Participation in class discussions and activities is essential to successful learning and should reflect the your reading, analysis, and experience in relation to the topic.
In order to help you review reading material, we will create study groups for this course. You will be provided a mechanism to communicate with your group online, through blackboard. After each lecture, each group will be assigned a few questions, which they should be prepared to answer the next lecture. Apart from this, I will ask other questions in class. You too should feel free to ask questions on material that you do not understand, offer suggestions on improving ideas presented in class, and make other positive contributions to the learning experience in class. All these will count toward class participation.
Class participation counts as 7.5% (75/1000) of your grade in this class. Evaluation for class participation will be determined according to the following descriptions:
| Level of Participation | Description |
|---|---|
| Excellent (60 - 75) | Student frequently initiates communication of a class topic with the class and with the instructor, i.e. the student consistently introduces relevant lines of discussion, asks thought provoking questions and provides elaborated responses to questions posed by instructor or others, and also actively participates in the study group. |
| Good/Satisfactory (40 - 60) | Student takes an active role in communicating with the class and with the instructor, i.e. the student consistently engages in and contributes relevant information to class discussions. The student often correctly answers questions posed by the instructor, and also actively participates in the study group. |
| Below expectations (0 - 40) | The student infrequently contributes in class and group discussions. The student rarely gives correct answers to questions asked in class, and does not contribute much to the study group. |
There are circumstances that deter or prevent discussion. At any time, if you are not participating in class discussion to the fullest extent possible please make an appointment with me, immediately, to discuss the evaluation.
(Note: The above material is based on modifications of material prepared by Dr. Cheryl Stratton at ODDL.)