In the title of this post, I use the word extraordinary to mean outside of the ordinary, the norm, and what is expected. I was thinking back to some of my favorite or most-memorable classes that have taken a departure from what is expected in a “normal” course. These “extraordinary” experiences are memorable because they are different. For example, a class that held meetings outside or in the dining hall, a class involving collaboration with community partners, a class that required sharing your work in a public space, etc.

In Matthew Cox’s “Shifting Grounds as the New Status Quo,” Cox writes that a queer rhetorics approach to teaching works to disrupt normal course expectations. For example, there is no “destination” or “ideal text” to work towards, thus, there is less of an idea of what is right and wrong (or success and failure) in schoolwork. Cox writes:

“A specifically queer rhetorics approach within cultural rhetorics is perhaps one of the most radical and unaddressed methodological approaches to technical communication studies. Queer rhetorics does not seek to ‘play nicely’ within the constraints of what is professional or successful or efficient. In this way, its dissonance offers technical communication some of the most useful, and risky, frameworks and tools for thinking about and working within an increasingly global and disparate set of workplaces and situations” (302).

Even though the classes we teach aren’t too outside the norm, it can be argued that the online shift in the past year has caused many extraordinary assignments and class expectations. Furthermore, getting students to try out new activities or encouraging students to do something that isn’t common in other classes can often be a challenge.

Many students are afraid to go outside of what is expected, thinking that if they go outside what is expected they won’t get a good grade so they should not take risks. In the fall I attended a virtual conference and one of the discussion points brought up was this issue of how can instructors encourage students to take risks.

Some students will not do well in these non-normative classes and will prefer the structure of a traditional class. Yet, as we’ve seen with the sudden shift to online classes, as well as just comparing the normal classroom structure to the variety of workplace workdays, students aren’t going to be in the normal classroom for the rest of their lives. It is a good thing for students if they partake in unusual courses or assignments because this will prepare them for future challenges.

I’ve put together some strategies for getting students to embrace an “extraordinary” course or assignment (though, these strategies could also be used for ordinary courses).

• Acknowledge that a course or assignment is different so students know that it is not like what they are used to and are better prepared to face it.
• Clearly state expectations as well as differences from the norm as this will help students grow accustomed to the change.
• It may also be helpful, especially if it is an experimental course, to let students know that you are kind of in the same boat as them and that you are learning how this works together (this also ties into there not being an “ideal” text or outcome).
• Reduce the penalty for mistakes. Some students probably aren’t going to understand at first, so there should be some parts of the course where you can encourage creativity and risks without consequences.
• Do a practice run (perhaps without penalty). If the course is centered on a big project, do a similar but smaller project at the start to get the students used to the idea.
• Have check-ins. Track your students’ progress so you can evaluate if they are on the right track. This way, you can encourage them to go big, but, if they go too far off course, you can let them know to rein it in a bit.
• Show examples. Students will feel more comfortable and confident with an assignment if they can get an idea of what is accepted. However, this can be difficult if you are trying something experimental and don’t have examples.
• Keep some things as expected. As Cox writes, “Of course, when disrupting any course structure, I always believe it’s also important to leave enough benchmarks or processes that are familiar so that students do not become completely disoriented by changes” (295).

-Nicole