Class Participation

Description:

Your engagement and interest in the course texts – and by texts I mean not simply your reading assignments but also the writing and the comments and observations of yourself and your fellow students – are vital to the overall success of this course. Each class will be run as a discussion, and the course as a whole aims to create an intellectual community made up of everyone in our classroom, sharing our writing, our research, our interests, and our thoughts and observations with each other. For each class session, I expect that you will have read and reflected on the day's assignment, and that you will have brought the assigned texts to class. You'll be required to contribute to discussions by listening to and considering the comments of your fellow students, and by articulating clearly and considerately your own observations, agreements, or objections. Merely reading the material and nodding occasionally in class does not constitute adequate class participation! Neither does speaking out with random, useless, or off-topic comments. If you're shy or having trouble speaking up, come to my office so we can discuss ways of getting your voice heard in class. From time to time I may ask you and your fellow students to post questions or responses to course issues on our class listserv or course website; if I do this, remember your engagement in virtual discussion will be just as important towards your class participation grade.

The free exchange of ideas is predicated on civility in the classroom: treat your fellow students and their ideas with the same courtesy and consideration you expect from them. If you engage in inappropriate or abusive behavior (including intolerance based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or any other disability), you'll be removed from the course. Further administrative action may also be pursued, so be sure you know and understand the university's policies on acceptable conduct in the classroom (see your Student Handbook). The English Departmentπs website now features a downloadable "Ethics in English: A Guide for Students," that details the values that undergird ethical behavior inside and outside of the classroom: Clarity, honesty, tolerance, respect, objectivity, fairness, engagement, and responsibility. See the following:

www.english.ttu.edu/linked_files/Ethics_in_English_for_Students.pdf

The University has also published a comprehensive set of ethical guidelines for student conduct, available online:

www.depts.ttu.edu/officialpublications/catalog/_EthicalPrinciples.php

I expect that all of us will turn off all cell phones and beepers before class starts (this includes me).

Evaluation:

For every class session, you'll be assigned a number based on the quality of your class participation during that session. The numbers, and the criteria they are based upon, are as follows:

0 – you were absent

1 – you were obviously unprepared; unable to answer a question

when called on; explicitly unattentive; falling asleep

2 – you exhibited explicit, attentive listening; you answered a

question appropriately when called on

3 – you offered, unsolicited, a response to a question; you

volunteered a question or an observation

4 – you actively and productively shaped class discussion by

introducing a topic or issue pertinent to the course; you

responded ethically and responsibly to your fellow students

as well as to the instructor (me)

At the end of the semester, your class participation grade points will be based on an average of your number scores for each class session; an average score of 1 = 4 points, 2 = 6 points, 3 = 8 points, 4 = 10 points. Feel free to check in with me at any time on the status of your class participation grade, and strategies by which you can improve it if needed.