The Genius Project: Using a Popular Lyrics Database to Teach the Importance of Careful

The Genius Project: Using a Popular Lyrics Database to Teach the Importance of Careful Annotation

Daniel Scarpa, Fall 2015

Table of Contents

Explanation of Project
Context
SLOs and Course Requirements
Question
Methods of Investigation
Project Activities
Using Genius to Annotate Texts
Sample Student Genius Projects
Possible Future Uses
Complete Student Feedback
Survey Results
Student Comments
Analysis
Conclusion
Observations
Concerns
Suggestions for Improvement
Appendix
Complete Survey
Links to all Genius Projects

Explanation of Project

Context

Early on this semester, I discovered that assigning reading and expecting ENGL 90 students to just do it because it was their homework was not going to work. Even if they did the reading, most did not have anywhere close to the skills necessary to fully understand, digest, and discuss even a short academic reading assignment. I discussed this issue with them in class to try and peel back the onion, so to speak, on why this was so difficult. The answers more or less corresponded with what more experienced educators have known for years. I heard them say things like, “I can read the words, and I understand them individually, but I have a hard time piecing them together” or “I get lost in the words, and then I don’t understand, and then I get bored and lose all motivation.” I realized quickly that my students were lacking the ability to synthesize and analyze what they read. Not only that, they didn’t really see the importance of reading carefully and understanding what they read.

SLOs and Course Requirements
Read actively and demonstrate critical thinking skills through the ability to summarize, analyze, evaluate and synthesize assigned readings. (PSLO 1, 2, 3)

Write, edit and revise expository essays which synthesize course readings and are clearly focused, fully developed, and logically organized. Compose essays with sentences which display a developing syntactical maturity and whose meaning is not impaired by excessive grammar, usage and proofreading errors. (PSLO 1, 4)

Demonstrate the ability to use strategies for academic success, including use of college resources and ability to monitor and evaluate one’s own learning. (PSLO 1, 5)

“It is the intent of the department that English 90 be a course that engages students and speaks to their issues and concerns.” (Course Content)

Question

How do I encourage, model, and reinforce annotation?

Methods of Investigation

I came up with the idea to use Genius, a database of song lyrics and other texts with user-generated annotations, because I thought it might be a way to upgrade the low-tech annotation paradigm. Rather than taking notes with such outdated modes of expression as ink and paper, Genius allows students to collaborate online and share their work with me, the rest of class, their friends, and anyone else. Their work on Genius are living documents, open to anyone who wishes to contribute. In this small way, they’re contributing to the world around them. I tried to use Genius as a way to engage students with the assigned reading and teach the importance of careful annotation and analysis.

Project Activities

Preliminary Research

First, I attempted to demonstrate the importance of reading carefully via modeling. I asked the class to spend some time over a weekend looking online for texts that they understood well but that they thought I would not. This could have been anything from rap lyrics to computer manuals to stock market analysis. During lab hour, we took a vote to see which text I would have to attempt to read and understand. I told the class that if they could stump, I would allow them to write their own final exam essay question. In one section, it was a guide for performing a cervical cancer screening (this got a little awkward) and in the other, the Wikipedia page for the Space-Time Continuum.

While they worked on essays in the lab, I spent 20-30 minutes reading these documents and annotating them. I pasted the relevant text into Word and the Comments feature to make margin notes. I looked up unfamiliar words and pasted their definitions into the margins. After a while, I was ready to explain what I had learned to the class. Using my notes, I gave brief lectures on each topic and the students who were “experts” (a medical assistant in one class and a science-minded student who spent the weekend watching YouTube videos on space-time) agreed that I had explained the concepts well. I explained that, by carefully reading and annotating, I was able to come to a reasonable understanding of concepts of which I had zero foreknowledge. I am still not a credible expert on either,but I am now educated enough to hold a conversation and answer basic questions.

A few class periods later, I introduced Genius as part of a Reading Journal students were working on. We had just read and discussed a poem called “The Work” by Dana Beardsley Crotwell, and instead of writing a page about it for their journals (as they had done all semester), I asked them to go to Genius and annotate at least one line of the poem’s text that I had previously uploaded. You can view their work here and here. Before this assignment was due, I asked students to bring printed versions of their favorite songs to class. In groups, students annotated the lyrics and attempted to come up with interpretations of the songs. This exercise faced some logistical speedbumps due to some poor planning on my part, but in the end, we interpreted four popular songs in new ways and compared our work to the annotations that already existed on Genius. I might be biased, but I think ours were better : ). We even added an annotation to one of the songs.

Finally, toward the end of the semester, I introduced a graded project using Genius.

Using Genius to Annotate Texts

For the purposes of the Genius Project, I paired students up and asked them to select an essay based solely on the title. As part of a unit on Culture/Race/Class, I had collected a dozen of my favorite writings on the subject (that could be readily found online) and posted links to them in D2L. After selecting the reading of their choice, students were given two lab periods (plus whatever outside time they needed) to read their essay, paste the text into Genius, and annotate it. In addition to straight text, Genius gives students the opportunity to use photos, videos, and links to other sites. On the last regular class day of the semester, they presented their work in front of the class.

Students’ Genius Projects

At the links below, you can see a few examples of student work:

“How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America” by Kiese Laymon (annotated by Joshua Moss and Marcelino Zierau)
“You are in Paradise” by Zadie Smith (annotated by Norma Gomez and Jubentino Ortega)
“Relations” by Eula Bliss (annotated by Osvaldo and Mixtli Cruz)
“The Money” by Junot Diaz (annotated by Omar Lesnjak and Jose Villalba)
“Paper Tigers” by Wesley Yang (annotated by Sophia Ornelas and DayaamDionisio)

Possible Future Uses

I think I barely scratched the surface of what can be done with Genius. Projects like the one my students did are one application, but it can be a wonderful tool to model annotation as well. I can see an entire class annotating a text or even using it in class. You can pull the day’s reading up on Genius and annotate as a class or make it part of the reading assignment (i.e. each student is expected to annotate part of the text on Genius before class and you show those annotations during class time). Even internally, since I know many of us use the same readings, faculty could collaborate on annotations to help each other with lecture or other in-class work.

Complete Student Feedback

Survey Results

My survey focused on how well using Genius solved the problem of students being unwilling to read and unable to analyze texts even when they did read them. The first question ask whether the students felt they had developed better reading habits as a result of doing the assignment, to which 26 of 28 responded yes. The next question asked, on a scale of 1-5, how likely the students are to annotate texts in the future, which yielded an average response of 4.2. The next question asked, on a scale of 1-5, how likely the students are to actually do the reading in future courses, regardless of whether there is a point-value attached, which yielded an average response of 4.9. The next question asked whether the project showed students the importance of reading, to which all 28 responded yes. Finally, I asked for comments and have reproduced them below:

Student Comments

“Presentations aren’t fun for the students that haven’t taken speech class, but still a great way for the class to participate.”
“I think this was an inspirational class. I’m very happy to have had you as my teacher returning to school after so long. You’ve opened my eyes to things that I only noticed from a distance. The only thing I wish we would have covered was paragraph structure when we learned about the webs.”
“People doing this assignment bring out their creativity. My partner did just that for someone who is quiet and shy.”
“I enjoyed having the Genius experience of reading and annotation: I talked about it with my co-workers at work. A couple of them created an account and scanned a couple of things. They liked it.”
“Great project, I really learned how to better understand the text.”
“At first, I thought the Genius project wasn’t a good idea but after doing the work, I found out that I enjoyed it very much.”
“Overall great project and helped me gain better study habits.”
“Great class!”
“Please choose shorter stories next time and keep up the good work.”
“You are awesome, keep teaching and make people smarter!”
“Great project. Enjoyed working on it.”
“Nice job this semester, Dan!”
“Not only did I learn the importance of reading, I also learned the importance of proper writing.”
“This class helped me transition from the military back to civilian life. I’m no longer a killing robot. I feel like I can think logically and communicate with others better than before I took this class.”
“This class was great. Daniel is an excellent teacher and helps out a lot. This feedback is honest and very understandable.”
“Reading is very important.”
“This was fun and enjoyable.”
“: )”

Analysis

The feedback for this assignment has been overwhelmingly positive. On my end, it appears to be a success as well. Several students worked hard on this assignment and produced high-quality work. That may have been a function of assigning it near the end of the semester, which is the only time many students care about their grade, but whatever the reason, I was pleased with the time and effort many of them put into it. Most of them took it as a serious learning opportunity, and I think the responses to the survey reflect that.

Conclusion

Observations

My main takeaway from doing this is that it could work as an effective way to assess reading. A formal presentation project worked well for me, but I’m imagining viewing a student’s Genius account with all the readings for the semester uploaded and annotated. I could then see the student’s level of engagement with the readings and assess his or her ability to comprehend level-appropriate texts.

Concerns

The biggest issue with doing something like this is that many students, particularly those on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, still have intermittent or inconsistent access to technology and the internet. This is why I gave students two lab hours to work on this assignment, even though many of them probably didn’t need it. Additionally, it’s quite a bit of work for something that really can’t be a major component of their grade. However, I think it can be introduced early on in the semester and folded into the course as part of the essay-writing process. It’s another way to hammer home the point that good reading makes good writing.

Suggestions for Improvement

This first time around, I didn’t really give many guidelines for the project. I simply said to go into Genius and annotate the text well enough that a person who hasn’t read it can read your annotations and understand the full text. This meant different things to different students. Most were able to annotate reasonably well, but some of the projects are pretty spare. When I do this again, I’m going to make the following stipulations:

You must annotate the title. What does it mean? Use this annotation to summarize the entire text in just a few sentences.
Give relevant background information on the author.
If you choose not to annotate a large section of text, you’re saying that section requires no further explanation. Are you sure about that?
Define all unfamiliar terms

Additionally, I would take more care to ensure that all of the readings were roughly the same length. Some turned out to be much longer than I remembered and as a consequence, I asked some students to spend more time on this project than others. I did stipulate, however, that I was expecting more specific and detailed work from those students who worked with shorter texts.

Appendix
Genius Project Handout
Links to all student Genius Projects

Genius Annotation Project – English 90

For this assignment, you will work with a partner to read, annotate, comprehend, and interpret one of the readings from chapter 3 in our textbook, “Between Cultures.” You will present your work to the class during the week before finals. We will hold a fantasy-style draft to determine who will work with whom and which texts you will use.

What You Do

Once we determine the logistics, you will each create an entry on Genius for your reading. It should use the selection’s actual title with your names next to it in parentheses. Example: Black Men and Public Space (Jane Jones & John Smith). You then paste the text of the selection into your Genius entry (I’ve linked to online versions of the texts on D2L) and begin annotating. Remember that, in addition to plain text, you can use images, videos, and links to other sites to enhance your annotations.

What You Present

On December 11, each pair will present their annotations to the rest of the class. One person should be responsible for reading the text out loud and the other for reading and explaining your annotations. Presentations should take no longer than 15 minutes, with a brief Q&A session at the end.

What You Turn In

Nothing physical. All I ask is that you post a link to your selection and annotations to D2L before Friday, December 11, at 1 pm.

Requirements

I am not going to set a minimum for how many annotations you should create, but it should be a number substantial enough to help me, your classmates, and yourselves understand the text better and clearly demonstrate your engagement with the reading. You do not need to go over every single annotation you create in your presentations, but when I eventually check them via your link, I will be checking for total comprehension.

Grading

This project is worth 50 points toward your non-essay grade - 25 points for the presentation and 25 for the annotations themselves. Presentations will be graded on efficiency, clarity, and your overall preparedness. Annotations will be graded on how well they “break down” the text and make it easier to understand. By the time someone is finished reading your annotations, he or she should be able to answer any question about the text without actually reading it.

Selections

“Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples; “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie; “The Money” by Junot Diaz; “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America” by Kiese Laymon; “Will You Be My Black Friend” by Devin Friedman “Invisible Man” by Lawrence Otis Graham; “You Are in Paradise” by Zadie Smith; “Relations” by Eula Bliss

Links to Genius Projects:

“Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples (annotated by Sara Castro and Jonathan Little)

“How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America” by Kiese Laymon (annotated by Joshua Moss and Marcelino Zierau)

“You are in Paradise” by Zadie Smith (annotated by Norma Gomez and Jubentino Ortega)

“The Money” by Junot Diaz (annotated by David Lopez and Alex Obias)

“Relations” by Eula Bliss (annotated by Osvaldo and Mixtli Cruz)

“Will You be My Black Friend?” by Devin Freidman (annotated by Cristina Gonzalez and Jonathan Perez)

“Invisible Man” by Lawrence Otis Graham (annotated by Yessy Vega and Evelyn Martin)