Final grades (on a 4.0 scale) will be determined using the following percentages and criteria:

In-Class Participation (30% of the grade)

Participation in English 242 is about a network of ideas—sharing thoughts and talking with, supporting, and listening to others.  Class time will often be spent in large group conversations and workshops.  I think that collaborative learning and collaborative teaching add interest, excitement, and investment to the classroom experience.  Each helps students brainstorm for their projects, unpack concepts, learn from others, and develop proficiency in how to constructively critique other people’s work.  That said, all of these aspects of in-class participation will be included in their participation grade.

Final Paper (30% of the grade)

The final paper will be assessed as the final step of the project.  It should meet the learning outcomes.

Project Development (30% of the grade)

Students will be asked to contribute to the blog at least once each week, always in response to a particular prompt or to a peer’s entry.  Evaluation of the blog entries will include: timeliness, thoughtfulness of questions posed, relevance of the entry to the course material, persuasiveness and complexity of the inquiry, and constructiveness of commentary on peers’ posts.

Co-Facilitations (10% of the grade)

Twice during the quarter, each student will be asked to co-facilitate the class with me and a peer (or two). During those co-facilitations, they will responsible for actively participating in class conversations and relating those conversations to their projects. Each time they co-facilitate, they will also be asked to briefly (in about a minute) address the class at the beginning of our meeting.