Final Evaluations: Graduate Classical Theory

I had 10 students in this course. We read several selections from a range of theorists. The usual three were included: Marx, Weber, Durkheim. I also included Comte, Spencer, Tocqueville, Du Bois, Beatrice Potter Webb, Marianne Weber, Mead, and Blumer. Students took turns facilitating class discussion. Students chose a contemporary topic and wrote a paper applying the work of at least 3 classical theorists to that topic. They wrote the paper in the following stages:

1) Secondary lit review

2) Primary lit review (the actual theorists)

3) Argument

4) First Draft

5) Final Draft

Students also had a funny little final exam that I gave them. It was actually distributed on day 1. It was a list of 40 names and terms that they should know as part of their sociological cultural capital. They had to write an explanation for each, citing their source, and not using the same source for more than 5 items.

To process the evaluations, I made 3 columns on a sheet of paper, labeled: Pros, Cons, Suggestions. I made a list of each thing that was stated, noting also the frequency with which it was stated. I choose to ignore pros and cons that were mentioned only once, but I will happily consider any suggestion, regardless of frequency.

Pros:

Facilitation Assignment (5X)

Paper Stages (4X)

Organized Syllabus (4X)

Du Bois selections (3X)

Du Bois Video (3X) -- WEB Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices

Class Discussion (3X)

Ritzer text (2X)

Organized Blackboard site (2X)

Final Exam (2X)

High Expectations (2X)

Due Dates (2X)

Flexibility of the Professor (2X)

Selection of Theorists (2X)

Cons:

Ritzer text (2X)

Final Exam (2X)

Du Bois Video (2X)

(So the cons effectively knock out 3 of the pros, but in doing so I'm left with no cons.)

Suggestions:

More lecturing by professor (4X)

More time on classical feminist theory (2X)

More time between assignments (2X)

Shorter selections (1X -- eye roll)

Shorter final exam (1X)

More on religion (1X) -- really just a personal preference by 1 student

More symbolic interactionism (1X)

More guidance with facilitation

Submit argument section earlier

Quantitatively, there were 11 questions scaled 1-5. My scores ranged from 4.2 to 4.9. My lowest scores were for "I [the student] came well prepared for class" (4.2), "classroom atmosphere" (4.4), and "taught this course well" (4.5). My top scores were for "explained the educational objectives" (4.9), and "well organized instructor" (4.8).

So, overall, the class went very well. I probably should add in a definite 30 minute lecture from the professor for every class next year, rather than just jumping in less deliberately. I would love to add a second week of feminist theory but am not sure what to sacrifice in order to accomplish that. Perhaps Parsons.

(lightning didn't strike)

I also would like to rearrange the paper stages as follows:

1) Theorist 1: Primary and Secondary

2) Theorist 2: Primary and Secondary

3) Theorist 3: Primary and Secondary

4) Discussion/Argument

5) Final Draft with Introduction, Conclusion and References

Don't Hide It, Flaunt It

Enjoying this site/blog for perspectives on disability:

http://megzucker.com/

The Cast of Celebrity Apprentice, Spring 2012

Donald Trump revealed the new cast for Celebrity Apprentice this morning on the Today show:

WOMEN:

Teresa Giudice (“Real Housewives”)

Debbie Gibson (Singer)

Lisa Lampanelli (Comic)

Victoria Gotti (Mob Princess)

Tia Carrere (Actress)

Aubrey O’Day (Reality Star)

Cheryl Tiegs (Model)

Dayana Mendoza (Miss Universe)

Patricia Velasquez (Model)

MEN:

Clay Aiken (“American Idol”)

Adam Carolla (TV/Radio Host)

Lou Ferrigno (“Hulk”)

Arsenio Hall (TV Host)

George Takei (“Star Trek”)

Dee Snider (Rocker)

Penn Jillette (Magician)

Marco Andretti (Driver)

Paul Teutal (“American Chopper”)

18 cast members, evenly divided by gender and beginning the season (as usual) on gender-based teams. 72% (13) White, 6% (1) Black, 11% (2) Asian, 11% (2, both Venezuelan) Hispanic. 2 of the men are gay. As far as I know, none of the women are lesbian.

At 74, George Takei is the oldest. Ferrigno, Teutal, and Snider, are in their 60s. Hall, Jillette, Tiegs, and Lampanelli are in their 50s. Carolla, Velasquez, Gotti, Gibson, and Carrere are in their 40s. Aiken, and Giudice are in their 30s. Andretti, Mendoza, O'Day, are in their 20s. It's an older cast in general, but the men skew much older than the women. This is typical on television (see Martha Lauzen's work). The female population skews older than men, thanks to longer lives, but you wouldn't know that from TV.

About half of the new contestants appeared on the Today Show with Trump this morning. When Matt Lauer asked how many thought that Trump would make a good president, all of them raised their hands.