I love teaching 400-level research seminars with scaffolded papers. In 15 weeks, (most of) my undergraduates have produced rigorously researched and well written papers of 30 pp. (excluding works cited)! This is for my class “Global Migrations,” the capstone course of our Global Studies major. - ThreadSky

michellelkahn.bsky.social • 136 days ago

I love teaching 400-level research seminars with scaffolded papers. In 15 weeks, (most of) my undergraduates have produced rigorously researched and well written papers of 30 pp. (excluding works cited)! This is for my class “Global Migrations,” the capstone course of our Global Studies major.

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justlikemyeyes.bsky.social•136 days ago

I did my undergrad at a small school all the instructors had PH’d. It was fantastic. The classes were small. I had the best experience of my life. I was in my 40’s. Thank you for doing all that you do. Collaboration learning is so special.

popovaprof.bsky.social•136 days ago

Sounds awesome and so helpful!

writer8818.bsky.social•136 days ago

Love this idea! Thanks for sharing.

jpevansofrocks.bsky.social•136 days ago

🥲

michellelkahn.bsky.social•136 days ago

They pitch a topic in week 1, submit an annotated bibliography of 10 primary and 10 secondary sources in week 3, write a 5 pp. proposal in week 5, outline in week 7, and then submit 4 drafts of increasing length (adding 5 pp. each time). They peer review each other’s drafts and constantly revise.

skaylawton.bsky.social•136 days ago

I taught my first 400 research capstone this fall. I think I did more scaffolding than some of my colleagues, but I still didn't get the quality of papers I had hoped for. Will tweak for next time with ideas you have here!

michellelkahn.bsky.social•136 days ago

Happy to email you the syllabus if you’d like! Just DM me :)

sociologyofplants.bsky.social•136 days ago

Wow!! This sounds amazing.

michellelkahn.bsky.social•136 days ago

I’ve found it crucial to use class time wisely — for workshops on writing itself. They only have assigned readings for the first 5 weeks, and then the rest of the time we are doing peer review and practical skill-building workshops (like how to find sources, how to reverse-outline, etc.)

exmemoriam.bsky.social•136 days ago

That sounds useful.

Are you sure this is within your job description?

michellelkahn.bsky.social•136 days ago

We use the assigned readings not only for content, but also as models of the sorts of scholarly articles I expect them to produce. We deconstruct the articles and critique them— Which article has a stronger or weaker lit review, for example? How does the article incorporate quotations smoothly?

michellelkahn.bsky.social•136 days ago

(As context, I am tenured at a small liberal arts college — and my senior seminars usually have ~10 students. Even my largest gen-ed classes are capped at 20, and I lead them as discussions not lectures. I also don’t teach grad students, so my research mentorship is always at the undergrad level.)

astridme.bsky.social•136 days ago

sounds like I need to take your seminar because during my semester here, I produced... nada!

michellelkahn.bsky.social•136 days ago

Ha!!! I also produced… nothing. Except grant applications. :(

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