by Lise Gaston, English Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 My course “Introduction to the Writing of Verse” had a twofold aim: for students to cultivate a variety of poetic techniques and to develop the art of constructive criticism. While every student had experience writing poetry (they had to submit a…
by Kate Driscoll, Italian Studies Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 In teaching Reading and Composition courses, I have found that students—many of whom come from disciplines outside the humanities—often search for the “right” answer to literature, expecting the black and white colors on the page to correspond to black and…
by Erin Bennett, Comparative Literature Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 One of my primary goals when crafting a syllabus for a Reading & Composition course is to select texts with which my 18-year-old students can readily connect, but which also challenge them to develop their own coherent interpretations. Last spring,…
by Nicholas Anderman, Geography Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2019 In Geography 112, a challenging, upper-division course, students read canonical social theory (Marx and Engels, Antonio Gramsci, Franz Fanon, etc.) alongside historical texts that show how these thinkers’ key concepts emerged out of particular events. A key learning outcome of the…
by Ashton Wesner, Materials Science and Engineering (Home Department: Environmental Science, Policy, and Management) Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 E157AC: Engineering, The Environment, and Society is the only American Cultures course offered in the College of Engineering. I was thrilled to teach students pursuing rigorous scientific training with an interest…
by Abigail Stepnitz, Legal Studies (Home Department: Jurisprudence and Social Policy) Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 We often ask students, either as part of a discussion or on an exam, to express an opinion on a complicated topic. What we’re hoping they’ll do is develop and defend a position based…
by Brian Judge, Political Science Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 Challenge: Introduction to Political Theory is either the beginning or the end of students’ engagement with political theory at Cal: interested students may go on to enroll in further political science courses, but (statistically speaking) many will stop after the…
by Bristin Jones, Comparative Literature Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 In my first semester teaching Reading and Composition (R&C) in the Comparative Literature department, I realized that one of the most significant challenges undergraduates face in engaging with literary texts is producing thought-provoking thesis statements and arguments. After years of…
by Kathleen Cruz Gutierrez, South and Southeast Asian Studies Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2018 The annotated bibliography is an important component of a research-based undergraduate course. But in most of my experience as a student and as a teacher, I found the exercise to complete it empty. Even after providing…
by Alexander Roehrkasse, Sociology Teaching Effectiveness Award Essay, 2017 Challenge: The volume and difficulty course readings can sometimes intimidate and discourage students. Such was the case in a course on the history of sociological theory. Facing dense and sprawling texts, students were discomfited by their unexpectedly low levels of comprehension.