6x16

6×16 2021 Reflection

This year’s 6×16 has been a little hectic, and I confess this is only #5 for me. It is always nice to spend some time thinking about teaching and learning, even if I haven’t been able to make it my priority this go ’round. Knowing that other folks are doing the same is pretty cool! Even though I’m not on campus this semester, so I missed out on some of the fun surprises, this is still a rewarding exercise.

I’ve been taking a memoir course at NAU this semester, and all the assignments are submitted as blog posts. It’s been an interesting experience. While I feel a lot of pressure writing for my own blog, submitting assignments for the class in that format has felt easier somehow. Like writing in a blog format eased the burden of perfection.

That’s made me think a little bit about how students perceive assignments. I have a blog assignment in my ENG 101 class that my students really like, but it’s in addition to their essays. And it’s an extra “fun” thing that I take out of my eight week classes because it feels like just a bit too much. Obviously, especially in a composition course, having students turn in a blog instead of an essay would not be helpful to them. But I’m wondering if, perhaps, I might be able to work in this type of assignment more often for informal writing. Maybe even for a discussion or two. That could be really interesting. Maybe next year, I’ll blog about how it went. 😉