Class Participation Rubric

A

Excellent – these students come to every class having prepared and engaged with all assigned readings, texts, handouts, printouts, written work, and other materials necessary for the day’s tasks. They have their books with them, and they make active use of them during class discussion by referring to relevant textual evidence.  They are attentive to comments of all members of the class including instructor and classmates, without conducting private conversations.  They respond to others’ comments with politeness, openness, and grace.  Their responses are also relevant to the conversation, and they are actively engaged in note-taking.  They remain on task and refrain from working on assignments unrelated to the day’s assigned tasks, revealing their enthusiasm for course activities.  They make an effort to contribute to class discussion consistently (for example, more than once per class meeting,) without having to be called on.  Overall, these students are clearing making a significant effort to foster not only their individual engagement, but also the experiences of the classroom community. 

B

Good – these students come to almost every class having prepared and engaged with all assigned readings, texts, handouts, printouts, written work, and other materials necessary for the day’s tasks.  They have their books with them, and they make active use of them during class discussion by referring to relevant textual evidence.  They are usually attentive to comments of all members of the class including instructor and classmates without conducting private conversations.  They respond to others’ comments with politeness, openness, and grace.  Their comments are relevant, and they are actively engaged in note-taking.  They usually remain on task and refrain from working on assignments unrelated to the day’s assigned tasks, revealing their enthusiasm for course activities.  They make an effort to contribute to class discussion frequently, (for example, at least once per class meeting) without having to be called on.  Overall, these students are clearly making an effort to foster not only their individual engagement, but also the experience of the classroom community. 

C

Solid/Average – these students usually come to class having prepared and engaged with all assigned readings, texts, handouts, printouts, written work, and other materials necessary for the day’s tasks although they may occasionally neglect to bring some materials or to read the assignment.  They have their books with them, and they generally make active use of them during class discussion by referring to relevant textual evidence.  They are usually attentive to comments of all members of the class including instructor and classmates without conducting private conversations.  They are polite but usually do not respond to others’ comments.  They usually remain on task and refrain from working on assignments unrelated to the day’s assigned tasks, revealing their enthusiasm for course activities although they may be distracted at times.  They will contribute to class discussion if called on but rarely initiate conversations.  Overall, these students may be individually engaged, but their participation suggests that they are not making an effort to support the classroom community. 

D

Below Average – these students come to class relatively unprepared for the day’s activities having skimmed the assigned readings or having forgotten texts and other necessary materials.  They lack polite attentiveness to the comments of others.  They do not respond to the comments of others.  Attendance issues also may create problems in this area.  They often lack focus on the day’s tasks and nap, doodle, write letters, read during class discussion, or engage in activities unrelated to the day’s tasks.  They will only contribute to class discussion if called on and lack interest in participating in class.  Overall, the individual engagement in course activities is questionable and unreliable. 

F

Failing – these students reveal an almost total lack of engagement with assigned readings, activities, group work, and/or class discussion.  They are frequently unprepared for class having neglected to read the day’s assignment and/or left texts and other assigned materials behind.  They lack attentiveness to the comments of others and do not respond to the comments of others.  Attendance issues also may create problems in this area.  They usually lack focus on the day’s tasks and nap, doodle, write letters, read during class discussion, conduct frequent private conversations, or engage in activities unrelated to the day’s tasks.  They are unwilling to contribute to class discussion and reveal a lack of interest in the course contents or participants.  Overall, the individual lack of engagement negatively impacts the classroom community.