How Your Class Participation Grade is Determined

How Your Class Participation Grade is Determined

Class participation in writing classes is not an exact, quantifiable number, because a lot is determined by the dynamics of the individual class and students, the room and equipment, the time of day the class is offered, and so on and so forth. Nonetheless, over the years I have identified some characteristics that are *most likely* to determine your class participation grade. Here are those characteristics. Please note, too, the provision on the syllabus that adjusts your final grade in the course after a specified number of absences; that counts off your *total* grade, not your class participation grade.
A 95	This student demonstrated leadership. S/he demonstrated self-respect and respect for her/his classmates by always arriving on time, always preparing the assigned material, completing (and printing out and proofreading) assignments before class began, and in general conducting him/herself in a way that benefited the class’s ability to learn. S/he regularly contributed voluntarily to class discussions and activities and those contributions were positive and valuable. S/he was an active participant in group work and provided focused, positive, and constructive suggestions in peer reviews. S/he listened closely to what her/his classmates and instructor said and took thorough, useful notes, both in and out of class.
B 85	This student demonstrated leadership potential. S/he demonstrated self-respect and respect for her/his classmates by usually arriving on time, usually preparing the assigned material, completing (and printing out and proofreading) assignments before class began, and in general conducting him/herself in a way that benefited the class’s ability to learn. S/he usually contributed voluntarily to class discussions and activities and those contributions were usually positive and valuable. S/he mostly was an active participant in group work and mostly provided focused, positive, and constructive suggestions in peer reviews. S/he usually listened to classmates and the instructor, but may have been more interested in hearing her/himself speak than others. S/he usually took fairly thorough and useful notes, both in and out of class.
C 75	This student was the classic "good soldier." S/he demonstrated self-respect and respect for her/his classmates by mostly arriving on time, mostly preparing the assigned material, completing (and printing out and proofreading) assignments before class began, and in general conducting him/herself in a way that benefited the class’s ability to learn. S/he sometimes contributed to class discussions and activities voluntarily, but most often when prompted. Those contributions sometimes were positive and valuable. S/he was a quiet participant in group work and provided some timely, thorough, and valuable feedback to fellow students. S/he provided some focused, positive, and constructive suggestions in peer reviews. S/he sometimes appeared not to be listening to classmates or the instructor and only sometimes took thorough and useful notes, both in and out of class.
D 65	This student was marking time until the class ended. S/he demonstrated a lack of self-respect and respect for her/his classmates by arriving late, not preparing the assigned material, forgetting materials (requiring him/her to "look on" with others), completing (and printing out and proofreading) assignments after class began, and/or in general conducting him/herself in a way that hindered the class’s ability to learn. S/he may not have purchased the books or other required materials. S/he almost always had to be called on to contribute. Contributions might or might not be valuable and positive. S/he often seemed to "zone out" during group work and often did not provide timely, thorough, and valuable feedback to fellow students. S/he got off topic or wasted time during peer reviews. S/he gave indications of not paying attention to classmates or the instructor and rarely took notes of any kind, either in or out of class.
F 50	This student was biologically present but intellectually absent. S/he frequently arrived late, was unprepared, forgot his/her materials, or gave other signs that his/her classmates’ learning environment were not valuable to him/her. S/he may not have purchased the books or other required materials. S/he rarely took part in class discussions and activities. Contributions, if offered, were frequently not valuable or positive. S/he often did not pay attention during group work, sometimes skipped peer reviews or failed to take them seriously, and did not contribute to helping his/her classmates learn more effectively. His/her presence was sometimes distracting to his/her classmates. S/he didn’t appear care what was going on around her/him and rarely took notes of any kind.