Enseignement

M13 - Reading and Writing in Political Science

Date: Jun 13 | Heure: 01:45pm to 03:15pm | Salle: Zoom (see details/voir détails)

Chair/Président/Présidente : David Hornsby (Carleton University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : David Hornsby (Carleton University)

Zoom Meeting Link | Meeting ID : 977 151 8460 | Password: 1125

The “Reading Choice” Model: Student Voice, Jigsaw Activities, and Course Content in a Condensed Term: Michael Murphy (Queen's University)
Abstract: Preparing to teach a senior seminar in Fall 2023, I recognized that the coincidence of university holidays and observances meant that my Monday-morning course would have two fewer instructional days than typical. My problem-solving began with a teacher-centric question (how will I cover all the content I want to cover?) that quickly gave way to a student-centric solution—the “reading choice” model. Instead of the standard model of assigning all readings to all students, I polled students on which readings they wanted to read out of a pair. Roughly half of the class would read each of the paired readings, and each class session would begin with a jigsaw activity where students would meet with their co-readers before small group discussions where students would teach their reading to colleagues who read the other reading. This paper draws on instructor reflection, student survey, and content analysis of written work to assess how the “reaching choice” model worked, what improvements might be made, and how prepared students were to use non-assigned readings in their written work. Although the specific course context for this pedagogical experiment was a course on political theory and Canadian politics, the pressure to “fit” content into a course structure has broad applicability across reading-based disciplines.

Embedded Writing Initiatives for 1st year Political Science Students: Some Preliminary Reflections: Julian Campisi (University of Toronto-Scarborough)
Abstract: This paper draws on our experiences as Political Science professors teaching first-year students at the University of Toronto-Scarborough. These students largely reflect the racial, ethnic and economic diversity of the broader Scarborough community. Within this context, we examine how the scholarly writing expectations set within our courses can be better connected with these students’ lived experiences. Employing an understanding of community-based learning that emphasizes praxis as “happening in as well as outside of the classroom” (Dean et al., 2019), we consider how to meaningfully provide students with embedded in-course supports. Many instructors are familiar with the academic struggles and writing difficulties that many early-year students encounter in a complex and demanding environment of large numbers of students. Given the competition for limited financial resources, key partnerships between individual departments and specialized writing instruction can help to fill the gap in academic writing capabilities and support first-year students in the classroom directly. From the instructor perspective, this presentation will describe a recent pilot project in two sections of Introduction to Political Science courses (~200 students each) drawing on collaboration between professors, teaching assistants, writing instructors, and the Centre for Teaching and Learning. The embedded writing initiative focused on inclusive access and sharing expertise to support student learning outcomes. We aim to provide preliminary reflections on different strategies for, and impact of, embedding writing instruction in large scale classes; suggest the importance of course specific TA-training; and discuss ideas for collaborative successes among course instructors and writing support, centres for teaching and learning, TA training, academic advising, and building more equitable and accessible classrooms. We maintain that a strong emphasis on writing supports is essential in bridging the gap between established University norms and community-engaged learning.

Performative Reading as a Teaching Tool in Political Science: Spyridon Kotsovilis (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Abstract: Pedagogy literature (Fink, Bradbury and De Maio, Bean, Cohen and Cohen, Kolb et al.) suggests that engagement, collaborative work and experiential learning can significantly increase student learning experience. This paper presents an innovative, peer-to-peer experiential teaching technique applied in an upper-year undergraduate International Relations course at the University of Toronto Mississauga involving the use of a virtual class performative reading of an ancient Greek tragedy on the impact of war on women to engage the students, animate the topic, and providing a memorable learning experience. Following a brief literature review, it describes the exercise in detail-from the set-up, to preparations, to the event itself, its linking to learning outcomes and its impact and implications. Specifically, the paper details how class members worked together for two months towards the in-class performative reading of Euripides’ anti-war ancient Greek tragedy—Trojan Women. Inspired by drama projects that use ancient plays to address contemporary-yet universal themes (Doerries, Theater of War) and The Trojan Women with Syrian refugee actors in the U.K. (Beesley), the class welcomed an award-winning director of the 2019 Scottish theater production of Trojan Women and her associate, a Syrian refugee who adapted the ancient play to the Syrian conflict, to work remotely with students towards exploring the play, its focus on women and conflict, and its modern-day implications. Students formed teams and rehearsed towards a special remote-class event where they read out selected excerpts from the original and its modern Syrian war adaptation. This process involved expert coaching and critical exposure to first-hand accounts of the devastating conflict in Syria. In addition, it induced students to work together towards common learning objectives, as they explored and empathized with the characters of the play and their present-day resonance both for the performative reading and their own work for the course. The paper concludes by arguing that employing drama for educative purposes can be a valuable teaching tool and discussing future steps, including (i) the staging of an in-person performance of Trojan Women on campus, and (ii) embedding drama-related activities into other courses.