I'm hanging out at the front of Deschutes 1, watching five of my 21 interpersonal communication students continue to work on their final exam. I'm tapping away at the front of the room. The test was short-answer, recognition, and essay. After the test, I ask them to write a letter to themselves about what they've accomplished in their work on their personal goals. Three of the five are doing that. Nope. All of them. I'll soon be home sipping prosecco. I'll send them the letter in three months. I got this letter idea from a Small Group Communication workshop I attended way back in my second or third year at COCC. I'm afraid I'd have to look at my H.R. file to remember the title of the workshop.
I myself didn't get everything done this quarter. I wanted to do more interactive online work with the students. Well, more isn't really the right word. Try some. Oh well. There's always next fall! (I get to say that for four or five more years.)
Aha! One left! It's certainly been an interesting group this quarter! If only I'd told more stories about them.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I LUV my Love Class!
This morning the students in Communicating Love (a course that exists in Oregon only at COCC) presented oral reports on their personal beliefs about love. I felt so happy with their sharing, especially the kind remarks from students who recognized the value of others stories about their struggles. A few times one student would thank another for providing insight either from their own lives or in their discovery of a helpful book.
Some examples:
One student talked about how she had learned over the course of the quarter that she wasn't a very good listener but, more importantly, she wasn't a good "talker" -- she didn't like to self disclose. She shared that she blocks connection but that she is planning to do better on this, starting slowly with a bit of self disclosure in safe circumstances. When she was finished another student thanked her for being so open about how she wanted to change.
Another student talked about two books that he had discovered, one by Harville Hendrix and another by Dr. Phil. What he most appreciated about these books was the idea that it's okay to be single and that it's important to get to know and like yourself before you throw yourself into a relationship with another.
Tears were part of a third student's story as she used her daughter-in-law to be as one of her outside sources and talked about how the young woman was teaching her about how rough she'd been on the men she'd been involved with before and had taught her about how women could treat men with kindness. The woman she spoke of, her son's fiance, is also in the class. She talked about her experiences with her very dysfunctional parents and how she had resolved early on not to be like them.
Each student who spoke today had something useful to share. It made me glad, once again, that I teach what I do.
The "Statement of Personal Belief" assignment.
Communicating Love:
Statement of Personal Belief Written and Oral Assignment
10% Oral Report, 90% Written
Aspects of the task:
1. Review what Huck has to say about academic writing at http://khuck.cocc.edu/Essays/default.aspx. Explanations of how Huck grades are on this page.
2. Find two helpful sources about the relationship between romantic love and long-term relationships. These sources may be artistic (short stories, books, movies) or scientific (studies of human experience as reported in magazines). You will incorporate these sources as well as our textbook into your personal statement. You should have a bibliography at the end of your personal statement with all 3 sources.
3. Create a personal statement as either a series of essays or as one long essay. This personal statement should answer the following questions:
How might the relational patterns in your family history set directions for you? (Incorporate descriptions of what you know about parents, grandparents, and siblings relationships and how these might influence you).
How might the interactional patterns of your own childhood influence your current or future love choices? (Incorporate descriptions of two or three actual past experiences.)
Describe any media texts that currently influence your thinking about love and long-term commitment and explain how they influence you. (These may be books, movies, music, television programs, etc.)
What aspects of yourself and your skills do you bring into relationships and will you bring into them in the future?
Describe, with as much clarity and detail as possible, what you hope to experience in your future loving relationships. (Include some description of how you will manage the decline of chemical romance and differences of opinion within the relationship.)
ORAL REPORT (2-4 minutes long) Due anytime during class: June 2-4
Your oral report may cover any of the following aspects of your essay:
Describe the two outside sources you are drawing from and what you have learned from them.
Pick one or two aspects of what you learned about yourself and share them with the class.
Focus on what you are looking for in a loving relationship.
WRITTEN REPORT Due June 11, 1 p.m.
Must make use of textbook and two more sources.
Must have plenty of specific detail.
Must be at least 750 words long.
Some examples:
One student talked about how she had learned over the course of the quarter that she wasn't a very good listener but, more importantly, she wasn't a good "talker" -- she didn't like to self disclose. She shared that she blocks connection but that she is planning to do better on this, starting slowly with a bit of self disclosure in safe circumstances. When she was finished another student thanked her for being so open about how she wanted to change.
Another student talked about two books that he had discovered, one by Harville Hendrix and another by Dr. Phil. What he most appreciated about these books was the idea that it's okay to be single and that it's important to get to know and like yourself before you throw yourself into a relationship with another.
Tears were part of a third student's story as she used her daughter-in-law to be as one of her outside sources and talked about how the young woman was teaching her about how rough she'd been on the men she'd been involved with before and had taught her about how women could treat men with kindness. The woman she spoke of, her son's fiance, is also in the class. She talked about her experiences with her very dysfunctional parents and how she had resolved early on not to be like them.
Each student who spoke today had something useful to share. It made me glad, once again, that I teach what I do.
The "Statement of Personal Belief" assignment.
Communicating Love:
Statement of Personal Belief Written and Oral Assignment
10% Oral Report, 90% Written
Aspects of the task:
1. Review what Huck has to say about academic writing at http://khuck.cocc.edu/Essays/default.aspx. Explanations of how Huck grades are on this page.
2. Find two helpful sources about the relationship between romantic love and long-term relationships. These sources may be artistic (short stories, books, movies) or scientific (studies of human experience as reported in magazines). You will incorporate these sources as well as our textbook into your personal statement. You should have a bibliography at the end of your personal statement with all 3 sources.
3. Create a personal statement as either a series of essays or as one long essay. This personal statement should answer the following questions:
How might the relational patterns in your family history set directions for you? (Incorporate descriptions of what you know about parents, grandparents, and siblings relationships and how these might influence you).
How might the interactional patterns of your own childhood influence your current or future love choices? (Incorporate descriptions of two or three actual past experiences.)
Describe any media texts that currently influence your thinking about love and long-term commitment and explain how they influence you. (These may be books, movies, music, television programs, etc.)
What aspects of yourself and your skills do you bring into relationships and will you bring into them in the future?
Describe, with as much clarity and detail as possible, what you hope to experience in your future loving relationships. (Include some description of how you will manage the decline of chemical romance and differences of opinion within the relationship.)
ORAL REPORT (2-4 minutes long) Due anytime during class: June 2-4
Your oral report may cover any of the following aspects of your essay:
Describe the two outside sources you are drawing from and what you have learned from them.
Pick one or two aspects of what you learned about yourself and share them with the class.
Focus on what you are looking for in a loving relationship.
WRITTEN REPORT Due June 11, 1 p.m.
Must make use of textbook and two more sources.
Must have plenty of specific detail.
Must be at least 750 words long.
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