Perpetual Canon: Literature Circles in World Literature

In ENH202: World Literature after the Renaissance I utilized Literature Circles as a method for creating stronger community in online classes, deepening the engagement between students, and practicing group work in prep for the course final. Students were in 3 groups for 4 weeks at a time, each group given additional readings to read, analyze and report out using the Literature Circles roles. The student in the Connector role would collect the student’s work and post it in Canvas for grading and students would switch roles on their own each week. At the end of each four-week period, students used the evaluation sheet to grade group members. At first, students struggled with the concept and assignment requirements but then they caught on. Each week a few students who didn’t get their work to the Connector in time for the Connector to post, and ended up posting on their own. Feedback indicated: (a) students liked the assignment because it allowed them to exchange ideas with their peers; (b) students felt the assignment allowed them to get help from their peers; and (c) the assignment did create a more traditional F2F discussion environment in the online format.