Things That Have Worked for Me: Format Switches

Part of a short series of posts discussing activities, strategies, or materials that have worked for me in my teaching. Maybe they can work for you, too…

The Thing:

Format Switch Assignments

As it sounds, the idea here is to encourage students to take something they encounter in one format (I’m a literary guy, so this is usually a text), and make a version of it in another format. One example I have used is to have them pick a scene from a novel, and describe how they would film it. Another I’ve used is to create a “Twitter feed” for a character or historical figure (Dostoevsky’s Underground Man and the Apostle Paul have both been given this treatment in classes). This is done as an in-class activity, and usually in groups so that students can bounce ideas off one another. Plus, making it part of how they participate spares me grading anyone’s subjective ideas of cool camera angles and whatnot.

Why It Works:

1 – It’s creative, and so hopefully fun.

This exercise is a nice shift away from asking straightforward analysis or detail questions. It lets students flex some intellectual muscles they may not otherwise get to. In the process, I notice that different students take the lead in these groups than do in other sorts of assignments. There also seems to be satisfaction in making and sharing something; there is a clear, tangible, shareable, and hopefully enjoyable result. There’s almost always a lot of humor involved, especially with the social media exercises.

2 – They have to know more than they think.

The method to the madness of course is that, for this to work, they have to dive into the original and make decisions about what matters. For the filming exercise, say, they have to have a sense for what is important about the scene they choose, and then find visual ways to convey that information. For the Tweeting exercise, they have to have a grasp of the person’s style, personality, and worldview – and again, the knowledge of how to convey that in short bursts of text, and in a way that suits contemporary media. The sneaky secret is that I am asking analysis questions, just in a roundabout way. Please don’t tell my students that, though.

3 – They learn by sharing.

I always say I understand something better after teaching it to others, and this gives students a low-stakes taste of that dynamic. In re-presenting the material, they are processing it and taking ownership of it. They become the experts for the time being (which is always a good feeling), but it’s also a good way to reinforce important ideas or concepts. Exercises like this also hopefully give students tools they can use on their own. A format switch might be a good way to study for some students, for example. Anything that opens their eyes to new ways of questioning, presenting, or thinking about material is all to the good.