While doing research for Writing Program CSI, I noticed that my chosen program (Stanford’s) relied on a different model of class design. Namely, in how FYC classes are selected. Rather than having a single, uniform sequence, each class openly advertises its chosen sequence to incoming students. Classes cover topics like “Rhetoric of the Supreme Court” and “Rhetoric of Death”. The intended goal is for students to select what sort of topic they want to focus on.
A part of me feels like this would be an interesting approach, though not one that we can currently adhere to in the classroom. Many of my students are forced to go in blind; unsure of what the class is actually going to be about. The result , as I ‘ve noticed with Richard Restak, is that students end up getting burnt out on topics they care nothing about.
A part of me wants to experiment with this. What would happen if students were allowed to pick a sequence part of the way through the course, and were given the agency to pursue their interests? Would that result in stronger papers and more engaged students? Or would it just result in a scattered, unfocused class?