Course Catalogue and Check-Ins: A Semester Record

Gustavo Ferreira is Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream in Information and Technology Studies in the Faculty of Information. His research and teaching focus on critical studies of technology and culture, with particular interest in music circulation, audio media, and recommender systems, drawing on cultural studies and the political economy of technology. Gustavo’s approach to GenAI in teaching is one of critical skepticism. Rather than adopting technological projects designed and pushed by a small group of industry-dominant figures and believing their promises, his teaching focuses on foundational, critical pedagogies rooted in fostering students’ conscious development. No knowledge is forbidden, and no tools are ignored, but we can oppose them based on their long-standing detrimental record of exploitation and environmental damage and their present-day pernicious effects.

Gustavo Ferreira Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Information and Technology Studies in the Faculty of Information

Objectives

As part of the iSchool course INF302H (Integrative Approaches to Technology and Society), the A1 Learning Journey series aimed to make students’ engagement with course content visible and assessable throughout the semester, rather than at a single high-stakes moment. Students collected ongoing evidence of their learning – handwritten notes, in-class write-ups, and physical artifacts – submitted twice during the term through structured check-ins, and compiled these into a final physical catalogue that narrates their intellectual progression through the course.

The assignment was designed to assess both the consistency of students’ engagement with readings and lectures and their ability to synthesize and reflect on what they learned. Importantly, the series is intentionally analogue: students maintain physical notebooks and submit physical documents, encouraging experimentation with non-digital tools and keeping generative AI use – which must be documented if used at all – visible and deliberate.

Process

The activity was designed as a structured, multi-stage sequence that builds across the semester toward a final integrative deliverable. This series consists of four components (A1.1–A1.4), described below. The steps included:

Step 1: Ongoing Collection (Weeks 1–11)

Students maintain a physical notebook or binder throughout the term, adding three types of material each week: in-class write-ups (short handwritten responses to prompts addressing readings and discussions), general lecture and tutorial notes, and artifacts (physical objects, photographs of in-class moments, printed articles, peer annotations, or other relevant materials).
Each item is labelled with type, number, title, and date.

Step 2: Mid-Semester Check-Ins (A1.1 — due Week 5; A1.2 — due Week 8)

Students physically submit their notebook pages for the relevant period, organized chronologically by week, with a brief cover page providing a 3–4 sentence overview of their learning progress.
Check-ins assess consistency and engagement with course content, not polish or presentation quality.
Pages are returned to students for inclusion in the final catalogue.

Step 3: Research Talk Response (A1.3 — due Week 11)

Students attend a public research talk at the iSchool, the Centre for Culture & Technology, or another institution.
Students write a short critical report (500 words) connecting the talk to at least one course concept.

Step 4: Final Course Catalogue (A1.4 — due Week 12)

Students compile all collected materials into a reorganized, clearly labelled physical document with four required sections:
- Introduction (~one handwritten page): introduces the course in the student’s own words, identifies central themes, and explains the catalogue’s organizational logic.
- Highlights Section: presents 3–5 selected materials as a narrative arc from prior knowledge to new understanding, with explanation of why each was chosen.
- Collection Section: all remaining materials in chronological order, consistently labelled and easy to navigate.
- Reflection and Conclusion (~one handwritten page): reflects on what the catalogue reveals about the student’s learning, discusses how understanding of key concepts deepened, identifies connections across the course, and closes with a forward-looking statement.
The catalogue is submitted in person during the final class.

Future-Focused Skill Development

This activity supports future-ready learning by aligning with principles from the University of Calgary’s STRIVE model. It emphasizes Transparency, as the multi-stage structure makes students’ engagement with course content visible and legible, to both the instructor and themselves. It promotes Responsibility by requiring students to account for their own learning process over time, recognize where their understanding has deepened, and justify their choices using evidence from readings and class participation. It also supports Integrity by deliberately limiting generative AI use: in-class work is AI-free, and any out-of-class AI use must be documented, keeping students accountable for the thinking and writing they submit as their own. Together, these principles help students develop metacognitive skills, disciplinary engagement, and a reflective orientation toward learning.

Student Feedback

Professor Ferreira shares: “The assessment has been polarizing among students. On one side, students welcome learning new or recovering old study practices, the conscious thought put into their weekly learning, and the materiality of the assignment. On the other hand, students feel that the assignment’s emphasis on process and the transparent goal of reducing AI use through handwritten, reflective journaling can be patronizing, labour-intensive, and lacking focus on the subject matter.”

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