As another semester begins to wind down, I remain convinced that it is always a good idea to tell students what they are doing and why. They are unlikely to figure this out on their own.
For students, my first-year seminar has evolved into a semester-long exercise in problem-solving, yet I don’t mention “problem-solving” anywhere in the syllabus or in the directions for any of my assignments. So as a first-pass attempt at improvement, I’ve yet again tweaked my end-of-semester meta-cognitive Quality of Failure assignment. Directions for the Quality of Failure essay now read as follows:
Read:
- The rubric.
- Robert J. Moore, “My Biggest Failure? Failing to Recognize Failure,” New York Times, 16 June 2014, https://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/my-biggest-failure-failing-to-recognize-failure/.
- Adam Bryant, “Soledad O’Brien: Seek Out the Curious and the Fastidious,” New York Times, 10 June 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/business/media/soledad-obrien-seek-out-the-curious-and-the-fastidious.html.
Write a 2-3 page essay that analyzes your learning in the course in relation to your Knowledge Plan from the beginning of the semester. Respond to the following questions:
- What helped or hindered your learning about the problem solving process when reading, writing, and designing games?
- Are your experiences similar to those of Robert J. Moore and Soledad O’Brien? Why or why not?