Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Instructor Insights

 

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

21G.404 German IV
or permission of instructor

Requirements Satisfied

HASS

Offered

Every other spring semester

The Classroom

  • Three rows of tablet armchairs facing a black chalkboard. There is a classroom door on the right wall.

    Room 1 of 1

    Seminar

    Class sessions were held in a room equipped with tablet armchairs, chalkboards, and an AV system.

 

Assessment

Grade Breakdown

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by active participation. 40% Active participation
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by homework & presentations. 30% Homework & presentations
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by exams. 30% Exams (2)

Instructor Insights on Assessment

Peter Weise uses video recordings and feedback from native German speakers to help students assess their language development.

Student Information

Less than ten students took this course when it was taught in Spring 2017.

Breakdown by Year

Mostly juniors and seniors

Breakdown by Major

Variety of majors

Typical Student Background

Students are motivated to take this course for a variety of reasons. Some are heritage learners. Others took German in high school and want to continue their studies, while another group of students wants to be able to read academic literature in the original German. Finally, some students are motivated to learn German because they want to work in Germany.

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

In Class

3 hours per week
  • Met 2 times per week for 1.5 hours per session; 26 sessions total.
  • Class sessions included communicative activities, student presentations, and guest speakers.
 

Out of Class

9 hours per week
  • Students completed homework and prepared presentations outside of class.
 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. Class meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
2 No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
3 No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
4 No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
5 No session scheduled. Student presentations and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
6 No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting scheduled. No session scheduled.
7 No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
8 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
9 No session scheduled. Class meeting and exam scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
10 No session scheduled. Student presentations and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
11 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
12 No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
13 No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting and quiz scheduled. No session scheduled.
14 No session scheduled. Class meeting and exam scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentations scheduled. No session scheduled.
15 No session scheduled. Student presentations scheduled. No session scheduled. Class meeting scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when class meetings are held. Class meeting
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when quiz is scheduled. Quiz
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when student presentations are scheduled. Student presentations
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when exam is scheduled. Exam