Attendance and Participation (15% of total grade)

A substantial amount of learning in Honors courses takes place in the classroom. If you don’t come to class, your learning experience suffers and you deny others the opportunity of learning from what you have to contribute. Material missed may never be made up completely, no matter how many notes you get from classmates. In order to get the most out of this educational experience, it is essential that you attend every class. Therefore, you will earn ½ point for every class you attend in full and in which you actively participate. Since we have 30 class meetings, you will earn the maximum 15 possible points, if you attend and participate actively in every class. However, be aware that no distinction will be made between excused and unexcused absences (see Policies #4).

It is not only crucial that you attend class, but it is equally important that you come to class well prepared to participate actively and regularly in our discussions. Contributing actively and openly will not only earn you higher points, but doing so will make classes more enjoyable and rewarding for all of us. But, effective participation involves more than simply coming to class well prepared; it also means voluntarily sharing ideas. While all students cannot express ideas in class all the time, I expect you to contribute your thoughts as often as possible. All seriously considered views are equally valuable to our collective learning process. If, for whatever reason, you keep such ideas to yourself, then the collaborative educational exchange this class is meant to be becomes impossible.

To encourage our exchange of ideas, short in-class assignments, group exercises, freewrites, and other homework will be given frequently. The majority of these assignments should take about 15-30 minutes to complete. These assignments are designed to generate class discussion and to offer starting points when analyzing our subject. Although some of these short assignments will be included in your Final Portfolio, they will not be graded or collected during class. Nevertheless, you are expected to perform such assignments to the best of your ability and to have them ready when I ask for them. Responsible and serious effort on these exercises will form a substantial portion of your participation score. If you miss class, you may not make up in-class activities.