Perhaps we just do small/short writing assignments all semester instead of one or two major assignments? This could be in the form of the small assignments I mentioned before or it might be a 1-2 page reflection each week. Maybe it doesn’t even have to be in writing.

I will continue to provide my students with diverse forms of input. There will be recorded mini-lectures, there will be supplemental videos and podcast episodes. I will provide links to interactive online exhibits and other resources. And I will continue to host a synchronous session (or two) each week with students. But when it comes to their output, I am making a promise to myself (and to them!) that I will adjust my expectations in communication with them. I want this to be their class as much (if not more) than it is my own.

So if you are feeling overwhelmed with online classes, maybe take a moment to reflect, as I have, as to what worked, what didn’t, what you’re willing to give up, and what you are determined shall stay. And invite your students to be a part of that conversation as much as you are comfortable with doing so. Maybe you decide the input yourself and as a class you decide what the output will be. Or maybe you’re flexible with the content covered (depending on your subject area of course!) but you want control over how output and grading will work.

I’m still working on figuring out the details of this myself for my upcoming spring semester courses, but I’m looking forward to the chance to approach my classes differently.

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Feeling Thankful

2020 has been rough for us all. So when my husband and I set down to our two person Thanksgiving dinner last night, I really had to think about what I was thankful for. I ended up focusing on big picture things: we have a roof over our heads, good food, and one another. And we’ve been lucky that none of our immediate family members have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

But it got me thinking about what to be thankful for in my academic life as well. It’s been a tough year. Not as many job postings for full-time positions, journal articles delayed for various (but logical) reasons, conferences canceled, and the biggest of them all for me: not meeting my students face to face.

So what exactly do I have to be thankful for, academically speaking? Well, upon reflection, quite a few things:

1. Losing my part-time retail job due to COVID gave me time. It gave me time to research. It gave me time to write. And it gave me time to edit. And now I have an article ready to submit in the next couple of weeks. I wouldn’t have had that time in the “Before Times.”

2. At the end of the spring semester we had a department gathering in the English department. It usually takes place on a Thursday when I can’t always get to the city, so I don’t usually go. This spring it was held online in a virtual setting. As a result of that I heard about my colleague Shelly Eversley was the new interim chair for the Black and Latinx Studies Department. So I reached out to her to get involved in one way or another in the department. She ended up hiring me to teach a summer class and a fall class in the department. And in 2021 I will be teaching all three of my courses in Black and Latinx Studies. This is a big move and one I am very excited about.

3. My podcast went through some changes, and while it was tough for a bit, it gave me the opportunity to meet and work with a great number of people who have now appeared on Why Do We Read This?. I have had guests ranging from my sisters, my husband, and my best friend, to fellow English professors, podcast hosts, and online fans of the podcast. This has helped me see the literature I cover in so many different perspectives and I’m here for it!

4. I bonded with a fantastic group of Academic Fangirls. We meet once weekly via Zoom for 2-3 hours just to write. Well. Mostly to write. We also catch up with one another and check in with each other about our writing, our schedules, and our lives in general. And we geek out over shared fandom feels. It’s a nice way to blend friendship with productivity. And, we’ve got a project in the works. I can’t say much about it quite yet, but I hope to share more soon. This is something that never would have happened without the circumstances of 2020.

So while, yeah, this year has been… let’s just say, not the greatest. There are things I was able to come up with to be thankful for – even in my academic life. I still miss teaching in person and seeing colleagues face to face, but it hasn’t been all bad, and for that I’m feeling thankful.

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¡Guán Melón! ¡Tu Melón!

In September 2016, I conducted research for my dissertation in Havana Cuba. As part of the work I did there, I attended a number of live theater performances. The first show I attended was ¡Guán Melón! ¡Tu Melón! created and directed by Nelda Castillo. I was lucky enough to attend back to back performances and speak briefly with Castillo about her thoughts on the production. I explained to Castillo that I would be writing a review and article about the show and asked if I might be able to take a few photographs during the performance. She graciously granted her permission.

In January 2017, “Tourism, Tradition, and the Politics of Humor in the Cuban Play ¡Guán Melón! ¡Tu Melón! was published in the online site Words without Borders. In the article I review the production and discuss the use of the Cuban humor, choteo, in the songs, dialogue, and action of the characters. I also reflect on the stark contrast between the humor in the play and the reality of the problems the show addresses.

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Writing Groups

While I was working on my dissertation, I had a writing group. Two of my friends (sometimes more) and I would get together in a room at the school and spend two hours writing. We met once each week, and while some weeks were more productive than others, we were able to get some writing done.

Just the simple idea that other people would be there at this specific time and place each week was incentive enough for me to get some work done. Sure, I wrote during other times, whenever I found a free moment, but these two hours were sacred. Just as I wouldn’t schedule a meeting during my teaching hour, I wouldn’t schedule anything during writing group.

And I’m going to be totally honest. We didn’t share our work with one another. We didn’t keep tabs on how much each of us had written each week. I suppose we could have been working on something else during that time (and maybe sometimes we did). But for me, the simple act of needing to show up at a certain time and place was all it took to make sure I opened that doc and did something dissertation related.

After I graduated and my writing group moved on, I found it difficult to find that same kind of motivation. I would go to my public library just to be around others who were reading and writing, and most of the time it worked. But it wasn’t a weekly guarantee.

Fast forward to “Pandemic Times.” I developed a close friendship with other Academic Fangirls online. And while we live across the United States and even the world, it’s nice to have people who understand where I’m coming from. After we presented at a roundtable this summer we decided that what we really needed was our own writing group. So each week we “get together” online. We have a reoccurring zoom session every Tuesday in which we commit to write something. We spend the first 15 minutes catching up, write for 45 minutes, check in with one another, and repeat. It has helped so much. When the semester gets hectic and I think I won’t have another chance to write, at least I have Tuesdays.

Get yourself an online writing group. It can start with just 2 or 3 people. That can be enough. Set a weekly day and time and stick with it. Make it at least 2 hours long if you can. And check in with one another. Encourage one another. We need more of that in these times. Find your people. They don’t even have to be in your city, your state, your country, they just have to want to write!

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Final Projects: Podcasts

photo credit: Shawn P. Russell

I host a podcast. If you’ve navigated through my website, that will come as no surprise to you. Why Do We Read This? was specifically designed with my World Literature students in mind. The idea was to give them another perspective on how to consider the literature we read in class. In the age of online learning, I like to consider it a great alternative to learning that doesn’t add more screen time to a student’s day. I have received relatively positive feedback regarding these episodes, but I wanted to make listening to them even more valuable for students.

So last spring, when we moved online, I decided to revamp my final project. I still provided students with the option to write a final paper, if that’s what they felt most comfortable doing, but I also added the options of creating an instructional video (more about that in a future post) or their own podcast episode.

In my World Literature courses, students make comparisons throughout the semester. They compare texts from the syllabus with other texts from the syllabus; they compare texts and characters with their own individual experiences; and they compare texts with contemporary society. For the final project, I ask them to make one final comparison. They are to choose a text from the semester’s reading list and compare it with an outside pop-culture media. This can be a book, story, poem, graphic novel, song, film, television show, play, podcast, etc. I ask that students choose a work created in the 21st century. Something that is relevant today.

After receiving approval on their proposal, they then choose which format they would like to tackle. For students choosing the audio/podcast platform, I provide them with the following guidelines:

Your voice must be narrating the majority (if not all) of the content provided. You must make direct references to each of your secondary sources at least once. This could be a quote or paraphrasing, but you must state which source you are using. Your content MUST include your own analysis of the works in question.

If you work individually, your recording must be between 10-15 minutes long. If you work together, the speaking must be split between the two individuals and the recording must be 15-20 minutes long. If possible, I recommend doing this in partners, you can Skype or Zoom with one another and record the session in order to maintain social distancing.

This, of course, is in addition to the overall requirements for the project regarding sources, quotes, organization, citation style. As mentioned above, students are asked to submit a brief proposal. Once it is approved they submit a draft bibliography for approval and an organizational outline. This serves to guide them in their audio recording, keeping them organized and on track and assuring they don’t forget to mention any important elements they wished to include.

If you are interested in hearing what some of these students have done so far, I encourage you to give their work a listen. I have compiled the work of five students who have consented to share their projects into two Student Special episodes of the podcast.

Check them out here:

Student Special #1
Student Special #2

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Online Observations

It’s that time of the semester again. Observations. For adjuncts and instructors across CUNY (and I imagine elsewhere as well), this is a time that brings out different reactions in different people. Some people get really anxious at the thought of someone observing their teaching. Others are annoyed that, after years of teaching, they still need to complete these observations. Me? I generally enjoy them. I look forward to the possibility of constructive feedback and ideas on how I can improve my teaching.

My personal experience in this area has varied quite a bit over the last 10 years. I have had colleagues come early in the semester; I have had them come late in the semester. I have had some stay from beginning to end, and others who only stuck around for half the class. I always receive the written feedback. But I only sometimes get that conversation after the fact. And, as I mentioned, I know that not everyone cares for that portion of the observation – observer and observee alike – but I do. I feel like this is when I get the most constructive feedback. It also allows me the time to expand on what we are doing on a big picture scale as well. It allows for dialogue.

Fast forward to Fall 2020. I have just had two observations (perk of teaching in two different departments I suppose?). Both of these observations took place via Zoom, the platform I use for the synchronous components of my class. The observers remained off camera and off mic for the duration of the session, truly just observing. And they provided feedback (either in conversation after the class session ended, or via email) that allowed for a dialogue about the sessions. This was helpful. But what, for me, was less helpful, is that the way I run my online synchronous courses is DRASTICALLY different from how I run my face-to-face classes. Many of the group/discussion/reflective elements of my online course take place asynchronously on the Blackboard platform. And my observers were not able to see that. I use the synchronous sessions to recap the asynchronous work that students had throughout the week. It is a time for them to ask questions about what I have asked them to do on their own or with their peers.

I guess what I’m getting at here is that observations in the time of COVID are a tricky thing. It’s a lot harder to see the whole picture than it is when I am face to face with my students. I am lucky that my observers both recognized this and have taken it into consideration as part of their feedback. But I worry that not all observees will be that lucky. If you’re an observer, be sure to follow up with your observee about what goes on beyond the synchronous components of their course. And if you’re an observee, don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself when reflecting on your observation feedback. Remember, we’re all new at this. Let’s be patient and kind with one another.

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The Black Boxes of Zoom

There have been many posts by countless educators, parents, and students regarding the transition to online classes that many of us have been forced into this year. And everyone has their opinions on what works and what doesn’t work. Of course, the truth is there is no right answer. There is no easy solution. We just have to do the best we can and adjust as we go (although from an educator standpoint, not having funding cut would REALLY help with this).

I’m not going to write about whether our online teaching works or doesn’t work. I think that, just like with all things, for some people it is helpful and easier to be productive, while for others it is quite difficult. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle.

Today I’m going to talk about my perspective of Zoom (or your video conferencing program of choice) and how much harder it is to get to know my students. When I am in the class, face to face with my students, I can read their expressions. I can gauge their reactions to the material. I know when I should elaborate on something or when it’s time to move on. But on Zoom that becomes so much more difficult. I can’t see my students’ reactions. Heck, most of the time I don’t even know what they look like. So many of them are just names on black screens. Some put up a picture so I can have an idea of who they might be, and the rare one to five students may turn their cameras on. I don’t know how they’re reacting. Sometimes I don’t even know if they’re there!

Now I get it. There are many reasons to have your camera off, and I’ve dealt with it a bit myself as well. Sometimes the internet is not working well enough, and shutting off the video gives you the extra bandwidth you need to stay engaged in the discussion. Other times you may have people coming in and out of the room and into view of the camera and you’re respecting their privacy. Or maybe you just don’t want people to see your home space. All of these are justifiable reasons. I get them. I really do. And I respect them. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. I don’t KNOW my students the way I have known them in the past. I struggle to connect with them. And I miss being around them.

So I guess my thing is, if you are one of those students who has a justifiable reason to keep your camera off, I get it. Just show your teachers and professors that you are engaged in other ways. Let us know when you need something clarified. Write us emails about your thoughts on particular readings/lessons/assignments. Help us help you when we don’t have the same tools we have had in the past. Be patient with us. We are learning this new world too.

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