Is There a Textbook in this Class? No. You’re Going to Write it.

Thursday, May, 28th, 2015

Is There a Textbook in this Class? No. You’re Going to Write it.

This is an entry to the Arts Future Classroom Competition 2015. Don’t forget to submit before 31 May, 2015!

This project uses collaborative digital writing strategies to engage students in the creation of a class-wide multimedia textbook on British culture from the 17th century to the present.

In groups of five, students work over the course of the semester to research and write an approximately 4,000-word multimedia eBook chapter on a topic related to the historical developments of British literature and culture. In addition to outstanding primary and secondary research, students are expected to use relevant images, videos, or interactivity that makes use of eBook technology and helps to support their analysis of the historical period. Toward the end of semester these chapters are compiled into a course textbook by an editorial team, and this text serves as a revision tool for the final examination.

  • Class size:
    • Minimum: 15 students
    • Maximum: No maximum
  • Suggested venue(s):
    • Any
  • Duration:
    • one full semester
  • Lesson details:
    • Week 1: Assignment given during lecture
    • Week 2: Groups formed during seminar and historical periods assigned Team Member Roles are assigned
    • Weeks 3-6:Groups decide on a topic and work together on a 4,000-word chapter
    • Week 7: Groups submit draft chapter during seminar Peer reviewers receive draft chapters
    • Week 8: Peer reviewers return draft chapters with comments and feedback
    • Week 9: Groups submit final chapters
    • Week 11: Editorial Team submits eBook to be shared with the entire group
    • Week 13: Examination
  • Content materials and resources:
    • During the first lecture, students form into groups of five and assign roles:
      • 1) Chapter Editor: this person will be in charge of organizing all elements leading up the group’s finished chapter. This will include making sure that a topic has been agreed up, helping to coordinate each group member’s research and writing, and keeping the group on task throughout the semester. All Chapter Editors will meet immediately after the lecture on Week 3 for a briefing.
      • 2) Multimedia Editor: this person will oversee all multimedia elements of the chapter, including images, films, interactive quizzes, etc. They will work with each member of their group to make sure that the chapter makes full use of multimedia materials to convey their analysis of the historical period. All Multimedia Editors will meet immediately after the lecture on Week 4 for a briefing.
      • 3) Editorial Board Member: once all chapters have been submitted this person will work with the Editorial Board Members from the other groups to compile all chapters into an interactive eBook. Full training will be given on the appropriate software; it may be helpful if this person is a Mac user. All Editorial Board Members will meet immediately after the lecture on Week 5 for a briefing.
      • 4) Peer Reviewer (x2): these people will be responsible for peer reviewing an anonymous chapter from another seminar group and providing feedback in a timely manner. Peer reviewers are not meant to edit the chapter, but to provide ideas and feedback on structure, organization, argumentation, grammar, and language. All Peer Reviewers will meet immediately after the lecture on Week 6 for a briefing. In addition to these roles, each group member must contribute to researching and writing their chapter. Although you will be writing collaboratively, every person should be contributing approximately the same amount of content.
    • Groups are assigned a historical period, and may select from one of four possible themes:
      • Early Modern
        • Style and the Spirit
        • Looking East and West
        • Doubt and the Reformation
        • Renaissance Travel
      • Restoration & Eighteenth Century
        • Life in London
        • The Transatlantic Slave Trade
        • Faith in Kings
        • Beginning of Empire
      • Romantic Period
        • The Rise of the ‘Genius’
        • The Byronic Hero
        • Romantic Orientalism
        • Landscape and Cityscape
      • Victorian
        • Education Reform
        • The Industrial Revolution
        • Questioning Faith
        • Victorian Imperialism
      • Modern & Contemporary
        • The Aftershocks of World War I
        • Modernist Styles and Experiments
        • Cinematic Style in Fiction and Art
        • Transnationalism
    • Each group’s final chapter must address the historical/cultural aspects of their selected historical theme as well analyze 3-4 primary cultural artifacts from the period that relate to this theme.
    • Each chapter should:
      • 1) introduce/summarise the specific theme,
      • 2) carefully examine and analyze 3-4 primary sources,
      • 3) consider how these primary source relate to and extend our knowledge of this theme. Lectures during weeks 2-6 of the semester help to develop necessary research and multimodal writing skills, and briefs are held immediately after lectures for each of the four roles within the group.
  • Equipment/ tools necessary
    • Personal laptops
  • Evaluation/ Grading System:
    • The completed chapter is worth 30% of total marks for the semester, and all group members receive the same score. There is formative feedback built into this, with two team members assigned to be peer reviewers before the final chapter is submitted. While the final examination is not based solely on the content in the completed eBook, the themes have been selected in such a way that the eBook will provide a comprehensive and useful source for the revision process.
  • Possible complications:
    • Because the final eBook is intended to serve as a revision tool rather than the primary source of content for the final examination, it is unlikely that all students will meaningfully engage with the final product, although certainly many do. As in any assignment in which all group members receive the same mark, there is the possibility of an uneven distribution of work, something which is hopefully at least partially addressed by the creation of specific roles within the group.
  • Inspiration:
    • After some frustration at the number of students who chose not to purchase the required textbook, I began to think about what it would be like if students were actively engaged in writing the textbook themselves. I began to think about how a project such as this might be structured, how it might be assessed, and how it might be aligned with learning and teaching objectives.
  • Instructor’s Evaluation:
    • Students were actively engaged in the project and were quite proud of the finished product. They made good use of multimedia in their individual chapters, but there was occasionally the sense that the digital components overshadowed the critical analysis. Going forward, a new set of marking criteria will be devised to further clarify what is expected in terms of depth of original analysis.
  • Submitted by: Allan Johnson | City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong | Email | Website | Twitter