How Your Class Participation Grade is Determined

How Your Class Participation Grade is Determined

Class participation in graduate literature classes is not an exact, quantifiable number, because a lot depends on 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 for a certain 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 those contributions were positive and valuable. S/he went beyond the obvious in those comments. S/he listened closely to what her/his classmates and instructor said and took thorough, useful notes.

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 those contributions were usually positive and valuable. S/he usually went beyond the obvious in those comments. S/he usually listened to classmates and the instructor, but sometimes gave the impression of being more interested in hearing her/himself speak than others. S/he usually took fairly thorough and useful notes.

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 voluntarily, but more often when called on. Those contributions sometimes were positive and valuable. S/he occasionally went beyond the obvious in those comments. S/he sometimes appeared not to be listening to classmates or the instructor and only sometimes took thorough and useful notes.

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, completing (including composing, typing, and printing out and proofreading) assignments after class began, and in general conducting him/herself in a way that hindered the class’s ability to learn or caused distractions. S/he almost always had to be called on to contribute. Contributions might or might not be valuable and positive and rarely moved beyond the obvious. S/he gave indications of not paying attention to classmates or the instructor and rarely took notes of any kind.

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 rarely took part in class discussions. Contributions, if offered, were frequently not valuable or positive. S/he may have spent time texting, tapping away on his/her laptop, or playing with other prohibited devices. S/he 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.

Class participation in graduate literature classes is not an exact, quantifiable number, because a lot depends on 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 for a certain 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 those contributions were positive and valuable. S/he went beyond the obvious in those comments. S/he listened closely to what her/his classmates and instructor said and took thorough, useful notes.
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 those contributions were usually positive and valuable. S/he usually went beyond the obvious in those comments. S/he usually listened to classmates and the instructor, but sometimes gave the impression of being more interested in hearing her/himself speak than others. S/he usually took fairly thorough and useful notes.
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 voluntarily, but more often when called on. Those contributions sometimes were positive and valuable. S/he occasionally went beyond the obvious in those comments. S/he sometimes appeared not to be listening to classmates or the instructor and only sometimes took thorough and useful notes.
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, completing (including composing, typing, and printing out and proofreading) assignments after class began, and in general conducting him/herself in a way that hindered the class’s ability to learn or caused distractions. S/he almost always had to be called on to contribute. Contributions might or might not be valuable and positive and rarely moved beyond the obvious. S/he gave indications of not paying attention to classmates or the instructor and rarely took notes of any kind.
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 rarely took part in class discussions. Contributions, if offered, were frequently not valuable or positive. S/he may have spent time texting, tapping away on his/her laptop, or playing with other prohibited devices. S/he 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.