Comments on: The Spring 2008 Awards http://daytonastate.org/the-spring-2008-awards-4 All about the many-named school Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:51:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Richard X. Thripp http://daytonastate.org/the-spring-2008-awards-4#comment-4 Richard X. Thripp Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:22:56 +0000 http://daytonastate.org/4-4#comment-4 Hi Kathleen, thanks for commenting! You'll have a lot of fun in QUANTA I'm sure. When I started in the fall of 2007, the class was 57 students divided into 9 groups. You'll be around the 5-6 other students in your group the most, even writing in-class essays and taking exams as a group. Dr. Michael Flota does this for Sociology; one-fourth of the test grade is the group grade, which is usually higher because you hash it out and come up with the 'right' answer. It is an either/or thing; his tests are multiple choice with one correct answer, but if you choose the wrong one but write a good explanation you'll get 25 to 100% credit. Casey Blanton's humanities exams are harder. You have to write in-class essays with no notes, and many of the questions are fill-in-the-blank or write a sentence rather than multiple choice. The students complained most about the essays. I actually did the best on them. If you're a good writer and know the material well, an A isn't hard. Frank Gunshanan gave me <a href="http://richardxthripp.thripp.com/essays" rel="nofollow">writing skills</a> of unmatched fervor. You can't say stuff like "back in the day" or "in my opinion." You must write concretely, analyze rather than summarize, document, quote, explain. "Show, don't tell" is the motto. QUANTA is hard, harder than many other courses. On the bright side: some of the assignments count for all three courses, it's not all writing, there's a big focus on quality over quantity, and you get a 50 point bonus in each course for not missing more than two days in a semester—a great help to your grade since the courses were about 1000 points each in fall and 1500 in spring. We did creative stuff like writing plays, analyzing dreams, going out in the woods at DeLeon Springs and talking about it, <a href="http://richardxthripp.thripp.com/poverty" rel="nofollow">creating pamphlets</a>, sharing food in class, analyzing 2000+ years of history, discussing problems like racism, sexism, class struggles, and more. Say hello to Casey, Frank, and Michael for me! Hi Kathleen, thanks for commenting! You’ll have a lot of fun in QUANTA I’m sure. When I started in the fall of 2007, the class was 57 students divided into 9 groups. You’ll be around the 5-6 other students in your group the most, even writing in-class essays and taking exams as a group. Dr. Michael Flota does this for Sociology; one-fourth of the test grade is the group grade, which is usually higher because you hash it out and come up with the ‘right’ answer. It is an either/or thing; his tests are multiple choice with one correct answer, but if you choose the wrong one but write a good explanation you’ll get 25 to 100% credit.

Casey Blanton’s humanities exams are harder. You have to write in-class essays with no notes, and many of the questions are fill-in-the-blank or write a sentence rather than multiple choice. The students complained most about the essays. I actually did the best on them. If you’re a good writer and know the material well, an A isn’t hard.

Frank Gunshanan gave me writing skills of unmatched fervor. You can’t say stuff like “back in the day” or “in my opinion.” You must write concretely, analyze rather than summarize, document, quote, explain. “Show, don’t tell” is the motto.

QUANTA is hard, harder than many other courses. On the bright side: some of the assignments count for all three courses, it’s not all writing, there’s a big focus on quality over quantity, and you get a 50 point bonus in each course for not missing more than two days in a semester—a great help to your grade since the courses were about 1000 points each in fall and 1500 in spring. We did creative stuff like writing plays, analyzing dreams, going out in the woods at DeLeon Springs and talking about it, creating pamphlets, sharing food in class, analyzing 2000+ years of history, discussing problems like racism, sexism, class struggles, and more.

Say hello to Casey, Frank, and Michael for me!

]]> By: kathleengrice http://daytonastate.org/the-spring-2008-awards-4#comment-3 kathleengrice Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:38:28 +0000 http://daytonastate.org/4-4#comment-3 Glad to hear some positive words on the Quanta program. I am 34 and will be returning to school for the first time since 1995. I am elated to know that such a community of learning is out there, that is "out of the box" thinking. I so thought I was going to have to go into class, hear a lecture, and then spit the facts back to the professor. Your story is encouraging. Glad to hear some positive words on the Quanta program. I am 34 and will be returning to school for the first time since 1995. I am elated to know that such a community of learning is out there, that is “out of the box” thinking. I so thought I was going to have to go into class, hear a lecture, and then spit the facts back to the professor. Your story is encouraging.

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