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notice that this grade is for course participation,
not (just) class participation. that is, it's meant to reflect
your engagement with the materials of the course, and with the
other participants of the course. in addition to my own evaluation
of your involvement and commitment, everyone else in the class
will have the chance to comment on your participation, and i
will take those comments seriously.
at my end, i have a merit/demerit policy. merit will be awarded
primarily on the quality of participation: asking relevant questions;
making relevant observations; complementing or developing someone
else's contribution; and generally taking a constructive part
in the class; being cheerful, thrifty, and brave. quantity of
participation is a positive factor to the extent that lots of
quality contributions are somewhat preferable to a few quality
contributions (but not to the extent of shutting out others).
but calibre is much more important than volume. demerit will
be assessed reluctantly, and only on the basis of repeated instances.
the grounds for the demerit system are: absenteeism (you can't
participate if you're not there); whispering, sniggering, or
chatting while other people are addressing the class (or, especially,
while other people are giving their presentations); or making
lengthy, unfocused comments that draw away from the general thread
of discussion (a.k.a., verbal wanking).
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do not miss this:
you will get an automatic grade of f- for course
participation if you do not submit a memo grading and commenting
on everyone else's course participation. some people, obviously,
you may not have any informed opinion of-they're quiet in class,
you don't have any 392a-relevant contact with them outside of
class-but for everyone you form an opinion of, assign them a
participation grade and submit it with a few justificatory comments,
something like:
fred derf, C+
he was always talking, but didn't say much, and his comments
seemed unduly negative.
wilma amliw, A
always helpful; very knowledgeable; constructive. i learned a
lot from her analysis of repair manuals.
dino onid, --
he was quiet. i don't have an opinion about him.
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