Game-Based Learning in the Literature Classroom

Posted on March 2, 2016March 2, 2016 by Julie Ann Ward, PhD

For the past few years I’ve been reading here and there about games in the classroom. The most provocative example I’ve found is Reacting to the Past, a role-playing game designed at Barnard College that has students inhabit historical events. The idea is that the game inspires students to prepare much more thoroughly than they […]

Overcoming Failure

Posted on February 24, 2016February 24, 2016 by Julie Ann Ward, PhD

I’ve been thinking a lot about failure lately. I’ve implemented Specifications Grading in Intro to Hispanic Literary Texts, Spanish Conversation, and Composition in Spanish courses over the past two semesters, with mostly positive results. The basic idea is that assignments have very clear requirements, are graded pass/fail, and that failure is mitigated through tokens students […]