You are responsible for completing the following deliverables this semester.
Engagement
Success in this course will require you to do more than simply appear in class twice a week and answer an occasional question. I expect that all of my students will be prepared to actively participate in our in class discussions since that is a key way to take as much away from the course as possible. Please review the Engagement Rubric in the Attendance, Preparation & Participation section of this site.
Our POV conversations are ongoing so simply posting your initial response to the POV will not be sufficient. You must engage your classmates with commentary, reaction and/or analysis of their POV posts (see the comment period in each POV cycle). Remember, conversation ” … is a form of interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people …” and generally, ” … written exchanges are usually not referred to as conversations.” The good news is that Slack will allow us to engage in either synchronous or asynchronous written exchanges that will stand in for conversations.
POVs
You will complete this deliverable by posting your POV to the appropriate POV channel in Slack.
Point of view is defined as a “the particular attitude or opinion that somebody has about something” and “a particular way of considering or judging a situation”. You will prepare two POVs this semester. Each POV will begin with an article, video, podcast and/or question. Your initial response to the POV is simply a reflection on the issues that flow from those materials. It is not an exercise that requires academic sourcing, MLA formatting, etc. It is your thoughts on the issues, no more or less. The post function in Slack provides you greater flexibility when preparing and posting your initial response to the POV.
I fully expect that you will rely on sources in support of your position … whether in your initial response to the POV or during the continuing conversation. When you do refer to a source you should create a hyperlink to the additional materials that help explain or support your point of view. The post function in Slack allows for adding comments to a specific post.
That said, our continuing discussion is an important part of the POV exercise. You will note that there is a comment period available in each POV cycle. As I note above, you should engage your classmates ” … with commentary, reaction and/or analysis of their POV posts … ” during the comment period. The point of the exercise is to generate a robust conversation about the issue(s) at hand.
Please refer to the Course Schedule for details about the POV submission schedule. Don’t be late … you know my policy on accepting late submissions!
Assessment will be based on your level of engagement, the clarity of your writing, spelling and grammar, appearance and satisfaction of form requirements; articulation of all potential issues presented and the quality and depth of analysis.
Case Analysis
You will complete this assignment by posting your memo in Slack.
We will complete two case analysis projects this semester. Links to the materials related to each case analysis is in the Course Schedule.
Each case analysis requires two phases.
The first phase will require you to review materials in the text. You will also study a case that examines issues related to the simulation topic, focusing on facts, a statutory excerpt and case law. Based on your knowledge of the particular area of law as a whole, you will then compose a neutral memorandum (not to exceed 750 words) that outlines each legal issue present with a short explanation of the applicable legal rules or doctrine. The sources of law for this memorandum are the text’s chapter on the area of law as well as any applicable statutory and case law. Your perspective is not that of an advocate. Rather, your analysis is as objective as possible in spotting any and all potential issues that could arise in the case and opine as to the likelihood of success on each point. You will complete this phase of the assignment individually.
During the second phase you will prepare for an in-class Q & A discussion of the issues presented by the materials included in the first phase. You will be assigned to a team that will advocate for one side or the other during the discussion.
I will evaluate the following factors when I assess your contributions to the simulations:
- Phase 1: Assessment will be based on the clarity of your writing, spelling and grammar, document appearance and satisfaction of form requirements; articulation of all potential issues presented and the quality and depth of analysis. You will complete Phase 1 individually. Your issues memorandum should reflect a thoughtful, substantive and well-reasoned summary; and
- Phase 2: Assessment will be based on your mastery of the issues under consideration, contribution to the preparatory work of your team and participation in the give and take of the in-class discussion.
Grading
The following weights will be assigned to each component of your final grade:
- Engagement (20%)
- POV #1 (20%)
- POV #2 (20%)
- Case Analysis #1 (20%)
- Case Analysis #2 (20%)