As Tim says, YES to front-loading. Actually we've done a fair amount in the course so far, but it's all those little details that get you.
I love the idea of students preparing discussion questions; this is a good way to motivate actually reading what they're assigned to read without our having to grade something. I might use the discussion board as part of this.
C&D's suggestion to schedule student assignments around our own is nice, but seems highly impractical unless we wait to make up the full class schedule until _after_ we get syllabi for the classes we're taking. And that would be tricky.
Bean's paired interviews sounds neat for early-process peer review- can help a student see whether they're writing a viable argument. I'm worried about the pairings though- an unmotivated D student may not be very much help to anyone else. I'll still probably try this though.
And I'm big on the idea of discovery drafts, as Jack calls them; I certainly don't want to see a 2-page mess as a 1st submission. For a research paper, a prospectus or abstract (or both) sounds like a good way to keep them on schedule and help them manage research. It definitely worked for me as an undergraduate- helped combat my natural procrastination (my father once bought me a book on fighting procrastination. I haven't read it yet).
While still resisting B&C&D's ideas on abruptly shutting off conferences, I like their ideas on structuring conferences- I think I might adapt their meeting model, and emphasize to students that they need to prepare for conferences too (specific questions etc.).
C&D reassure us that teaching is a process. I like that. I'd like to believe that I'll get better at this, and it will be good to remember that even a lousy class will only last for a semester, and then I'll never have to see them again. Ahhhh.
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I also wondered about their suggestion to plan our English 1000 classes around the assignments that we have due. To some extent, we can do that, in that we can try to ensure taht we won't have too much grading to do in the weeks before the end of the semester, but it seems impossible to do too much of that.
I think what might be easier than trying to plan your English 1000 schedules around your course work is to plan your course work around itself. Does that make sense? Then if you know you have a (draft, presentation, prospectus) due in all of your courses, see if you can't get one out of the way early in the semester.
Also, I'd be willing to bet you a pan of tiramisu that any one of your professors for your Fall 2007 courses (or any other courses, really) would be thrilled if you went to them in advance or met with them over the summer to discuss what their syllabi will look like.
Katie, you're on! mmmmm...tiramisu
Which reminds me (complete non sequitur approaching) of my favorite sign on highway 101 between San Francisco and San Jose:
MMM
Carpet
To which I always say: "mmmmmmm...carpet". Some friends of mine make this the punch line to inappropriate jokes.
Joe, in regards to the last paragraph of your post-- yes, once the semester is over, no matter how badly it went, at least you will never have to see them again-- but they will haunt you for the rest of your days.
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