This week Stephen and I have at last received access to our respective class sections, so I began by familiarizing myself with the upcoming deadlines to be prepared for an influx of tutoring requests and drafts closer to these dates. The next paper is due in two weeks and is a book review of Patricia Seed’s Ceremonies of Possession in Europe's Conquest of the New World, 1492-1640. When I attended Dr. Snyder's HIS4150, I had a chance to read this book, and this was the book that I wrote my first book review about. Though initially I underestimated how challenging book critiques were and went far beyond the page limit, the examples of book reviews that Dr. Snyder provided us with helped me familiarize myself with the format, and Mary Lynn Rampolla’s A Pocket Guide to Writing in History offered me one possible step-by-step approach to this assignment (a former engineering student within me always appreciates step-by-step instructions). I hope that, while still fresh in my mind, my experience will permit me to quickly recognize the challenges students completing this assignment will face.
Speaking of history books, strategic reading was one of the skills that I had not possessed before I transferred to UCF and enrolled in my first upper-level courses. I used to read linearly and hence spent way more time yet sometimes failed to grasp the complex ideas and concepts presented in a book or an article. Given the upcoming assignment, this week I also worked on an infographic that introduces students to an efficient reading strategy that I adapted from Zachary Schrag's 1998 recommendations in "How to Read a History Book” on HistoryProfessor.Org. As a visual learner, I am drawn to imagery and colors, but I have doubts about such a bright color palette in an academic setting. We have not had a chance to discuss this infographic with Dr. Snyder yet, but I have some ideas on how to redevelop it in case she will express a similar concern.
I also began reviewing the student’s facilitation posts this week. In the beginning of the semester, each student signed up for a week he or she was most interested in to facilitate that week’s discussion. To do so, students need to find one primary source related to the assigned week’s main subject and material and provide their classmates with the discussion prompt based on that primary source. Up to three students could sign up for any one week, so the class gets to work with three different sources beyond the assigned readings. However, sometimes students get confused and introduce a source unrelated to their week’s main topic or, even, to the class, so Stephen and I will help Dr. Snyder check whether the sources introduced are relevant. This assignment also includes a primary source paper due by the end of the week, so noticing inappropriate sources early can prevent students getting a bad grade for several components of the assignment.
I look forward to receiving my first tutoring requests!