What must be common among all sections of SPAN 3450?

 Course goals (as included in course description on draft syllabus)

 Expected learning outcomes or ELOs (as listed on draft syllabus)

 All four modules (conventions, identities, violence, and citizenship).

o At least two of the submodules for each module
o Most of the primary materials included in the sample syllabus (and also uploaded to
the Carmen Master site and/or available in OneDrive/SharePoint)

 Substantive coverage of the following 3 types of primary texts (or textual modalities):
i-narrative; ii-poetry; and iii-audiovisual texts (e.g. films, music videos, television ads)
o Substantive coverage includes providing students with the specialized vocabulary
necessary to analyze the specificities of that textual modality; and with several
opportunities to utilize those terms. To do this, we encourage students to
encounter these modalities at several points throughout the semester so that they
can review the necessary terminology and strengthen their ability to utilize that
terminology in their own analyses.
o By the end of the term, students also should be able to carry out textual analysis of
those three modalities, in relation to larger socio-cultural dynamics. So, for
example, we encourage instructors to help students examine how code-switching
in poetry can articulate identity through narrative voice or how narratives/story-
telling shape our understanding of violence.
o Students should read at least one longer narrative piece such as a novella. We
suggest using the 100-page Ese verano a oscuras (included on the sample syllabus).
This will prepare them for 4000-level classes in IB and LA in which they may read
longer novels
o When adding other textual modalities, you must include at least two examples of
those modalities at different points in the semester. This will allow students to a)
learn the specialized terminology for that modality and b) practice using that
terminology on two different occasions.

 In terms of assessments (or evaluation criteria) …

o On-line sections should grade attendance
o All sections should grade participation to encourage students’ active engagement
in oral and/or written forms. This grade can provide motivation for students to
continually strengthen their linguistic skills in a more on-going, low-stakes way.
 We strongly recommend you to develop a system for measuring/evaluating
participation (e.g. starting with a “C” for constant small group participation;
and then from there monitoring volunteer participation in every class by
writing down the names of students who offer comments/insights).
o All sections should include graded homework assignments (graded “lightly” –i.e.
for completion). Here again, the goal is to encourage students’ active engagement
and to develop their linguistic and analytical skills in a low-stakes way.

Prepared in August 2023 by Laura Podalsky

  There are different ways of doing this.
 You can have students respond to unique prompts for each specific text
 You can have students respond to a general prompt for all primary texts
(e.g. comment on a specific passage/verse/sequence, formal device or
theme and write a 150-word critical commentary)
 All sections MUST include at least five homework assignments that allow
students to reflect upon cultural forms as technologies. This will allow the
course to fulfill the embedded literacy in Technology for the new General
Education program (see the document “Technology Embedded Literacy-SPAN
3450))
o All sections must include at least 2-3 more extensive writing assignments. By the
end of the course, students should have written at least 1 5-page paper that
demonstrates their ability to carry out a close analysis (using specialized
vocabulary) of 1-3 textual forms, in relation to larger socio-cultural dynamics
 We strongly recommend scaffolding these assignments –e.g. assigning one
paper that is 3-4 pages long (perhaps around the midterm) and another that is
4-5 pages long (at or near the end of the course)
 You may wish to schedule in-class time to help students prepare for the writing
assignments:
 a class activity before ECR 1 and 2 to set expectations –perhaps by sharing
and discussing an anonymous student example (available in SharePoint)
 Based on instructor feedback from prior semesters, we also strongly
suggest creating in-class workshops to help students complete the two
extended analyses (see LP’s syllabus for an example of how to schedule
this)

If you include alternative assessments (from those listed on the draft syllabus), they
must be tied directly to one or more of the ELOs