Email Responses to Study Questions

1-4-99: Professor William Howarth of Princeton suggests a use of email that anyone of us could adapt for an on-campus section.

He has students email a response to study questions for the week about the assigned reading.  The deadline is a few hours before the class designated for discussing those readings. He prints these emails and makes notes for himself so that he can lead the discussion accordingly.  In particular, he looks in the emails for "blind spots" and points of disagreement.  Even the silent "sphinxes" who won't speak during class have sent in responses, so that he can see what they know and realize about the readings instead of having to guess or assume.

Non-web adaptation: Have students submit responses at the end of a previous class or the day before the next class; read through them and jot down impressions of what the class seems to grasp as a group or what they missed as a group and need details about.

To read Professor Howarth's whole article click on this title: