Class

 Participation  
 
If  you  have  ANY  questions,  please  do  not  hesitate  to  ask.  

Objectives  
Participation  in  class  allows  me  to  assess  your  ongoing  progress  toward  meeting  the  
course’s  overarching  objectives,  especially:  

• Challenge  assumptions  (your  own  and  others’),  resisting  the  temptation  to  
stick  with  habits  of  thought.  Upon  challenging  said  assumptions,  you  will  
think  critically  about  which  ideas  you  wish  to  retain  and  which  you  wish  to  
reject.  
• Engage  in  critical  thinking  about  the  relationship  among  the  various  topics  of  
study  and  apply  theories  and  concepts  to  analyze  concrete  examples  from  
your  experiences  and  the  experiences  of  others.  
• Strengthen  oral  communication  competency.  
 
 
What  “counts”  for  Class  participation?  
Okay,  I  admit  it!  I  have  a  bias  for  an  open  and  interactive  learning  environment.  Call  
me  crazy,  silly  or  just  outrageous,  but  I  think  students  have  so  much  to  contribute  to  
the  learning  environment.    I  know,  I  know—I’m  wacky-­‐loony-­‐nutty  that  way.  
Furthermore,  the  nature  of  the  course  content,  along  with  my  belief  that  learning  
happens  through  expression,  makes  participation  in  this  course  a  necessary  
component  of  learning  assessment.  And,  after  all,  this  is  a  communication    course…  

Additionally,  it  is  important  that  you  develop  the  ability  to  express  yourself  
thoughtfully,  and  to  ask  appropriate  questions.  This  ability  is  one  that  will  suit  you  
well  in  civic,  personal,  and  professional  life.  For  example,  success  in  your  career  will  
require  that  you  are  able  to  articulate  your  ideas  in  a  shared  forum.  

This  course  is  designed  as  a  seminar  course,  as  explained  in  the  syllabus.  This  
designation  means  that  your  active  participation  during  each  class  meeting  is  an  
important  requirement  for  the  course.  

If  you  do  not  participate  meaningfully  on  a  regular  basis,  you  will  not  be  able  to  
earn  a  passing  Class  participation  score.  
 
Meaningful  class  participation  includes  the  following  (but  is  not  limited  to):  

Regular  and  meaningful  participation  in  discussions  

• Participation  in  class  discussions  should  reflect  your  understanding  of  the  
material  we  are  covering,  and  should  also  add  important  ideas  to  the  overall  
discussion.  Trivial  comments,  such  as,  “This  reading  was  great  (or  boring  or  
 stupid  or  fun)”  don’t  add  much,  but  comments  that  connect  course  concepts  
to  examples  (or  vice  versa)  do  add  quite  a  bit  to  our  learning.  
 
• Tips  for  discussion-­‐based  participation  (this  is  not  an  all-­‐inclusive  list!):  
o Consider  bringing  items  to  class  that  apply  to  our  readings  and  
discussions.  For  example,  you  might  bring  a  newspaper  article,  a  copy  
of  a  song,  a  website,  a  clip  from  YouTube,  a  pamphlet  you  picked  up  
somewhere,  and  so  on  (or  post  a  link  for  these  items  in  the  
appropriate  spaces).  You  might  also  consider  bringing  something  
“intangible,”  like  a  story  about  something  that  happened  to  you  
recently.  These  application  items  do  not  need  to  correspond  to  the  
topic  of  the  day,  as  long  as  they  connect  to  something  we  have  talked  
about  at  some  point.      
o Ask  discussion  questions  in  class  to  encourage  critical  thinking  or  for  
clarification.  Chances  are,  if  you  have  a  question,  other  students  are  
probably  wondering  about  the  same  thing.  
o As  you  do  the  assigned  readings,  consider  points  or  insights  you’d  like  
to  share  with  the  class.  
o Answer  questions  that  come  up  in  class.  
o Respond  to  the  thoughts  and  ideas  of  your  peers.  
 
Reading  Explorations  
• Bring  your  notes  and  reading  responses  to  class  to  aid  you  in  the  discussion.  
You  should  also  note  any  questions  you  have  so  you  are  prepared  to  ask  
those  questions  in  class.  
 
Participation  in  class  activities.  
• From  time  to  time  we  may  have  class  activities  that  will  count  toward  your  
class  participation  score.    If  you  miss  class  on  one  of  these  days,  the  activities  
cannot  be  made  up.    
 
Coming  to  class  prepared.  
• Being  prepared  means  you  should  have  a  pen,  paper,  your  textbook  or  
reading,  and  notes  with  you  for  every  class.  This  also  means  that  you  should  
be  prepared  to  participate  in  discussions  and  answer  questions  about  the  
readings.  
 
Contributing  in  a  positive  way  to  the  learning  environment.  
• Engage  in  respectful  and  insightful  dialogue,  ask  questions,  and  support  your  
peers.  
• Falling  asleep,  being  disruptive,  sending  text  messages,  and  so  on,  are  not  
really  positive  contributions  to  the  learning  environment  #justsayin’.