Purpose Statement
To encourage students to
participate in class discussion, either orally or in writing.
Description of Activity
From my course syllabus:
Class Procedure: this will not be a lecture-type course, but rather a course
involving a great deal of discussion. I urge you strongly to participate in and
contribute to the discussion, because by doing so you will gain the maximum
benefit from the discussion, and also contribute your unique perspectives to
the class. I feel so strongly about this that I will evaluate your
participation at the end of the semester for amount and quality of
contributions (that is, how frequently you contributed constructive statements
and questions that advanced understanding, but without unduly monopolizing
class time -- a delicate balance to be sure; anytime during the semester I’d be
happy to discuss your participation with you). A superior evaluation on
participation can help improve your grade. I will also ask you to rate your own
participation periodically during the semester. (NOTE: If you’re a person who’s
shy about speaking up in class, you may write out your own thoughts on the
topics we discuss in class, and turn them in for credit toward “Participation.”
These should not be class notes, but rather in-depth thoughts written at home,
typed, and submitted no later that one week after that topic is completed.)
Participation in class discussion. Quantity and quality of class participation,
as explained in the syllabus, can earn up to 50 additional points. You’ll
receive 2 points for each good contribution to class discussion, 1 point for
every 100 words of high-quality, in-depth, typed-at-home (not in class, and not
class notes), well-thought-out reactions to ideas discussed in class, or
contained in reading assignments. remember: these must be typed or
“word-processed,” and you must provide and accurate word count (of your words,
not mine; don’t bother to retype the questions).
This works (although not for everyone). Most students do participate, either in
class of (for the shy ones) in writing. Having a seating chart helps. Students
get to choose where they sit, but then they need to stay there. When hands go
up (and there is usually a forest of hands to choose from) I always look for
students who have never, or seldom, spoken up before, and of course I call on
them (with an inner sense of pleasure). With the seating chart in front of me I
can easily identify the student (even with large classes in the Forum), call on
him/her by first name -- and with a felt-tipped pen in hand I make a small dot
by the student’s name. That’s two points toward the student’s final grade. It’s
easy to add up the number of dots at the end of the semester, so I have an
accurate count of the number of times each student has participated in class
discussion. The students know I’m doing this, so the competition is fierce.
Materials Needed
A seating chart, and a
felt-tip pen.
Application
Except for preparing the
seating chart (which I would want in any case), this takes no extra time -
although reading students' written contributions and writing comments, (which I
do at home at night) does take perhaps 15 minutes. Adding up student
participation points at the end of the semester takes perhaps an hour.
this web page was created
on 11/2/99 at 4:13:49 PM
and modified on 11/2/99 at 4:13:49 PM