discussion section

An Epic in Miniature: Collaborations on a Thesis

by Lael Gold, Comparative Literature Despite in-class instruction and a detailed handout on the subject of thesis and essay construction, the first batch of essays from students in my comparative literature course on literary depictions of woman warriors shared some fundamental shortcomings...I aimed at remedying [their] writing problems in a manner that would simultaneously deepen our engagement with the work presently under consideration, the fantastical Renaissance crusader epic Jerusalem Delivered.

Breaking the Mathematical Language Barrier

by Alexander Diesl, Mathematics The ability to write mathematical proofs is not a result of genius but rather of an understanding of the language of mathematics. Students think that they lack fundamental understanding when they in fact lack only the ability to translate their intuition into mathematically precise statements.

If ‘Writing about Music is Like Dancing about Architecture,’ Maybe it is Time to Draw: Using Visual Aids to Introduce Musical and Stylistic Analysis

by Francesca Rivera, Music Without the terminology or solid knowledge of the historical context in which the composers worked, students can't move beyond simplistic taste statements...or value-laden judgments. My problem, then, was to help them quickly memorize key musical concepts with sufficient depth of understanding to recall the term and apply it effectively, and, to help them connect the works of individual composers with the larger time period in which they lived.

Incorporating Practice into Theory-Based Curriculum

by Lyn Paleo, Public Health I believe that students in a practice-based field...should receive a combination of theory and skills development. Theory-based lectures are critical; however, they alone are insufficient to the task of teaching people how to design and conduct evaluations for health promotion programs.

Revitalizing and Contemporizing Ancient Literature

by Heidi Saleh, Near Eastern Studies After a couple of weeks into the class, I found that coming up with fresh ways to discuss and interpret texts that have been studied for hundreds of years such as The Odyssey was becoming a problem. The students were getting tired of straight literary analysis, and quite frankly, so was I.

Teaching an Uncommon Sense

by Sarah Cunningham, Integrative Biology The basic evolutionary and ecological concepts and principles are not difficult to understand...However, in order to tie them together and apply them in the solution of novel problems, students must learn to think scientifically and within an evolutionary framework. It is another kind of common sense that the students must develop, and it often runs contrary to the assumptions they are used to making.

Teaching History Students to Read Between the Lines

by Lisa Kaborycha, History The challenge, as I saw it, was to inspire the students through the readings of great historians of the past, while keeping them from being overwhelmed with the task before them. How to demonstrate that history is a lively endeavor, and the day-to-day study of history is being practiced all around them?

Theory as a Map

by Gretchen Purser, Sociology Not unlike Dante in the first canto of The Inferno, the students "found [themselves] within a shadowed forest," clutching these maps, but unable to translate the signs, symbols, and pathways of each map to the actual structures, systems and institutions that make up the social world.

Think Out of the Box

by Gaurav Punj, IEOR Students usually think of discussion sessions as just problem-solving sessions where the GSI will work on some numerical problems that are relevant for their midterms and finals. I realized that they were more interested in the final answers rather than Physics.

Using the Peer-Review Process to Stimulate Classroom Discussion

by Bryan Zeitler, Molecular and Cell Biology One thing I find particularly frustrating is achieving a meaningful class dialogue after student presentations. Despite repeated calls for questions or comments from the class, it is not unusual for me to be the only one speaking after a student talk...[so] I implemented a written and oral peer review process that encouraged students to actively participate during and after student presentations.