Michele N. Zugnoni
Assignments & Activities Archive
Assignment Description
The development of a social support system is one of the greatest factors in college student success. Without such a system, students experience a sense of isolation and loneliness (Tinto 4). 28.4% of college students report feeling socially isolated (“Loneliness, Resilience” 3). 64.7% of college students report having experienced loneliness (“Loneliness, Resilience” 1), while 39% report feeling lonely within the past 24 hours (Marken & Hrynowski para. 1). The time capsule assignment weaves together development of a social support system and narrative composition into what Yancey (1998) refers to as giving students a chance to “discover what [they] know, what [they] have learned, and what [they] might understand” (6). The time capsule consists of five narratives and five peer-based comment sections. Students write, film or audio record narratives related to their college experience and/or aspects of their own identity. In class, students share those parts of the narrative they feel comfortable sharing. They then engage in discussion and leave a note on each other’s comment sections. In the process, students form social connections while also developing their personal and academic goals. They also develop skills in multimodal composition. After four years, around the time of college graduation, students are emailed links to their time capsules. During a time of change, they have the chance to remember the connections they’ve already made. Students who have completed this assignment have noted that the class was their “safe place” and that the time capsule helped them form friendships and become comfortable engaging with peers.