You will compile, over the course of the semester, a "log" of class notes for each Wednesday class session. For the first 5-15 minutes of each class, you'll write "sign-in notes," and for the final 5-15 minutes, you'll write "sign-out notes," based on specific instructions for any given session. You'll keep these compiled religiously in a folder.
If you arrive late to a given class session, you will only be able to write in your log up to the designated stop time.
The learning log will help you to reflect on, retain, and otherwise digest class lecture and discussion from week to week. It will also provide a record of your attendance and engagement with course materials.
From time to time you'll hand in a given day's sign-in or sign-out notes to help me prepare for the next class and to see how you're doing with a particular subject. You'll also hand in your whole log once or twice during the semester for my feedback, then again with your portfolio at the end of the term.
Sign-in notes will typically include the following:
a) a summary of key points and in-class activity from the previous week's meeting; and
b) some form of report and reflection on the current day's reading assignment.
Sign-out notes will typically include
a) some form of reflection and report on that day's lecture and discussion (e.g., what was clearest, what is still fuzzy, questions you may have, ideas you are mulling, etc.); and
b) tasks you will set yourself for the coming week.
Your log will be graded/scored at the end of the term. Each day's entries are worth 2 pts. (Sign-in notes = 1 pt.; sign-out notes = 1 pt.)
Note: it's important that you keep these sign-in/sign-out notes neatly compiled and dated throughout the term. If you miss a class, it's your responsibility to contact a couple classmates for help writing your learning log notes. Be sure, however, to strictly use your own words and to credit any help.
SAMPLE
Learning Log English 357 Nichols
Jan. 27, 09
Sign-In
- Last week we looked at a long Power Point on photography and discussed "the grammar of photography": angle of camera, plane of focus, frame, and moment of exposure. I understand "frame"—what you select to put in and leave out of a picture—and I understand angle of camera and moment of exposure. I'm a bit fuzzy still on plane of focus, though. Does it just mean what you've chosen to shoot in crisp focus plus what you've allowed to be blurry? What if nothing in the photo is blurry? We also got into groups and did collaborative critiques of our really rough drafts, mostly to help each other just figure out what our subjects are actually going to be for the project.
- The reading for today was about "the gaze," which is a pretty weird concept. It has something to do with everybody looking or being looked at by everyone else. People who do the looking are usually those with the most power in a culture, but those who are looked at can become powerful too. I'm not sure how this relates to our projects. Although I guess a self-portrait is me looking at myself? Does it give me power to look at myself? I guess it sort of does. We also read in the photography book about the depictive thing and the mental thing. I liked the photo of the three girls in swimsuits because they remind me of my sisters. Not that every photo has to remind me of something personal, but it does give the pic some extra punch. The girls were in "the plane of focus"--right? and the guy in the background is left blurry because...? He actually looks kind of ominous. Is this some kind of pedophile pic?
Sign-Out
- Today's discussion was very interesting. (I do wish the guy in the back row with the Mickey Mouse hat would shut up once in a while.) We reviewed the history of photography and speculated about its future. We also looked at sample "self-portraits" which were very unusual. I didn't know a "portrait" could be so many things, but it helps me think about possibilities for my own project. During the last part of the period we did free work and brief conferences with the teacher. Oh yeah, and we were asked to apply certain terms to some sample pics .
- My tasks for this week are: figure out what medium I'm finally going to use for my project (how exactly I'll present my photos), maybe hunt down a better camera, and look at the samples we saw in class some more. A more complete draft is due next week, so I'm going to step on the gas! At the end of class today I'm going to ask about where I can view those samples.
Feb. 6, 09
Sign-In
Sign-Out
etc.
Feb. 13, 09
Sign-In
Sign-Out
etc.
Your learning log will be scored at the end of the term, when you submit it with your portfolio. Each day's sign-in and sign-out entries are worth a point each (2 pts. per day). The entries must be: