Friday, June 26, 2009

TIP Classes are TIPtastic!



























Capsules of Duke TIP at UGA courses by M&M staffers. Photos by Joy Hong.

Media and Message

"Media and Message: Communicating in the Digital Age," a catchy name for a class which happens to teach some of the many parts of journalism. Term one at the University of Georgia is the first time this class was taught for Duke TIP. Twelve students spend seven hours a day, six days a week learning all they can about types of media, message, journalism and anything that has to do with media in the modern age.
The first week of the class was filled with overview of media, different types of media and a lot about journalism. Through the week we would write on blogs and do assignments having to do with journalism and reporters. The second week we continued to be journalists and reports about things in the camp, while we explored other things in media, including Twitter, Facebook and news sources on the web.
During this week we made sound slides, learned about blogs, learned picture-taking techniques and how to shoot and edit video. The last week of the class we have done a lot more hands-on activities such as writing, interviews, press conferences and assignments about the entire camp. The class has been thoroughly taught and well-organized over the last three weeks, creating a good learning environment and a memorable three weeks.
-Walker Bauer

Brain, Intelligence, and Creativity class

"The Brain, Intelligence, and Creativity class", taught by Desiree Sharpe is unique in that it is only offered at the University of Georgia. During this class, students learned about the parts of the brain, brain diseases and functions of the brain. This is the first year that the class has been offered, and it was proposed by Alex Pagnani, the on-site director at TIP at UGA.
“I actually proposed that class. Before I was hired for this job, I was intending on teaching that class, and when I found out it was going to be an opportunity at UGA, I called Durham back in September and said ‘Hey, I want to propose a new class at UGA that I would like to teach, and I wrote up this proposal and wrote up a syllabus and a curriculum and all that kind of stuff and put it in. They accepted it and said, ‘Fine, you’re going to be a teacher for that course.’ And then when I ended up getting this job, they worked to find somebody else who found it to be interesting also and could teach that. Desiree [the teacher] has done a great job,” Pagnani said about the class.
Sachin Sinha, a student in this class, described the class as mainly about learning the functions of the brain and what parts of the brain controls each function. He also commented that their class had "the best teacher and TA." The classroom setting is interesting too. Posters, pictures, and diagrams designed by students about the brain are displayed on the walls. It is clear that students in this class can both learn and have fun at the same time.
-Emily Yung

Sports Medicine

Sports Medicine is taught by Lyndsey Hornbuckle. In the course, students examine common sports injuries. They explore how advances in technology have affected sports medicine. Students also learn to determine the difference between dealing with an athlete versus a non-athlete. Dustin Abnos, a fourth year in the class, was asked about how he liked it. "We're having fun, lots of fun." See an article about CPR training activity on this blog.
-Lucas Postolos

Mock Trial

At first Mock trail seems to be all fun and games, but after interviewing the class, I learned that it is much much more. On day one, the instructor drilled the kids with questions. Such as, "How many students are there in state of Florida," just to scare them; but that wasn't the main point, it was to help them get ready for their trail.
In a court case you will be asked questions very quickly, and there is no time for "ums" or stuttering. Therefore, the class has been working for almost three weeks now to make sure the trial will run smoothly. Today the class was trying to throw each other into loops, so that they will be prepared for anything. They discuss what to say and what not to say, and make sure there are no calls for speculation. Now is the last chance to make any changes because today is the last day to get ready.
There are two groups for the defense and two groups for the prosecution, so there will be two trials. The trials will be tomorrow, June 25, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is a murder case, the State of Lumpkin vs. Barnes. The story line goes a little something like this: Mr.Barnes and Stan Tanner went on a hunting trip. While they were out, Stan was shot by Mr.Barnes and died. Now each group is either working to prove Mr.Barnes guilty or innocent. Half the class has to prove that he shot him on purpose and the other half have to prove it was an accident because he got scared when he heard a noise in the bushes.
-Sarah Hampton

Robotics

The Robotics class is taught by Travis Prochaska and assisted by Ben Bradshaw. This class involves students programming robots to do simple tasks. It also covers a lot of engineering concepts and how they relate to robotics that help the students find solutions to the challenges that are assigned to them. After the instructors help the students understand everything step-by-step, they do it themselves. The students enjoy this class because it's very interactive and they spend most of their class time on the computers. "It [favorite highlight] is when we see the robot actually working," said Justin Wright.
"I didn't cover as much as I expected to in the end of the three weeks but as far as using the robots, they [the students] definitely covered a lot of that," said Prochaska.
-Joy Hong

Some Bad, Some Misunderstood: the Villain in Literature

"Some Bad, Some Misunderstood: the Villain in Literature" is taught by Joseph Lease and assisted by Summar Sparks. It is a class where students learn how to identify villains in books, movies, plays, television shows, pop culture, etc. They often watch movies or read books and discuss with each other what role the villain plays. They also learn how villains have changed through time, who the villains in modern day society are and whether the villains are just misunderstood or really evil. The class is very engaging with debates as well.
"When I started this class, I expected so much more formality and lectures all day, but it wasn't. It's so different. It exceeded my expectations!" said Kaya, a student of the class.
-Joy Hong

Game Theory

Game Theory, taught by Ben Perryman and Matthew Schell, is a class that teaches students concepts and theories on strategies that apply to games as well as real life. Cole Chadwick, a student in the class describes it as a class about predicting the outcomes of certain scenarios and the winner of a game finding the best strategy to play the game. It is not only board games that it's used in, it's also used in a lot of economics.
"It's an interesting class. It's a lot of math and a lot of strategy. My favorite part is the different types of games a lot of situational games a lot of charts and diagrams to figure out a lot of different strategies that I didn't know about before," another student, Cheyanne Hampton said.
-Joy Hong

American Foreign Policy

American Foreign Policy is taught by Matthew Clary and David Sparks. In the class, American Foreign Policy, students learn about the theories and philosophy behind various approaches to international relations and compare America's driving principles with those of other nations. They learn about how the U.S. makes decisions toward foreign neighbors. The class involves debates and simulations. It also involves situations in which the students play roles as important members of the United States Cabinet and where they must make decisions for the country.
Student James Ward said, "The American Foreign Policy class has learned that there is never truly an easy solution. There is no easy way to win," James said.
After asking if she liked the class, Grace Tse laughed, "I like the class because it's interesting and the people here are funny...it's entertaining." After watching the students of the American Foreign Policy class lead a mock press conference, they seemed like they were enjoying it. Tse also says she thinks all the kids in the class enjoy it and have fun. After asking some of the students what was so special about the class, the students responded with a few answers.
"I learned more about theories and international relations. I don't think you can learn that very much [outside of TIP]," said Casey Brand.
-Joy Hong

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