portfolios & presentations ENGL298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
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Need to be in touch with me?
LEE TORDA 310 Tillinghast Hall Bridgewater State University 508.531.2436 [email protected] www.leetorda.com |
SPRING 2014 Office Hours
Monday: 3:30 to 4:30 Tuesday: 11:00 to 12:00 Friday: 1:00 to 2:00 and by appointment. |
Presentations and Portfolios
Overview: Portfolios work in different ways in different classes. Sometimes they are used to simply collect the work that a student has done over a period of time. Sometimes they are used to mark progress via revision. And sometimes they are used as a way to assess student work—not simply his writing work but his effort and progress in class.
The portfolios you will turn in will do a little bit of all three of those things. This is a chance for you to collect reflect on your work, to think about what you’ve done well and what you still need to learn. I’ll ask you to write about this in a reflection letter that you include with the portfolios. Another way you will showcase your progress is through revision. You will revise some of your formal writing from each half of the semester. You’ll write about this in your reflection letter as well.
Finally, I will use the portfolios as a way of assessing your effort, progress as a writer and as a student, and the quality of your written work. I will assess the portfolios and include a lengthy letter to you when I return them. That letter will detail your entire career in this class up to that point. It will give you feedback on the quality of the portfolio itself, and I will give you a letter grade that marks your progress in a way that is valued by the college.
NOTE: I can give you two pieces of advice about how to approach portfolios: 1) I take the cover letter seriously. If you don’t, I will know. Be honest and useful in it. 2) I look for revision. If you have attempted good revisions, then you will be rewarded for it. If you say you’ve attempted revision but haven’t, you’ll be penalized for it.
MIDTERM PORTFOLIO AND COVER LETTER
1) Select up to three in-class listening notes. Make your selection based on notes that demonstrate a real moment of learning for you. Perhaps you didn't think you really understand what a This American Life story was, and then, in one story, you figured it out. Perhaps you really understood the theme of a particular story. Perhaps a story inspired your final project. Whatever your choices, you do not need to revise them for the portfolio or type them up. You simply need to include them in your portfolio. In addition to the notes, please include a reflection of no less than 1/2 page typed and single-spaced and no more than 1 full page, typed and single-spaced, reflecting on why you selected these notes: what real moment of learning do they represent for you?
2) A Revision of your Partner Podcast. Using the feedback you get from me and your classmates, and your growing understanding what a This American Life broadcast should sound like, revise your partner podcast. You can re-record it OR you can write a script to stand in for a recording.
3) Your completed "Do I Have A Story" material. This might include recorded material. It must include the 2-3 page reflection letter that describes/proposes what you will be doing for your final project. For complete details on the "Do I Have A Story Material" please see that page on our website.
4) Your Midterm Portfolio Cover letter. This is a document you will write in class on the Friday that the portfolio is due (7 March 2014). You should bring your lap top. It should be roughly two pages, typed, and double-spaced. You can email it to me during class or whenever you have internet to be able to do so. I expect you to write that letter in class. Your time out of class should be spent on the other material due in the portfolio. I don't look kindly on people turning their portfolio in five minutes after class starts. That is not in the spirit of this part of the assignment. Your midterm portfolio should address the following:
Consider the quote by Jim Murray that appears on the home page of this website. While this quote is, yes, about baseball, it is also about story-telling--about telling a good story. For part of your cover letter, I would like for you to try to explain to me how that quote is about story-telling and what you've learned about what makes a story a good story. Use examples from some of the This American Life stories that we've listened too. Refer, as well, to some of the readings we've done in Telling True Stories to help you prove your point. For the rest of the cover letter, pick two of the three remaining quotes and explain to me how those quotes are about the process of telling your story. What do these quotes suggest (in addition to being about baseball) about what you will need to do for the rest of the semester to get the job done.
You will have the entire class to work on this letter. You can prepare notes to write from to do so. Finally, I will give you a manila envelope at the beginning class that day for you to put all of your materials in. This written/recorded material will complete your midterm portfolio. The first part of your portfolio, is your five minute brief presentation that you will give to class on either the Monday or Wednesday of that week (the 3rd and 5th of March).
NOTE: If you are doing a group project for your final project, you will do only one presentation as a group, but you will each write a "Do I Have A Story" reflection.
FINAL PORTFOLIO AND COVER LETTER
As the syllabus indicates, you will have time during class to complete your final portfolio cover letter and ready your final portfolio for turning in.
WHAT THE GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. . .
1) Your fifteen-minute story. You will have several options for turning in your final podcast to me. You can turn it in on a CD or on a flash drive. You can email it to me.
WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AS AN INDIVIDUAL. . .
2) Your final portfolio Cover letter. Like I said, you’ll have time in class to write this. Here are the points you must address in your letter:
Overview: Portfolios work in different ways in different classes. Sometimes they are used to simply collect the work that a student has done over a period of time. Sometimes they are used to mark progress via revision. And sometimes they are used as a way to assess student work—not simply his writing work but his effort and progress in class.
The portfolios you will turn in will do a little bit of all three of those things. This is a chance for you to collect reflect on your work, to think about what you’ve done well and what you still need to learn. I’ll ask you to write about this in a reflection letter that you include with the portfolios. Another way you will showcase your progress is through revision. You will revise some of your formal writing from each half of the semester. You’ll write about this in your reflection letter as well.
Finally, I will use the portfolios as a way of assessing your effort, progress as a writer and as a student, and the quality of your written work. I will assess the portfolios and include a lengthy letter to you when I return them. That letter will detail your entire career in this class up to that point. It will give you feedback on the quality of the portfolio itself, and I will give you a letter grade that marks your progress in a way that is valued by the college.
NOTE: I can give you two pieces of advice about how to approach portfolios: 1) I take the cover letter seriously. If you don’t, I will know. Be honest and useful in it. 2) I look for revision. If you have attempted good revisions, then you will be rewarded for it. If you say you’ve attempted revision but haven’t, you’ll be penalized for it.
MIDTERM PORTFOLIO AND COVER LETTER
1) Select up to three in-class listening notes. Make your selection based on notes that demonstrate a real moment of learning for you. Perhaps you didn't think you really understand what a This American Life story was, and then, in one story, you figured it out. Perhaps you really understood the theme of a particular story. Perhaps a story inspired your final project. Whatever your choices, you do not need to revise them for the portfolio or type them up. You simply need to include them in your portfolio. In addition to the notes, please include a reflection of no less than 1/2 page typed and single-spaced and no more than 1 full page, typed and single-spaced, reflecting on why you selected these notes: what real moment of learning do they represent for you?
2) A Revision of your Partner Podcast. Using the feedback you get from me and your classmates, and your growing understanding what a This American Life broadcast should sound like, revise your partner podcast. You can re-record it OR you can write a script to stand in for a recording.
3) Your completed "Do I Have A Story" material. This might include recorded material. It must include the 2-3 page reflection letter that describes/proposes what you will be doing for your final project. For complete details on the "Do I Have A Story Material" please see that page on our website.
4) Your Midterm Portfolio Cover letter. This is a document you will write in class on the Friday that the portfolio is due (7 March 2014). You should bring your lap top. It should be roughly two pages, typed, and double-spaced. You can email it to me during class or whenever you have internet to be able to do so. I expect you to write that letter in class. Your time out of class should be spent on the other material due in the portfolio. I don't look kindly on people turning their portfolio in five minutes after class starts. That is not in the spirit of this part of the assignment. Your midterm portfolio should address the following:
Consider the quote by Jim Murray that appears on the home page of this website. While this quote is, yes, about baseball, it is also about story-telling--about telling a good story. For part of your cover letter, I would like for you to try to explain to me how that quote is about story-telling and what you've learned about what makes a story a good story. Use examples from some of the This American Life stories that we've listened too. Refer, as well, to some of the readings we've done in Telling True Stories to help you prove your point. For the rest of the cover letter, pick two of the three remaining quotes and explain to me how those quotes are about the process of telling your story. What do these quotes suggest (in addition to being about baseball) about what you will need to do for the rest of the semester to get the job done.
You will have the entire class to work on this letter. You can prepare notes to write from to do so. Finally, I will give you a manila envelope at the beginning class that day for you to put all of your materials in. This written/recorded material will complete your midterm portfolio. The first part of your portfolio, is your five minute brief presentation that you will give to class on either the Monday or Wednesday of that week (the 3rd and 5th of March).
NOTE: If you are doing a group project for your final project, you will do only one presentation as a group, but you will each write a "Do I Have A Story" reflection.
FINAL PORTFOLIO AND COVER LETTER
As the syllabus indicates, you will have time during class to complete your final portfolio cover letter and ready your final portfolio for turning in.
WHAT THE GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. . .
1) Your fifteen-minute story. You will have several options for turning in your final podcast to me. You can turn it in on a CD or on a flash drive. You can email it to me.
WHAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AS AN INDIVIDUAL. . .
2) Your final portfolio Cover letter. Like I said, you’ll have time in class to write this. Here are the points you must address in your letter:
- What makes a great story a great story to tell, and what makes your story a great story?
- What do you have to do differently to tell a story that is meant to be listened to and do it right than if you were just writing a story that someone will read?
- In the end, how did you decide on what not to include, what to include, and where to include it in your final podcast?
- How do you feel like it turned out?
- Group related question: what role did you play in completing this podcast and who in your group did a really superlative job helping to make this podcast a success?