Since taking the Blend @ UW Course last Spring, I have been implementing "pre-class activities" into my courses to help students integrate and apply course concepts. This semester, I used these activities to facilitate more interaction between students, primarily through discussion. For this assignment, I found a podcast from StoryCorps (thanks for the suggestion, Andrea Johnston!) that really brought the family theory concepts to life while giving students an opportunity to break from their screens. I have really enjoyed finding new ways to help students stay engaged in this virtual format. Below are the details from this assignment.

Pre-Class Activity Description

Ten times over the course of the semester, students will complete pre-class activities prior to attending class. The format will include discussion questions, short writing reflections, videos, online quiz, or other related activities. Each pre-class activity will be worth 4 points for a total of 40 points possible. There will be 12 opportunities to complete pre-class activities, but only 10 need to be completed. The activities must be completed in Canvas by 5pm on the Wednesday before each class. Because these activities will be integrated into class each week, late work will not be accepted.

Goal/Purpose

The pre-class activity for this week will be to engage in an online discussion with our classmates around the assigned podcast. Each student will be responsible for posting one reflection/question and one response. The goal of this activity is to help you become familiar with different family formations and how they may or may not be considered in current family theories.

Part 1: Listen to Podcast

Part 2: Share your reflection

Reflect on the podcast together with this week's readings and respond to the one of the following prompts:

Thinking about our discussions and readings of family and theory so far, what came to mind when you listened to the podcast?
What are the implications of traditional family theories leaving out LGBTQ+ families such as those we heard from in the podcast?

Ideally, your discussion post should integrate course material with the podcast. A good post gets the class thinking more deeply about the material and stimulates discussion. Maximum length is 200 words.

Part 3: Respond

In addition to posing questions, students should offer a thoughtful response to at least one other student. You should write until you have fully answered the question, but it does not need to be lengthy. Maximum length is 150 words.

Grading Criteria

This is a pre-class activity and is worth 4 points. Discussions and responses will be graded on 1) demonstrated understanding of reading material and 2) depth of thought and critical analysis. Parts 2 (share) and 3 (respond) will each be worth 2 points.