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I try to provide students the opportunity to drive their own research topics to be inclusive of their individual interests.  Examples of topics for the Western Fiction and Drama class research paper chosen by students that represent a broad range of ideas are below: “They Don’t Belong!”: Anti-immigrant Nativism in The Heart is a Lonely…

As an English discipline we continually examine the representation of women, BIPOC, and LGBT+ in our curriculum. During the 9th and 10th grade humanities redesign a few years ago, our discipline went back and forth on text selection for the courses.  During this process, the spring trimester Origins and Authority courses each needed a text…

Each of these brief observations highlights something I try to do in class daily.  Provided students with clear expectations about what they should be doing in the classroom while maintaining a positive and lighthearted tone. John: “Derin is loud. At one point he had a burst of laughter and you approached him and simply whispered…

Finally, I’ve started using a triad model when approaching a Harkness discussion.  Students will sit in groups of three, a question is presented on the board, and the group of three will discuss.  They will then select one of the group members to participate in a six person discussion.  A student reflected on this process…

When approaching a new text, I’ve moved away from having everyone sit in a large group and opening with a broad question such as “What did everyone think of the reading?” or discussing something as complex as “Can you justify Nora’s departure from her family in A Doll’s House?” I’ve instead started to integrate some…

Supporting Peer-to-Peer Dynamics in Group Discussions Having 18 students sitting around a table together with the expectation that they participate in a high-level discussion can be challenging. Most students in EPS literature classes have a strong background and relatively high confidence participating in Harkness discussions especially in the higher grades.  This comes from a strong…

Most peer-to-peer dynamics seemed healthy, productive and appropriate. One to keep an eye on is Derin and Grey. Are you aware of some of their history? If not, I can fill you in, but it’s complicated (this surfaced last trimester, so I should share with you). Derin is loud. At one point he had a…

I feel like the classroom culture you try to create is kind of a whimsical intellectualism? I mean even when we talk outside of class or during worktime the topics are usually at least vaguely relevant to the material but they use a kind of fun and different angle. I remember last trimester you brought…

Postmodern Literature: Below is a student’s art installation combining elements from the postmodern movement with contemporary artist Shepard Fairey and the current response to postmodernism, Metamodernism.  The project encourages students to explore and respond to the world around them using a postmodern and metamodern lens.

Creative Writing: While much of the course work and assignments are read and completed on the computer at EPS there is still room to work with physical media.  Chapbooks are small books often containing poetry, short stories, and ballads.  In a creative writing class students designed and published their own chapbooks and we discussed the…

Postmodern Literature The Postmodern Vocab Encyclopedia Entry 2021 (1).docx is another assignment that asks students to take concepts from the course and reflect on their place in the modern world.  With this assignment students are asked to explore a term tied to postmodernism in conversation with the contemporary world.  Students lecture the class for five…