What are you writing? It would be fascinating to see the notes of students in my classes. I mean, sometimes I’m just talking, trying to explain something, cracking a joke, clearly venturing into highly tangential territory… but students just keep on writing. I understand their frantic scribbling when I put up a slide with definitions, dates, names, etc…but sometimes it’s just a picture— it represents a thought, accompanied by some blathering from me. I can’t possibly imagine how these moments would be translated into class notes. I considered the possibility that it’s just doodling. But you know, anyone with a few classes under their belt can spot a doodler from a mile away. The distinctive wrist movements of drawing as opposed to writing are pretty clear (for any students reading this, FYI: your professors can also detect the ipod cord “hiding” under your hoodie). It really looks like you are writing something down. But what? What did I just say that you could possibly write down? I’m not even sure what I just said. Shit. I would really like to know. Can I borrow your notes?
Saturday, January 31, 2009
I Wonder...
What are you writing? It would be fascinating to see the notes of students in my classes. I mean, sometimes I’m just talking, trying to explain something, cracking a joke, clearly venturing into highly tangential territory… but students just keep on writing. I understand their frantic scribbling when I put up a slide with definitions, dates, names, etc…but sometimes it’s just a picture— it represents a thought, accompanied by some blathering from me. I can’t possibly imagine how these moments would be translated into class notes. I considered the possibility that it’s just doodling. But you know, anyone with a few classes under their belt can spot a doodler from a mile away. The distinctive wrist movements of drawing as opposed to writing are pretty clear (for any students reading this, FYI: your professors can also detect the ipod cord “hiding” under your hoodie). It really looks like you are writing something down. But what? What did I just say that you could possibly write down? I’m not even sure what I just said. Shit. I would really like to know. Can I borrow your notes?
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I publish my non class related notes here:
ReplyDeletefunnyclassnotes.com
This is one of those times I wish I had doodling software to show you the doodles that I draw during meetings. I've been doodling the same flowers, squiggly psychodelic line drawings and Bahama-ladies since middle school.
ReplyDeleteSo, as a doodler myself, I'm comfortable with student doodles;-)
amrunner: Thanks for providing the alternative point of view...the blogosphere at its best.
ReplyDeleteannieem: I have my doodle "themes" too, the same geometric shapes since middle school...I'm sure this provides some deep insights into our psychology. Any psychologists out there? If so, why do our doodles get "set" at the age they do?
I once had a student playing a video game in the middle of class. After that, doodling seems down right respectable.
ReplyDeleteYour students write? While you talk? And not on a phone? I'm almost jealous.
ReplyDeleteWell, they could just be writing "shut up" over and over again...
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed! Although the experienced students usually are good notetakers, I can't tell you how many times I've had to preface an important point, especially in an intro-level class, by saying "You *WILL* want to write this down." Sigh.
ReplyDeleteOr worse things than "shut up." Like I wrote, "almost jealous." Almost.
ReplyDeleteI dimly recall from my undergraduate memory, and indeed from seminars more recently, that speakers whose content was dense often left me scribbling notes well into the lulls provided by the jokes or page-finding while I got to the end of a thought. Maybe you just have their longhand outpaced.
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