Modalities and Course Materials

Our class will use a unique course website on the CUNY Academic Commons and Zoom for our work together. 

Some written submissions will be through Brightspace as indicated on the course site. All assignment completion/grades will be on Brightspace.

Rather than meeting twice weekly, this course is taught in a hybrid model using synchronous time and asynchronous materials.   Our class meets for only 75 minutes a week.  This means you should expect to spend a significant amount of time with materials outside the Zoom session, covering the preparation and the additional time you would have otherwise been in a twice-a-week class.  

Required Materials:

• All required materials for this course will be available through the classroom website on the CUNY Academic Commons or in electronic form from the Brooklyn College Library. 
• You must have access to a CUNY email in order to initially sign up for an account on the Academic Commons. After you have signed up, you do not need to use your CUNY email if you prefer a different email.
• Any materials you choose for individual projects will be up to you to procure (though I can help.)
  • You may wish to create a free archive.org account to access and borrow additional materials for these projects or to make use of a local public library.
• You must be able to record video and audio, and should be ready to upload these materials to be viewed by your classmates, preferably via YouTube which will provide automatic closed captioning.

Synchronous Sessions

Synchronous sessions will meet via  Zoom on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-7:45 pm. We will use this time for class discussion, additional lectures, small group work, and other activities.  

• Zoom sessions are not passive! 
  • Please come prepared with the materials for that week’s module complete.  
  • We will regularly use breakout rooms; you are expected to participate in the conversations and activities.
    • Support your classmates, and don’t just disappear on them in a breakout room.
  • We may use other digital technology (for example, a Kahoot, or work collectively on a Google document), so I recommend having a device that will enable you to do both or have another device (phone, tablet, etc.) with you, if you can. 
• Having your camera on helps for more natural discussion so please make efforts to do so, though it is not required.
  • You should join class from a space that allows you to focus entirely on the class session.  
  • I’m happy to have your kids, pets, etc. join!  I will let you know if, at any time, a child’s presence may be inappropriate (based on class content).
  • Please send me a private message if you need to step away for a quick moment so that I do not call on you.  
• The Zoom link can be found on Brightspace or on the course site’s Zoom page(password-protected).
• Zoom engagement includes speaking up but also using reactions and engaging in the chat.
  • Please use the chat, particularly if you have questions or want to add thoughts, even if you don’t want to speak up.
• I will use Zoom’s “Waiting Room” function to let everyone into the room at the start of class and during my office hours. 

Asynchronous Component

Asynchronous material is found in the course modules on the website.  Each week’s module will include a checklist of readings, videos, and activities to be completed.  You should expect to spend several hours with these modules each week. 

• Modules should be completed by SUNDAY AT NOON, ahead of the class session for that week.
  • This allows your classmates and me time to engage with your responses before we meet on Tuesday evening.  Please respond to at least one classmate between Sunday and Tuesday’s class.
• You will be recording four video presentations over the course of the semester. These will be submitted to the course website for your peers to watch.
• Feedback is part of your asynchronous engagement. Modules will include instructions to engage with your fellow students’ presentations. 
• There is one large, multi-step research project over the course of the semester, which will result in a detailed annotated bibliography to be shared with your peers. 

Navigating the Course – CUNY Academic Commons

• Our class will make use of a website on the CUNY Academic Commons. All of our class readings and assignments are available on this site. While the site will be linked from Brightspace, I advise you to note the site address and go directly to the site address so that you will be able to log in more easily.
  • The majority of your assignments will be shared on the website so you can engage with one another’s work.  
  • Brightspace will be used to track your completion of materials and to submit some assignments (always indicated on the course site). 
• You will receive an invitation on or before the first day of class to join the Academic Commons course site. We will go over how to do this on the first day via Zoom if you are unable to figure it out beforehand.
  • You will need access to a CUNY email to get set up on the Commons.  After that, you can use any email you wish
  • Note: You can access the site without joining to complete the first few modules. You will need to have joined the course site by the time of the first presentation.
• The asynchronous weekly modules on the website are set up to take you through the reading and video assignments in a particular order each class week. You are advised to follow this order to get the most out of each module.
  • To navigate through the module, use the buttons at the bottom of each page. 
  • Each module begins with a checklist of that week’s materials. If a module checklist at any point conflicts with a Brightspace date, please let me know and I will send out a clarifying announcement. (Mistakes happen to us all!)
  •  Modules end with a physical or vocal exercise to try at home.
• Most materials in our weekly modules on the course site are publicly Open Education resources.
  • This class asks you to engage in a form of public scholarship by commenting on and discussing these course materials. 
  • Most materials are available without logging into the Commons, but once you have your account it is preferable that you login before engaging with the modules. 
  • Presentation submissions will be behind a passworded section of the site.  That password is available via Blackboard and will be given out on the first day of the course. 
• For Presentation submissions you will create web postson the Commmons.
  • By creating posts for your assignments, you will gain valuable transferable skills.
  •  The CUNY Academic Commons is a WordPress-based platform available to the entire CUNY community.  It allows anyone to create their own website or become an author on another site, as you will be for this class.
  • Presentation videos should be uploaded to YouTube as UNLISTED  videos to enable you to embed them on our course site. This will also allow for automatic captioning for accessibility.  If you have questions about this or privacy concerns, please speak to me. 
• The website has many additional sections with extra resources to help with your assignments. Recommended materials are also linked.  Explore!

Class Password

• Any material that needs to be password-protected will use the password available on Brightspace

At no time should access to materials or technology be a prohibiting factor from allowing full engagement in this course.  If you have a concern, please email me to work out a solution ahead of time.

General Course Policies

In this class, I aim to create a space where learning happens through engagement with materials, experimentation, practice, and interaction within a community of peers.

• Respect each other and me.
  • Arrive on time and prepared
  • Attend class from a space that will allow you to fully engage
  • Having your camera on helps build a learning community
  • Offer productive and specific feedback when assigned
  • Have good intentions and assume good intentions.  Be constructive, critical, but not overly so.
• Engage
  • Participating doesn’t just mean speaking up or being on Zoom; it’s also listening and online discussion.
  • Listen and respond to each other, not just me.
  • Have good intentions for your fellow students. Assume good intentions from one another
• Experiment!
  • It’s okay to make mistakes, not succeed at something, try something out, etc., because that is how you learn.
  • Ask questions! Questions lead to further learning and exploration.

Attendance

We have a limited amount of time together over the semester. Use it wisely. 

• If you are really sick – don’t feel like you have to Zoom in. Get well.  If you feel like 
• If this causes you to miss more than two sessions in a row, we’ll discuss an asynchronous make-up option.   
• If you email me to let me know that you’ll be absent, I appreciate it, but I may not always have a moment to respond before class.
• Everyone needs a mental health day occasionally; you get one, no questions asked. However, this does not excuse you from turning in assignments or completing the weekly modules.
• Unexcused absences and excessive lateness will factor into our final grade assessment.

Timely asynchronous engagement is equivalent to attendance.

GRADING 

In this course, we will be using a form of  what has become known as “ungrading.”  More appropriately, however, it should be called “alternative assessment.”

Extensive research has shown that grading is often prohibitive of deeper learning and reinforces existing biases and injustices. Grades encourage distance from the learning process, can inhibit creativity, and reify structural hierarchies of race, gender, and class.   We will be discussing this more in class. You may wish to read this article on the subject.

By giving consistent qualitative feedback rather than assigning letter grades, I hope to encourage you to engage more deeply with this course, without regard to a final point outcome. Brooklyn College requires a final grade for the course, which you will determine based on your own outcome.  

You know when you are doing the bare minimum and when you are giving it your all, and how your engagement matches your abilities.

You are in control of your final grade, but you must earn it and show me how you have earned it.  The assignments I have created aim to improve your understanding of the course learning objectives, and their completion is part of the contract for earning a grade.

Late Work

You know if you need an extension on a written assignment. That’s fine; it happens.  I’d prefer you engage deeply with the work rather than be rushed and complete it at the last minute.   However, there are some guidelines on late work:

• If you turn in late work, I cannot return it to you with the same timeliness and thoroughness as if you submitted it on time. 
• Late work means that you will also be unable to engage in peer feedback, a vital part of the learning process.  
• Turning your work in on time shows respect for your classmates and me.
• Every past semester I have had some students who try to finish all of the modules in the last week of the course.   This does not allow you to engage with the course in a way that encourages reflective thought, therefore you may not make up more than two weeks overdue unless we have made a prior arrangement. 

I expect that you will consider excessive absences, lateness, and late assignments when calculating your overall course grade. However, I reserve the right to revise this grade due to excessive lateness, absences, or late work. 

Final Grade Determination

In lieu of a final exam, you will write a detailed self-reflection. You and I will have a fifteen-minute final meeting during the final exam period (scheduled at a mutually convenient time) to discuss the justification for the grade you will give yourself.  In nearly all past cases, students and I have immediately agreed with the grade that they have given themselves.   In the rare event that we do not agree, we will discuss why and possible options to bring your grade in line with your thinking or come to a mutually agreeable grade.

Below is a breakdown of course components and a holistic rubric of the course components to help guide you. 

I expect you to be thoughtful and honest with yourself and me.

Component	Weight	Notes
Module Engagement	35%
Presentations	35%
Research Project – Annotated Bibliography	15%	3 stages: citations, draft, final
Peer Feedback	5%
Zoom engagement	10%
Self Reflection & Final Grade Meeting	n/a	Required to receive a grade in the course.

Sample Holisitic Course Rubric

Grade	Engage	Read	Write
A	I did all the readings. I responded to the readings in the modules, expressing my own ideas and questions as I read. I investigated and explored when I didn’t understand something. I contemplated and absorbed complicated ideas.	I did all the readings. I responded to readings in the modules to express my own ideas and questions as I read. I investigated and explored when I didn’t understand something. I contemplated and absorbed complicated ideas.	I submitted most of the written work on time.I put in the effort required to complete them.I could have gone a bit deeper in analysis.I made the recommended edits.I know my work was good but could be improved further. I took quite a bit away from the course.
B	I came to all or most classes.  I contributed to discussions on Zoom and online, at least sometimes. I was an equal participant in group work. I gave constructive and appropriate feedback to most of my peers. I put some effort into the creative assignments. I tried some of the vocal exercises. I could have put a little bit more effort into some areas.	I did most of the readings. I responded to the prompts, but just the minimum required. I engaged with most of the readings but didn’t always process them fully.	I submitted most of the written work, but I was often late. I put in the minimum effort to complete them. I didn’t really use the assignments to learn and connect with the course. I didn’t do any editing. I know my work was average at best.I took quite a bit away from the course.
C	I came to all or most classes.  I contributed to discussions on Zoom and online, at least sometimes. I tried to participate in group work. I gave constructive and appropriate feedback to most of my peers. I put some effort into the creative assignments. I tried some of the vocal exercises. I could have put a little bit more effort into some areas.	I showed up for many Zoom classes, but I didn’t really pay attention. I disappeared from the group work on Zoom. I didn’t offer any feedback to my classmates.	I did some of the readings. I didn’t really engage in any online discussion. I didn’t really engage with the readings in any depth.
D	I pretended I had done some reading or had read some of a couple of modules. I didn’t participate in any discussion in the modules.	I showed up for many Zoom classes, but I didn’t pay attention. I disappeared from the group work on Zoom. I didn’t offer any feedback to my classmates.	I came to Zoom a few times. I actively distracted or hindered my group or the class. I probably should have withdrawn.
F	I came a few times to Zoom. I actively distracted or hindered my group or the class. I probably should have withdrawn.	There was a website? Readings?	I did nothing.

Course Schedule

Always defer to the most up-to-date materials available on the course site

Due Date:	Module Due by Sunday before class at noon	Additional Assignments	Zoom Class Date
Tue 1/28	Introduction and Logistics – IN CLASS		Tue 1/28
Sun 2/2	Module 1 – Getting Oriented/Why Read? Why Read aloud?  The Velveteen Rabbit		Tue 2/4
Sun 2/9	Module 2 – Myths, Stories and Storytellers	Create an introductory Post with Presentation #1	Tue 2/11
	CONVERSION DAY – CUNY MONDAY ON A TUESDAY	CONVERSION DAY – CUNY MONDAY	Tue 2/18
Sun 2/23	Module 3 – Fairy Tales in the European Tradition		Tue 2/25
Sun 3/2	Module 4 – One Story/Many Variations – Little Red Riding Hood		Tue 3/4
Sun 3/9	Module 5 – Memetic Stories	Presentation #2	Tue 3/11
Sun 3/16	Module 6 – Reading Visuals	Annotated Bibliography Citations	Tue 3/18
Sun  3/23	Module 7 – Alice in Wonderland and The Golden Age		Tue  3/25
Sun 3/30	Module 8 – Peter Pan	Annotated Bibliography Draft	Tue  4/1
Sun 4/6	Module 9 – 19th Century Contexts	Annotated Bibliography Final	Tue 4/8
	SPRING BREAK	SPRING BREAK	Tue 4/15
Sun 4/20	Module 10 – Problematic Children’s Literature	Presentation #3 – Group A	Tue 4/22
Sun 4/27	Module 11 – 20th Century Classics	Presentation #3 – Group B	Tue 4/29
Sun 5/4	Module 12 – 20th Century Classics		Tue  5/6
Sun 5/11	Module 13 – TBA	Final Presentation #4	Tue 5/13
Final Exam Period	Individual Grade meetings – dates and times TBA by sign-up.	Final Self-Reflection is due at least 24 hours prior to your individual meeting.	Final Exam Period