Two classes left!

And one of those two starts in 15 minutes.

On the one hand I feel like this can't have been six weeks already (or, as I pointed out to mom last night - it hasn't. It's been five weeks and this is the sixth. But I digress.) But on the other hand it has been a long while since I've felt rested and I think a bit of that is working and teaching at the same time. I love the teaching, though, and would gladly trade off where I finish up the Advising and just keep teaching. But alas, that is not the case right now.

So we're doing peer edits tonight and their papers are due thursday at the start of class. Thursday is our review for the final exam and I've made a decision: I'm giving them the terms and topics to study. Like a list. I thought about my teaching goals for this class and realised that those goals were not served by the class trying to re-read the entire text or anything like that. I want a few key things:

For them to end this class with some clear definitions. Too many times I think people can get to upper level and not know some of the key terminology or ideas. And while I can debate the actual definition of post-modernism, for the purpose of this class I want them to be able to write down a single sentence that tells me they've got that first step securely under their belt.

I want them to be able to give a quick chat about the main ideas, theorists, etc.

I want them to be able to apply those theories to their own reading of a media text.


And so, I will tell them just that. Along with the terms I want them to study. Saves them time, and saves me time marking a bunch of exams where they don't know the answer and babble on hoping to randomly stumble onto the answer.

Off to class!