Course participation involves active engagement in a learning community focused on the ideas and reading materials presented through the course. One can participate in the classroom (for example, by attending class, participating in discussion, and coming prepared with questions to discuss) and outside the classroom (for example, by organizing discussion groups, coming to office hours, and reviewing the work of your peers).
At the end of the term, you should submit a 750+ word essay which answers the following questions: (1) In what ways have you participated in the course? (2) How has your participation contributed to (or detracted from) your progress towards the student learning objectives identified in the syllabus?
With respect to (1), you must justify why these modes of participation ought to be considered valid modes of participation in the course, and provide evidence that you have actually participated in that way (for example, a scan of your notes, or a narrative description of your contributions to in-class discussion, or copies of emails setting up a study/discussion group). The provided evidence does not count towards your word limit (but do not include more than 3 pages worth of evidence).
Satisfactory participation self-assessment essays will:
- Be at least 750 words long.
- Present valid modes of participation that sum to an active engagement with the course throughout the term.
- Present some evidence for these modes.
- Identify how the modes of participation connect to learning objectives.
- Be substantially free of significant spelling and grammar errors.
- Be clearly written and well-organized.
- Be turned in on time (deadline posted on Turnitin)
- Have reasonable font, size, margins so as to be readable.
- The first page must have your name, the due date, an accurate word count, and “Participation Self-Assessment.”
For further information on the ideas behind participation self-assessments, see this paper: Jessey Wright (2015) “Course Participation: Defining and Evaluating Student Participation.” American Association of Philosophy Teachers Studies in Pedagogy 1: 219-232. DOI: 10.5840/aaptstudies201510115