You’ll complete this assignment at the end of Week 1, September 18, 6:00 p.m. Central Standard (Minnesota) Time.
Note: this assignment will require you to use Google calendar to map out your next week and to upload a screenshot of that calendar. If you don’t know how to do either of those things, this short video will take you through it.
Introduction
Course syllabi establish the “rules” for a course, and most college instructors spend a fair amount of time crafting their course policies and writing their syllabus. By contrast, most college students barely read their syllabi, which effectively means they’re playing a very expensive, medium-to-high stakes game without fully understanding the rules. This is a shame, because your syllabi are the most powerful tool you have to help you understand the kinds of work you’ll be doing in a term and plan your time accordingly. This assignment is designed to help you do exactly that.
The Assignment
Part 1: Thinking Critically about Work and Time
Read the following questions and carefully consider your answers. You do not have to put your answers in writing and submit them as part of the assignment, though you can if you wish. However, the more carefully you think through this part of the assignment, the easier and more useful Part 2 will be.
1) Carefully read the syllabi for your 6-credit courses this term. What are the time commitments required by each course? This includes synchronous class times, obviously, but also out-of-class work: How long do you think it will take you to complete the reading for each course? To do regular homework assignments (problem sets, translations, etc.)? Are there larger essays or projects in any of the courses that you’ll have to budget extra time for, and, if so, when and how often will this occur?
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2) Outside of your classes, what formal time commitments do you have this term (sports, clubs, jobs, etc.), how much time will they take, and when will they occur? Beyond these, what other activities do you hope to devote time to (hobbies, socializing, etc.), and how much time do you anticipate spending on those?
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3) Step back from your time commitments for a moment and consider your own work habits. What times of day or working conditions generally allow you to be the most focused, energetic, and able to tackle work that requires significant attention and complex thought? Conversely, what times or working conditions generally make you the least focused, and thus the least likely to accomplish work that requires significant concentration or mental energy for you?
[Optional] Replace this text with your answers…
Part 2: Planning Your Schedule
1) Keeping your answers from Part 1 in mind, go to Google Calendar, log into your Carleton Google account, and map out your schedule for the next week (this coming Sunday through the following Saturday):
- Create a separate calendar/color for each of your courses. Use these to fill in your synchronous class times and the times you plan to spend doing out-of-class work for each courses.
- Using a different color/calendar, fill in your established time commitments outside of class (extra-curricular activities, jobs, etc.).
- Using another new color, fill in the times you plan to eat and sleep. Using the same color, fill in transit times–i.e. the times you’ll need to spend simply getting from one location to another.
If you’re already a Google Calendar user and have additional items on your weekly schedule, feel free to either keep them in place for this assignment or filter them out for the time being.
If you’ve never used Google Calendar, the video linked above will quickly explain how to use the features you’ll need for this assignment.
2) After you’ve finished creating your calendar for next week, take a screenshot of it and paste the picture in the field below. If you don’t know how to take a screen shot, this article will explain how to capture a screenshot on any device.
Finally, answer the questions below:
3) Think critically about the one-week schedule you’ve now created for yourself. What aspects of it do you think work particularly well? Are there aspects of it you’re concerned about?
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4) Looking beyond next week, are there other factors that might make it more difficult for you to stay on schedule in future weeks this term (e.g. events, major projects coming due? What adjustments to your schedule might be necessary to accommodate these factors?
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5) Where and how will you get help if you need it? When and how would you get in touch with your instructors for each class? When would you visit academic support services, such as the Writing Center or the Math Skills Center?
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Learning Assist:
Don’t forget to complete your Learning Assist for this week.
