2 Specificity of “approach”
How specific/detailed was your “approach” to the selected course(s) that you outlined?
ES: My approach was restricted to one large paragraph, which outlined the learning goals that I would set for my students; the course units; and a broad description of the course content that I would include in the syllabus.
“Each lecture would briefly outline the sociopolitical conditions of the decade that affected popular culture in order to provide students with a broader historical understanding of Western popular culture, as well as a critical and nuanced grasp on the theories and artwork produced in each decade.”
~ Excerpt from ES’s application letter
EG: My approach was covered in two spots, roughly distinguishable as “my understanding of the course’s goals,” and “my approach to course structure,” with the latter heavily inflected by remote learning conditions.
“I finished 1CS3 with a strong sense of the course’s intertwined learning objectives to develop a close reading practice focused on the core concepts and arguments of cultural theory or criticism; to situate those arguments in cultural studies’ broader politics, affiliations, and methods; to engage critically and self-reflexively with example from contemporary culture that reinforce and/or problematize those arguments; and to build, redefine, and effectively communicate one’s own arguments about and with those cultural artifacts.”
“I anticipate using a hybrid a/synchronous approach that provides students with compact, replayable lecture material alongside scheduled and synchronous discussion boards, tutorials, and office hours.”
~ Excerpts from EG’s application letter
EG: The second excerpt doesn’t fully match up with what I ended up doing. So, while I think it’s good to be clear and specific about your approach to the course, I’d also confidently recommend a focus on goals and the values that will guide your further decision-making during course design. You are applying to be a teaching fellow, so they know all of this is still in the works!