Evaluation

Overall, this class has been a very big challenge. I have learned things about myself and how I interact with others that I don’t think any other class could have taught me. I would like to thank Dr. Horowitz and the entire class for pushing one another and have the compassion to see that we are all trying to be on the same page.

I really enjoyed the Final Projects. They gave us a chance to be really creative, and let some who don’t speak much in the class express themselves in the open forum. Though I think that in the future students should not have the option of doing just a research paper without a powerpoint or similar presentation.

The Class Discussions were very interesting. I almost always learned something new, but sometimes had a hard time remembering that we are all different people who come from extremely different background. I wish there was a better way fro me to understand how difficult it is for people with certain backgrounds to sit at the table. I approached this as just a class, and I think others approached it as a life changing experience. Understanding this better at the beginning might have made class discussion more profitable.

I’m not so sure about prerequisite courses. That might discourage students from other academic backgrounds from taking this class. I know I probably would not have taken the course if I had been required to take a Middle East politics or history course first, simply because it would not have fit into my schedule. Keeping the class open allows for a more diverse group of people to take the class.

In general, I would say that the size of the class was too big. I think there might have been a problem, had everyone chosen to speak the same amount. If this class becomes a study tour, then it might be useful for there to be a short essay to accompany the request to join the class.

The video conferences and guest speakers were amazing, especially the video conferences. They helped to put a different spin on the topic. It might be helpful for the class to discuss the reading in class before discussing it with the experts. It seemed like we were slow to get questions rolling, and this might make it easier.

The web blogs were actually quite helpful. I was surprised, but they helped me to get my thoughts in order, and present my ideas better. I definitely hope these stay a part of the class.

Having a smaller class would increase the communication amongst the blogs. Also, when I was in high school I took AP English online. We had to comment on what we were reading in a similar discussion forum. Our instructor made us comment a minimum of 3 times on every subject. Though it was sometimes forced, it really helped to get conversation rolling. It would also help increase international communication if we added students from Hebrew University and Al Quds University to the blog. It might not be as cool as video conferencing, but it’s easier and allows for us to learn from our peers.

I also think it would be appropriate to add active listening to the course. At the beginning we discussed what we weren’t going to do in the class, but adding an element of what we should do might be helpful. I know some students think this is a waste of time, but I think it could help conversation.