1. Exploring Pedagogical Moves in MC 202 Tara Mock
IITFellow
JMC
Background
Conclusion
Results
Course Themes:
Current semester: Citizenship, Nationalism, Migration, and Cosmopolitanism
Prior semesters: Globalization and Democracy
Team-taught Lecture
~400 Students in lecture
8 course professors
2-3 individual lectures/instructor + section(s)
Researcher delivered individual lectures on “Gender and citizenship”, “Nationalism and Brexit”, and “Cosmopolitanism”
Recitation Sections
25 students per section
Lack of uniformity across sections regarding
The main conclusions drawn from the study of the drivers, characteristics, and limitations of instructional pedagogy in MC 202 focus on how exposure to a diversity of teaching styles and perspectives within the course lectures impact instruction. Instructors highlight the significance of and benefits derived from collegial support and exchanges. Collegiality and insight from those who possess content specific knowledge arose as the most significant contributor to instructional preparation. There were, nonetheless, also concerns regarding the inequality of (personal) content knowledge, the lack of individual control exercised over course development, and, most importantly, the lack of uniformity in recitation and student assessments. Within recitation sections, instructors employ a variety of pedagogical styles and tools, including attempts to plan the entire schedule at the start of the semester (which are often thwarted due to constant revisions to the syllabus), a heavy emphasis on discussion and argumentation, and desires to use recitation as a supplement group lectures to ensure student comprehension. These findings suggest that although instructors of team-taught courses are inhibited by specific content knowledge and the need to make decisions by consensus, there are distinct similarities in how instructors view knowledge and a real spirit of collegiality and respect amongst the faculty, which ultimately contribute to their success.
Overview
“MC 202 is the spring semester, second-sequence, multi-major, team-taught course for James Madison College’s Introduction to Public Affairs first year program. The course’s objective is to introduce and navigate for Madison freshmen the interdisciplinary and multi-faceted subject matter of public affairs in the U.S and in other state-societies around the world; we examine both the national-comparative and global dimensions of public affairs in these countries and regions.”
Objective
Project seeks to unveil the drivers, characteristics, and limitations of instructional pedagogy in MC 202.
Methods
Informal Semi-structured interview (Shibley 2002)
Brief Survey of Instructional staff