Thread by @historying

I've come down with the #unessay bug that's been going around. Symptoms include: renewed end-of-the-semester energy, warm fuzzy feelings of pride for one's students, and an acute desire to proselytize about the assignment.

Here's a thread of some reflections...

Nuts and bolts:
1. The #unessay was part of History of the Western U.S. Students had to compose an analysis of some place in the West and explain its significance for the region's history in any form _other_ than a written essay. (cblevins.github.io/sp18-west/plac…).

2. All students submitted an initial idea for their #unessay and then met with me individually to hammer out how they were going to complete it. They presented their unessay in class and then submitted a final version + accompanying overview + annotated bibliography.

3. In designing the assignment, I was inspired/borrowed from @clark_ems (emilysuzanneclark.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/the…), @ccjones13 (

https://twitter.com/ccjones13/status/940329059073982464

), and @ryancordell (s17tot.ryancordell.org/assignments/un…).

I saw a few different pedagogical payoffs:
1. Leveling the playing field (somewhat). With a traditional essay, there is huge variance in writing based on things like prior education, privilege, etc. An #unessay really does let students bring different kinds of skills to bear

2. Reframing "talent" and "creativity." We all tend to put ourself into boxes. Several students claimed "I'm not the creative type" and then proceeded to go right ahead and do incredibly creative projects.

3. Communication. Sure, writing matters. But post-graduation, most people aren't going to have the luxury of communicating ideas via a 2,000 word essay. An #unessay gives them practice conveying research, analysis, interpretation using a different medium.

4. Literacy. One of my overarching goals as a teacher is to convey how history isn't a collection of facts, but a process of interpretation - and for students to recognize those interpretations in unexpected places. Say, in a podcast, painting, or other sort of #unessay.

There were challenges too:
1. Anxiety. Students worried about (what else) grades. I was less proscriptive about how they'd be evaluated to try and give them more flexibility, take chances, etc. I might have just given them heartburn. Grades are the worst, to paraphrase @Jessifer

2. Scalability. I had a small class of 12 students, which meant I could do individualized advising. But w/ 50 students? Or 100? I know others (ex. @ccjones13) have scaled it up, but they also might be superheroes.

Here's the final tally of what my students did:

3 podcast episodes
2 paintings
1 music video
1 original song
1 fictional diary
1 Buzzfeed-style post
1 e-zine
1 advertisement collage
1 Java game

A few specific examples:
A first-year History + CS major designed a basic game in Java where a user would navigate a grid of SF's Chinatown to explore specific streets/buildings and learn about different dimensions of crime in its history.

One student who plays in a band wrote an entire song, complete with instrumentals and multi-part voice harmony, based on the experience of women on the Overland Trail (using trail diaries and Lillian Schlissel's book).

Another student recorded a podcast that started at Mary Ellen Pleasant Park and told the story (and mythology) behind this early black entrepreneur. She legit sounded like @zchace on @ThisAmerLife.

In sum, they were awesome. If you are thinking of assigning an #unessay, give it a shot. You won't regret it.