March 2008  |  Volume 3, Issue 1, Page 3

Brawn, Baseball Bats, and Business
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We hoped to show our students that the sport was, indeed, America's pastime, but that there was a lot more to it than buying a ticket and some peanuts. I also saw this course as an opportunity to ease my students' transition to college. My own transition to Tufts was rather rough, and I wanted to help our students through what was a difficult period in my life.

Teaching was extremely challenging. We were responsible for three hours of university education each week, for which our students would receive a full course credit. Tufts was entrusting us with the responsibility of delivering an academically-worthy course, and we did not want to disappoint.

Luckily, we had some help along the way. The ExCollege stressed that interactive education was the core of the Explorations experience. We soon realized why. Overall our students were not only more engaged when we held group discussions or played games, but they also learned more. Therefore, we attempted to incorporate something interactive into every class, along with a brief lecture addressing the most important points of the day.

We discussed a wealth of topics, from globalization to corporate sponsorships to statistical analysis. We were even lucky enough to bring in a guest speaker, ESPN's Keith Law, who spoke to our students about baseball scouting. At the same time, we answered our students' questions about which classes they should take, and gave them tips about getting the most out of their meal plans. We ordered pizza, watched baseball as a class, and became friends with them; needling the poor Pittsburgh Pirates fan or trying to Stump the Schwab.

Our class worked because of the participation of the students. They were eager to partake in any and all activities ranging from debates about salary caps, to discussions about the use of steroids, to playing games such as Jeopardy and Pictionary. Our students also prepared group presentations, and designed creative sports games for the class to try out at the end of their lectures. This, I feel, is an important lesson for not only teaching, but life; to get the most out of your education, you have to participate fully in it.

All in all the class itself was both fun and challenging. Although I had a wide range of knowledge prior to teaching the class, I learned a tremendous amount about baseball while researching and constructing the syllabus. More importantly, (and at the risk of sound cliché), the most rewarding part of teaching this course was watching our students break out of their shells, befriend one another, and become more confident and comfortable at Tufts.

Lost and Found: An ExCollege Course Takes Local Media by Storm
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On January 17^th, 2007 registration for "The Future is Lost," opened and closed within minutes. Matlin, Kalafarski, and their students were ready to delve into the world of popular television, and analyze the ever changing definition of American media. There was just one problem: neither had ever taught before. "I tried to think back to what worked for me as a student," Matlin said, "and from there I began to develop a teaching style. It really helped me think about all the different ways in which I could present this information, and determine what would, and really wouldn't, work in the classroom." According to Matlin, the duo, "really learned how to lead a narrative and speak on our feet."

"When you're up in front of 25 people, twice a week it's exhilarating. You've got to figure out a way to communicate information fast and engage your students. Plus, there's something special about having a bad day completely turned around after a good class. It can do a lot to change your day, week or month. After a while, you're an addict and you want your fix," said Matlin.

Once they had their feet wet, Matlin and Kalafarski launched headfirst into a complex and somewhat demanding syllabus. Their lessons largely focused on what they called the "triple triangle" of economics, community and content that shaped the Lost phenomenon.

Yet it was when the savvy senior and recent alum became determined to promote their seminar, that the little ExCollege-course-that-could took a drastic turn and began receiving national media coverage. By emailing, and consequently being mentioned, on a popular blog site, they managed to capture the attention of both The Boston Globe and National Public Radio. The two organizations then requested to observe the 25-person class before reporting on the college course that was based on a television show.

Soon after, Matlin snuck into a Harvard lecture hall and slipped the executive producers of Lost his syllabus. The bold move brought the media frenzy straight back to the classroom. A conference call between the producers and the ExCollege students took place just the day after Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse finished writing the finale for season three. Not only did the two media moguls chat with the students, but they mentioned the course in their weekly podcast, and participated in a live Q&A session with Matlin on NPR.

Matlin pointed out that the new developments helped ground the students in the material. "It really changed the students' experience and tied the class together when we told them they could ask the producers their questions directly." Harry Waksberg, a sophomore enrolled in the course at the time, emphasized how much of an impact the media attention had on the class, "It was extremely helpful to speak directly to the producers, who were thoroughly eager to tell us what publicity schemes were and were not intentional."

So what's next on the horizon for the two alums who successfully challenged the definition of university education? Matlin, now a Dutko Fellow and political staff writer for Slate Magazine, is as much a part of the media machine as his former subject matter. Kalafarski chose, instead, to focus more on the technological side of mass media, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Computer Science at Brown University.

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