----- Jay Livingston Wrote ----- >I am also baffled as to how one might quantify these more social >aspects of the course. Students have told me of courses where the >professor says something like, "Participation counts for 15% of your >grade," and I always wonder how professors decides how many points to >award for this or that student comment. Do they go back to their >offices immediately after class and score each student comment as they >remember it? Or do they, at the end of the semester, give a number >based on their overall impression? >
I'm doing precisely this in my small complex org class this semester. My experience has been that most students will not perform a task unless points are attached, and I wanted to take advantage of the small size of this particular class to get them talking. So they get two points per class, one if they show up, another if they participate in the discussion. (The 1st clause is a concession to a student who appears to have serious social anxiety issues.) I enter each class with picture roster in hand, tick off who's there, then after class, tick off who talked. Over the course of our semester, this will add up to 1/3 of their grade. It's a bit tedious, but workable with a class of 14. So far, I'm getting more discussion than I'd expect in this course. James >However, like Marty, I will use attendance and participation when >scores on exams and papers puts a student's final grade on the cusp. > >Jay Livingston >Montclair State College > ------ James Cassell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
