| soundtrack assignment was
created with the goal of getting students to
engage with the satirical novel within the novel,
which was penned by the protagonist of Erasure .
Students were asked to pick six to eight songs
that would act as metaphors for the characters
and events of the novel Erasure through the novel
within the novel. Students did not do well on
the original assignment.
For the revised assignment, students picked
four songs that acted as metaphors for; 1) a
central theme of the novel, as evidenced by the
way that Everett structures or represents it
towards an audience, 2) Everett's view on the
theme, 3) the student's view on the theme, and
4) another possible view on the theme. Categories
one and two from the WSU rubric were listed directly
on the assignment to serve as visible reminder
of how students should connect the content of
the novel to the character's identity and events
and to the rubric.
Having students identify positions, one at a
time and as they branch away from the central
issue, helped students to think fully about the
continuum of stakeholders in the novel. This
was a section that was normally weak in English
112 papers. However, the assignment was still
in development by the time it was given to students.
Thus, it still could have benefitted from clearer
instructions. Ms. Thomas is continuing to work
on developing the assignment for later use.
Overall, student responses to the assignment
were better than on the original assignment.
Ms. Thomas reported that she "now realizes fully
that developing critical thinking is better done
for these students in small, distinct steps."
Ms. Thomas intends to duplicate these critical
thinking steps several times in class so that,
hopefully, the process becomes instinctual in
students, thus building a solid foundation for
upper level classes and cross-disciplinary critical
thinking.
Revised Assignment
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