Inquiry II Seminar

Section S18, T/Th 10-12:20, M/W/F 8:30-10:50, Neville Scarfe 1003

January 2 – 4
Development of Project Prospectus

January 7 – 10
Project Inquiry and Presentation Preparation

January 7: I will be available for unscheduled group consultations from 8:30-10:00; please return to the classroom if you have been working independently by 10:00am for a mandatory class meeting.

Daily, 8-10 January: The first 30 minutes of every class will be reserved for individual consultations and questions; thereafter, mandatory group consultations* with TMD to review progress and allow for response to feedback will take place as follows:

Group 1: Tuesday, January 8, 10:30-11:00
Group 2: Tuesday, January 8, 11:20-11:50
Group 3: Wednesday, January 9, 9:00-9:30
Group 4: Wednesday, January 9, 9:45-10:15
Group 5: Thursday, January 10, 10:30-11:00
Group 6: Thursday, January 10, 11:20-11:50

* Groups are outlined below

The final 30 minutes of every class will be reserved for individual unscheduled consultations with TMD pro re nata.

Friday, 11 January: 9:15 – 10:45 Attendance is mandatory.

Class discussion of key problems emerging in each group. NB: In preparation for this discussion all members of the class must have read all posts on the blog in the Project Prospectus category and will have made a comment in response to at least two posts.

January 14 – 16
Project Inquiry and Presentation Preparation

Mandatory group consultations with TMD to review progress and allow for response to feedback will take place as follows:

Group 1: Monday, January 14, 9:00-9:30
Group 2: Monday, January 14, 9:40-10:10
Group 3: Monday, January 14, 10:20-10:50
Group 4: Tuesday, January 15, 10:15-10:45
Group 5: Tuesday, January 15, 11:00-11:30
Group 6: Tuesday, January 15, 11:45-12:15

Wednesday, 16 January: 9:15 – 10:45 Attendance is mandatory.

Wednesday is the last opportunity for groups to consult in class time in preparation for presentation. I strongly recommend that all groups meet from 8:30-9:15 on this day; thereafter we will have a general session like the one we had on Friday, 11 January, beginning with consultation within and among groups and ending with whole-class discussion of key problems emerging in each group. NB: In preparation for this discussion all members of the class must have read all posts and comments on the blog. If you have not made at least two comments on the contributions of your peers, please do so.

Thursday, January 17 – Wednesday, January 23

Project Presentations:

*** A preliminary draft of your inquiry write up, including the bibliography, must be posted by 17 January. Your bibliography will serve as your reading log. Post your inquiry write up on the separate weblog page that has been assigned you or your group. ***

During project presentations all class members should use the blog comment function to provide constructive, substantive feedback to presenters.

January 17

Group 1. Challenges of and Approaches to Early Modern English in High School Settings
Louise, Jose, Irene

January 18

Group 2. Symposium on project- and community-based learning
Dayonne, Kiran, Clayton, Natalia, Allison

• Kiran: How can the use of literature in the classroom inspire students to become involved in humanitarian work?
• Clayton: What are strategies for designing effective project-based learning environments? How can teachers support students in self-directed projects?
• Allison: How can literature circles be used to build positive community both in and outside of the classroom?
• Natalia: What are the different viewpoints with regard to student-based learning and how they are connected to project-based? Why are teachers hesitant to adopt this viewpoint?
• Dayonne: What are the challenges and benefits of involving language arts students in service-learning projects?

January 21

Group 3. Theory into Praxis: Symposium on Literature and Literary Criticism in English Classrooms
Shannon, Ilana, Melanie, Ashlee, Natasha

• Shannon — Fahrenheit 451 and the Question of Censorship
• Ilana — To Kill a Mockingbird: Criticism and Pedagogy
• Melanie — To Kill a Mockingbird: Relevance and Pedagogy
• Ashlee — Strategies and Methods for Teaching Holocaust Literature
• Natasha — Much Ado About Nothing: A catalyst for the exploration of gender inequality
• Ellis — Theoretical Uptake of J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye
• Annie — Into the Wild: The merits of non-fiction in English classrooms

January 22

Group 4. Anxiety in Foreign Language Classrooms
Gabriel and Christina

Group 5. Symposium on kinesthetic games, multimodality, and performance in English classrooms
Sarah, Rita, Corinna

• Kinesthetic games and activities for comprehension and engagement, Sarah
• Multimodality in non-mainstream English classrooms, Rita
• Multimodality for enrichment and effectiveness in teaching Shakespeare, Corinna

January 23

Group 6. Alternative Assessment and Pedagogy in English Classrooms

• Assessment using Essential Learning Outcomes in a Junior English Classroom
  Sophie
• Arts Integrated Senior English
  Cristina
• Approaches to teaching through short stories
  Blair

A final draft of your inquiry write up, including bibliography, must be posted by 24 January.