Aligning My Teaching and Designing With Student Success

Although I am not teaching my Eighteenth Century Novel course at this point, I am in the midst of designing a Shakespeare and Contemporary Film course for Open Learning. I have been stalled with design lately. What are my intentions for learning outcomes? What kinds of activities will enhance student understanding of Shakespeare and Shakespeare and Film and ensure engagement and success.

I think these online tutorials will be beneficial for my course design as I have relied on Bloom’s Taxonomy in the past, but I think it is time to move on to another, more applicable, framework.

The intended learning outcomes for the Shakespeare course is for students to ascend from a mere understanding of Shakespeare’s time (history), Shakespeare’s texts (literature), and by viewing film adaptations of these plays, reflect on how Shakespeare’s texts are adapted and reflect on the ways in which they have been presented on film throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

One of the first activities students will be required to complete is a journal entry (after required readings and videos) about what they understand about Shakespeare’s time (cultural and political). There will also be a graph they must fill out about low and high culture and classify where they believe Shakespeare and other cultural activities fit

From this first module, students will compare two versions of each of the required texts. I have made sure that the film adaptations the course will examine were produced in completely different decades, and that even thought they are Shakespeare plays, they are also a reflection of the period in which they were produced.

My desire is that students will eventually be able to theorize as to why Shakespeare’s works have transcended the centuries and are still relevant today.

Looking at my learning assessments, I am noting that the word “understand” is coming up much too often. I know this assessment is not enough (Bloom’s even says so), and I must work harder to come up with more pertinent assessments for each of the module. However, I do want to start slowly and work toward more comprehensive assessments. I am pleased with (see below)

Assessments

 

Short Essay: Personal reflection about the student’s initial comments and concerns about experiencing Shakespeare’s works on film rather than on the stage. Using the learning resources and activities as guides, students will critically consider the issues that they believe would necessarily plague filmmakers who produce film adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. (material from activities and resources must be cited)

(500-750 words)

 

10%

However, what do I mean by “Critically”? I think I am going to have to refine what my requirements for this assignment will be.

I am unsure if this assessment from Module 2 will be limiting since I have tried to be as clear and comprehensive as possible. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Critical Summary: Of one of the three articles under Learning Resources

(400-500 Words):

10%

 

ESSAY 1:

Two of the greatest actors of stage and screen take the role of Richard III with very different results. How do their performances add or detract from the written words? Please consider training, nationality, and the medium by which Richard is presented in both films (docu-drama versus quasi-historical drama). A close comparison of a specific scene will be beneficial.

(1000-1200 words): 20%

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