|
In this course the success of the classroom experience is dependent upon the active participation of ever student. Participation involves contributing to the development of the study topic or to the problem solution that evolves through general discussion, questions and answers or through offering extensions to uncovered topics or solutions. The focus here is upon making a positive contribution, not on simply speaking to be heard or passively agreeing to what others have said.
Participation is not : 1. Attendance. Your attendance in class is expected as a requirement of your learning, not as a requirement of your grade. 2. Saying something, saying anything. The contribution of your words is measured by their reflected insight, not by their frequency or eloquence. 3. Your boldness, humor or creativity. Confidence comes from understanding concepts and the performance of a through analysis. Issues of personality and appearance are best left to political maneuvering. Here contribution is determined by the strategic issues of the case, problem or concept. It is a practical reality that substantive contribution does not always result from simple hard work. Some are blessed with the gift of insight and have a innate ability to grasp a situation "of the fly" and are able to make contributing remarks based solely of the partial evidence that is reveal by the discussion of others. Where it is true that for most students and in most situations, understanding favors the prepared mind, it is also important to recognize that at times an unprepared student may gain advantage on a prepared student. It is a dangerous practice to depend to greatly upon this means of advancement however. Probably the best way for you to visualize how your participation grade is derived is to imagine that at the beginning of the term each student has an empty cup sitting before him/her. From time to time during the quarter, one or more students may offer remarks that add to the development of the discussion or understanding of the day's topic. When this occurs th contents of their cup is increased by some magnitude that reflects the instructor's assessment of the relative value of the contribution. Often students will volunteer comments that make no positive contribution to the development of the topic or evolving solution. In these incidences nothing goes into or out of anyone's cup. Occasionally a student will reveal via his/her comments a lack of understanding that has resulted from either not paying attention to the basic issue that is being presented or bu not reading the case or assigned text material. In these cases, value is taken out of the student's cup. At the end of the term, each student's contribution (as measured by the contents of their cups) is summed and compared to the magnitude of contribution of every other student in the class. This method of evaluation presents a challenging dilemma to each student. You must make relatively numerous positive comments to contribute without obstructing the development of the collective learning process by making inane comments. To be successful it seems desirable to:
|