This information is related to my undergraduate courses. If you are enrolled in one of my undergraduate course, I suggest you review it carefully before your course begins. Policies related to my graduate courses are either included in, or linked from, course specific syllabi.
Engagement, i.e., attendance, preparation, participation and successful, and timely, completion of course deliverables, is mandatory. You will not succeed in our course if you do not engage.
It’s that simple.
Your performance will improve if you attend class regularly, are well prepared AND participate effectively in the learning environment, whether F2F or digital.
Yes … it IS that simple!
You are an important part of the team, including your professor and classmates, that create an effective learning environment. Your engagement in our course learning environment plays a significant role in my assessment of your performance, in other words, the gra
de you earn in our course. Our course will demand a substantial investment of time and effort and so will require a significant amount of preparation. You need to be self-motivated and stay on task in order to succeed. Dr. Jeffrey Bennett has developed some terrific “Hints on How to Succeed in College Classes” that I strongly suggest you review before we begin our course.
I will take attendance every time we meet in class. I will even take attendance if we have a class meeting in a virtual environment using Slack Video, Skype or a Google+ Hangout.
While our meetings will consist of both lectures and discussions, I am not a big fan of the “Sage on the Stage” model of teaching. Discussion will be the primary form of interaction in our course. Of course, those discussions will be both F2F and digital. We will use a variety of technology supported platforms to support or interactions, both in and out of class meetings. Your engagement in our digital discussions, whether enrolled in a F2F or web-based course, will also be an important part of my assessment of your performance.
Remember … if you are consistently unprepared, or even underprepared, it will be very difficult to take full advantage of our course learning environment. That lack of engagement is a lost opportunity for you and will reflect poorly when I assess your performance.
The Engagement Rubric below has been adapted by Professor Sara Calhoun Davis from The Teaching Professor and forms the basis of assessment of your course engagement.
ENGAGEMENT RUBRIC |
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| A | B | C/D | F | |
| Peer Interaction | Actively supports, engages, and listens to peers (ongoing) | Makes a sincere effort to interact with peers (ongoing) | Limited interaction with peers | Virtually no interaction with peers |
| Preparation | Fully prepared for every aspect of the course | Mostly, if not fully, prepared (ongoing) | Preparation is inconsistent | Rarely or never prepared |
| Participation | Plays an active role in discussions (ongoing) | Participates constructively in discussions (ongoing) | When prepared, participates constructively in discussions | Comments vague if given; frequently demonstrates lack of interest |
| Contribution to Class | Comments advance level and depth of dialogue | Relevant comments are based on assigned material | When prepared, relevant comments are based on assignments | Demonstrates a noticeable lack of interest on occasion |
| Group Dynamics | Group dynamic and level of discussion are often better because of candidate’s engagement | Group dynamic and level of discussion are occasionally better, but not worse, because of candidate’s engagement | Group dynamic and level of discussion are sometimes disrupted by candidate’s engagement | Group dynamic and level of discussion are often disrupted by candidate’s engagement |
You can influence my assessment of your course engagement in a positive way by
- Becoming more active and/or making more effective comments that raise overall level of discussion and set examples for others, and
- Asking thoughtful questions that will enhance discussion and engage peers, and
- Listening carefully to, supporting, and engaging your peers in discussion. This will essentially improve others’ learning experience.
That said, you can also influence my assessment of your course engagement in a negative way if you
- Do not engage in the course regularly, through attendance, prepration and participation, even though you meet attendance requirements. Even though you may have submitted assigned work, your contribution will not have added to the course discussion, or
- Dominating discussions, thereby restricting others’ participation, and
- Disrupting others’ opportunity to listen and/or participate, or
- Making negative, offensive, and/or disrespectful comments during discussions, or
- Violating the privacy of individuals, or
- Using electronic devices such as, but not limited to, a cell phone, tablet, or computer for personal or unrelated coursework during class unless instructed to do so. There are no exceptions.