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[dr_evil]

I never saw the show until last night.  Interesting.  I might be hooked.  We'll see if I even remember it next week.

[dept_geek]

It's like watching a train wreck. You can't shut it off. Tim Gunn rocks.

[dr_evil]

It's like watching a train wreck. You can't shut it off. Tim Gunn rocks.

Yeah, that's a good way to describe it.  I couldn't stop watching it.  I even stayed up late for the end.

[betty_p]

Hah! Wait until the drama really starts. That's must-see-TV.

[dept_geek]

Hah! Wait until the drama really starts. That's must-see-TV.

Very true!! We haven't had a good cry yet!

[dr_evil]

I just never thought I'd be interested in a show like this.  I'm so far from a fashsionista that I think I' REQUIRED to go clothes shopping with someone.  There's a law out there somewhere.

[dept_geek]

I just never thought I'd be interested in a show like this.  I'm so far from a fashsionista that I think I' REQUIRED to go clothes shopping with someone.  There's a law out there somewhere.

LOL. Happily jeans & chinos & polos are easy to shop for. OTOH I have a stereotype to maintain.

[dr_evil]

LOL. Happily jeans & chinos & polos are easy to shop for. OTOH I have a stereotype to maintain.

You'd be surprised.  You wouldn't believe some of the critiques I've received on my jeans.  ;)

[dept_geek]

LOL. Happily jeans & chinos & polos are easy to shop for. OTOH I have a stereotype to maintain.

You'd be surprised.  You wouldn't believe some of the critiques I've received on my jeans.  ;)

Heathens. 

[edwidge]

This season is looking okay, but no one will ever top Jay McCarroll for sheer entertainment and sass!

[zarathustra]

I love the show and all it's re-runs!

[galactic_hedgehog]

My wife's been into the show for a coupla seasons now but I never paid it much mind until this season (I'll sit with her on the couch while she watches and read).  I'm starting to get a little more caught up in it, though definitely not as much as Top Chef.

I also admit I watch a few episodes of Shear Genius and found (to my surprise) I rather liked it.

[john_proctor]

OK, so, at my campus, my department (among about 12 others) is part of a program that is exploring innovative active learning techniques for intro classes (the gen eds) and expansion of service learning and undergraduate research for upper level/majors.  We're at an early phase where we're collecting data from existing syllabi and reading the lit.

I've noticed that a ton of academics love Project Runway.

I caught a couple of episodes over the holidays (I don't have a TV, so I don't find many TV shows anyway, and those I watch have to be either out on DVD or network/free shows on the internet).

The weekly projects and contests are actually amazing examples of active learning/service kind of projects.  Their parameters "teach" industry constraints and needs (in one episode I saw, the designers had to come up with a design that would have broad general appeal and be priced at $40 retail.  That limited their choices in style, manufacturing complexity and material costs).  They often are collaborative/group projects (stressing team work, communication skills, and "peer instruction").  They address specific aspects of design (and foster design expansion and elaboration within the matrix of industry and market standards) and they're often referential (teaching history of the "problem" and sometimes requireing a garment that fits a broader catalog - i.e. researched).

I think part of the fascination of the show for many of us "on the job" is that it gives us a tiny peak into the interactions and experiences of people doing the kind of things we often assign.

[iomhaigh]

OK, so, at my campus, my department (among about 12 others) is part of a program that is exploring innovative active learning techniques for intro classes (the gen eds) and expansion of service learning and undergraduate research for upper level/majors.  We're at an early phase where we're collecting data from existing syllabi and reading the lit.

I've noticed that a ton of academics love Project Runway.

I caught a couple of episodes over the holidays (I don't have a TV, so I don't find many TV shows anyway, and those I watch have to be either out on DVD or network/free shows on the internet).

The weekly projects and contests are actually amazing examples of active learning/service kind of projects.  Their parameters "teach" industry constraints and needs (in one episode I saw, the designers had to come up with a design that would have broad general appeal and be priced at $40 retail.  That limited their choices in style, manufacturing complexity and material costs).  They often are collaborative/group projects (stressing team work, communication skills, and "peer instruction").  They address specific aspects of design (and foster design expansion and elaboration within the matrix of industry and market standards) and they're often referential (teaching history of the "problem" and sometimes requireing a garment that fits a broader catalog - i.e. researched).

I think part of the fascination of the show for many of us "on the job" is that it gives us a tiny peak into the interactions and experiences of people doing the kind of things we often assign.

Yup, yup, yup.  These projects are a lot like my grad and undergrad design classes, and frankly a lot like most of my other classes. 


And, it is a weekly case study in how to teach and mentor effectively.  Now, if only I could hire the academic version of Nina, Michael, Heidi and the guest judge to reinforce what I tell my students but in such harsher language that I seem lovable by comparison.

[betty_p]

I think this is exactly right. In some other thread I noted that my in-class performance on writing workshop days closely resembles Tim Gunn's workroom style. Do we all want to be Tim Gunn, or is it just me?

Wouldn't it be great to run a classroom like a reality show? "Slacker Student, your essay didn't inspire us and the construction was poor. We seriously question your taste level. You're out. Auf wiedersehen."

And only the top three students would make it to Finals Week (wait--need a sponsor--McGraw Hill Finals Week).