Italian Cinema - cte.ku.edu · analyze a theme and a stylistic feature of a film. For the final...
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Ø While the use of detailed guidelines and rubrics do not ensure dramatic improvement over the course of the semester, they certainly are effective in communicating to students the key objectives for assignments (such as the emphasis on developing an argument). I believe that detailed guidelines and rubrics help students to start off well. Ø I will definitely repeat the in-class activity of having students read sample essays from past students and evaluate them using rubrics, possibly twice a semester. Ø Another successful addition to the course was having students hand in the first three pages of their final papers one week before the due date for the final draft. Ø The changes that I made to this course had an undeniably positive impact. I did not receive papers peppered with plot summary. Mid- term and final presentations were rather impressive, and they helped to create a classroom environment where students could teach each other and admire each other’s work. Ø The semester following this class, I had two students who had taken ITAL 450 in Fall 2019, and I could see a great improvement in their ability to analyze films and organize their ideas. Ø In the future, I plan to encourage my students to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium. I will also distribute self- reflection surveys to my students regarding their progress as researchers and writers. This work was supported by the 2019 Best Practices Institute ITAL 450: Studies in Italian Cinema offers a survey of Italian film history from WWII to present, focusing on different periods and styles (neorealism, auteur cinema, genre films of the 1960s and 1970s), as well as thematic issues such as the Italian family, feminist movement, migration, Mafia, and precarious work. This elective, taught in English and linked to Core Goal 4.2, is open to all students. It counts for the Italian minor and major. THE CHALLENGE: In the first iteration of this course, many students struggled to formulate a thesis statement and provide relevant support for it in their short analytical papers on films. Students often buried their arguments in papers dominated by plot summary. Background Implementation My course transformation addressed the difficulty that students had with critical writing through a multi-pronged effort that included: Ø Short writing workshops in class: On several occasions, we dedicated half-hour blocks of class to discussing and evaluating writing. One effective activity was to have students read anonymous sample response papers from previous classes and evaluate them in groups using a rubric. Ø Improved guidelines & rubrics for papers: Students received guidelines sheets and rubrics for all assignments detailing the objectives, expectations, common pitfalls, and grading criteria. Ø Increased scaffolding of assignments: Early in the semester, emphasis was placed on one- page writing assignments that gave students experience formulating and supporting arguments, whereas a mid-term group project required students to prepare an abstract, compile a bibliography, summarize the strengths of their top scholarly source, and analyze a theme and a stylistic feature of a film. For the final paper, students had to prepare drafts, meet with the instructor one-on-one, engage in peer-editing, and present highlights of their papers to the class. Student Work The data below reflect the work of a small sample size: five undergraduate students enrolled in the course. I did not include scores of a student auditing the course. For the most part, we can note a consistent performance of the class from start to finish, with some improvement on the final paper in the categories of formulating an argument and maintaining a clear sense of focus. Students performed especially well on the two presentations for the course in the categories of formulating an argument, providing relevant support, and maintaining a clear sense of focus. The rubric for presentations did not have a category for clarity of expression. Reflections EDWARD BOWEN, Department of French, Francophone & Italian Studies Italian Cinema Short Paper on a Film Still (homework assignment). Students were asked to take a screen shot of a moment in Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ and analyze the narrative function of the mise-en-scène. The following excerpt is from Grace Claman’s paper about the scene above: “This still demonstrates Fellini’s recurrent use of elaborate mise-en-scène. The characters of the film lined up equidistant from each other in a large circle parade across the screen. Lights frame their figures, and a center pole divides the space in symmetric parts. Guido, of course, takes center stage (literally). He has just orchestrated this elaborate dance and jumps in to join the circle. Hand in hand with the other cast members, Guido runs to the music. This symbolizes his acceptance of the ‘beautiful confusion’ of his life. Fellini’s use of processions throughout the film climaxes in this scene, where both chaos and order simultaneously exist to showcase the perplexity and wonderment in life.” 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3 Paper 4 Paper 5 Final Paper Presentation 1 Presentation 2 Score out of 5 Assignment Student Performance on Rubric Categories in Fall 2019 Clarity, insightfulness and relevance of argument Relevance and richness of support provided Maintains a clear sense of focus Clarity of expression Assessment of Learning Final Paper. As in the short papers assigned early in the semester, in the final paper (minimum five pages) students needed to state their argument early and support it with pertinent examples. Students also needed to consult and enter into a dialogue with at least three scholarly sources. In the excerpt below, one can see how student John Brewer laid out the focus of his argument in the first paragraph of his paper titled “The Third Discourse in Marco Bellocchio’s My Mother’s Smile (2002).” In it, Brewer analyzes the director’s commentary on political corruption in Italy through scenes featuring the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument, built in the early 20 th century in honor of the first king of unified Italy. Presentation of Final Paper. Students presented highlights from their final papers and discussed sources. By this point, they had already submitted an abstract and first draft and had done peer- editing. These slides are from a student’s final presentation on Giuseppe Tornatore’s Stanno tutti bene (1991). This student analyzed the dream sequences in Tornatore’s film and their intertextual ties to both Fellini’s 8 ½ and several paintings by René Magritte.
Transcript of Italian Cinema - cte.ku.edu · analyze a theme and a stylistic feature of a film. For the final...
Ø While the use of detailed guidelines and rubrics do not ensure dramatic improvement over the course of the semester, they certainly are effective in communicating to students the key objectives for assignments (such as the emphasis on developing an argument). I believe that detailed guidelines and rubrics help students to start off well.
Ø I will definitely repeat the in-class activity of having students read sample essays from past students and evaluate them using rubrics, possibly twice a semester.
Ø Another successful addition to the course was having students hand in the first three pages of their final papers one week before the due date for the final draft.
Ø The changes that I made to this course had an undeniably positive impact. I did not receive papers peppered with plot summary. Mid-term and final presentations were rather impressive, and they helped to create a classroom environment where students could teach each other and admire each other’s work.
Ø The semester following this class, I had two students who had taken ITAL 450 in Fall 2019, and I could see a great improvement in their ability to analyze films and organize their ideas.
Ø In the future, I plan to encourage my students to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium. I will also distribute self-reflection surveys to my students regarding their progress as researchers and writers.
This work was supported by the 2019 Best Practices Institute
ITAL 450: Studies in Italian Cinema offers a survey of Italian film history from WWII to present, focusing on different periods and styles (neorealism, auteur cinema, genre films of the 1960s and 1970s), as well as thematic issues such as the Italian family, feminist movement, migration, Mafia, and precarious work. This elective, taught in English and linked to Core Goal 4.2, is open to all students. It counts for the Italian minor and major.
THE CHALLENGE: In the first iteration of this course, many students struggled to formulate a thesis statement and provide relevant support for it in their short analytical papers on films. Students often buried their arguments in papers dominated by plot summary.
Background
ImplementationMy course transformation addressed the difficulty that students had with critical writing through a multi-pronged effort that included: Ø Short writing workshops in class: On several
occasions, we dedicated half-hour blocks of class to discussing and evaluating writing. One effective activity was to have students read anonymous sample response papers from previous classes and evaluate them in groups using a rubric.
Ø Improved guidelines & rubrics for papers:Students received guidelines sheets and rubrics for all assignments detailing the objectives, expectations, common pitfalls, and grading criteria.
Ø Increased scaffolding of assignments: Early in the semester, emphasis was placed on one-page writing assignments that gave students experience formulating and supporting arguments, whereas a mid-term group project required students to prepare an abstract, compile a bibliography, summarize the strengths of their top scholarly source, and analyze a theme and a stylistic feature of a film. For the final paper, students had to prepare drafts, meet with the instructor one-on-one, engage in peer-editing, and present highlights of their papers to the class.
Student Work
The data below reflect the work of a small sample size: five undergraduate students enrolled in the course. I did not include scores of a student auditing the course. For the most part, we can note a consistent performance of the class from start to finish, with some improvement on the final paper in the categories of formulating an argument and maintaining a clear sense of focus. Students performed especially well on the two presentations for the course in the categories of formulating an argument, providing relevant support, and maintaining a clear sense of focus. The rubric for presentations did not have a category for clarity of expression.
Reflections
EDWARD BOWEN, Department of French, Francophone & Italian Studies
Italian Cinema
Short Paper on a Film Still (homework assignment). Students were asked to take a screen shot of a moment in Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ and analyze the narrative function of the mise-en-scène. The following excerpt is from Grace Claman’s paper about the scene above:
“This still demonstrates Fellini’s recurrent use of elaborate mise-en-scène. The characters of the film lined up equidistant from each other in a large circle parade across the screen. Lights frame their figures, and a center pole divides the space in symmetric parts. Guido, of course, takes center stage (literally). He has just orchestrated this elaborate dance and jumps in to join the circle. Hand in hand with the other cast members, Guido runs to the music. This symbolizes his acceptance of the ‘beautiful confusion’ of his life. Fellini’s use of processions throughout the film climaxes in this scene, where both chaos and order simultaneously exist to showcase the perplexity and wonderment in life.”
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Paper 1
Paper 2
Paper 3
Paper 4
Paper 5
Final Paper
Presentation 1
Presentation 2
Scor
e out
of 5
Assignment
Student Performance on Rubric Categories in Fall 2019
Clarity, insightfulnessand relevance ofargument
Relevance andrichness of supportprovided
Maintains a clear senseof focus
Clarity of expression
Assessment of Learning
Final Paper. As in the short papers assigned early in the semester, in the final paper (minimum five pages) students needed to state their argument early and support it with pertinent examples. Students also needed to consult and enter into a dialogue with at least three scholarly sources.In the excerpt below, one can see how student John Brewer laid out the focus of his argument in the first paragraph of his paper titled “The Third Discourse in Marco Bellocchio’sMy Mother’s Smile (2002).” In it, Brewer analyzes the director’s commentary on political corruption in Italy through scenes featuring the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument, built in the early 20th century in honor of the first king of unified Italy.
Presentation of Final Paper. Students presented highlights from their final papers and discussed sources. By this point, they had already submitted an abstract and first draft and had done peer-editing. These slides are from a student’s final presentation on Giuseppe Tornatore’sStanno tutti bene(1991). This student analyzed the dream sequences in Tornatore’s film and their intertextual ties to both Fellini’s 8 ½ and several paintings by René Magritte.
