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Instructions & Notes for CrCrTh 692 (on using wikis, on requirements & expectations, etc.)

Contents

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General Instructions

Students upload assignments and revisions and records of the participation items into the relevant box on the right hand side of the tables in 692checklist (or, if you are reading this on a webpage, on page corresponding to this in a private CCT-xx wikispace which is created for each student). Students should also upload copies of each initial submission to the wikipage for peer commentary.

Anything written by hand should be scanned in order to upload it.
Before you submit any revised assignment rename it to indicate its date, e.g., 692Ass1rev22Feb10.doc.

The checklist should be used to keep track of your own progress so that interaction with the instructor can focus on dialogue around written work.

Assignments due on the day of the session (for online sections: by noon EST on the first day of session). Take note of dates of sessions for current semester.

See rationale for the assessment system. Ask for clarification if needed to get clear and comfortable with this system.

Written Assignments & Work-in-progress Presentations, Overview

2/3 of grade
Initial attempts, however sketchy, for at least 11 assignments should be submitted by the session indicated. (See notes on Submission of Writing in a Professional and Instructor-friendly manner .)
At least 7 of the assignments should be revised and resubmitted in responses to comments until “OK/RNR” is received. G1 and H must be in the 7. Instructor will indicate OK/RNR in red on this page in your personal CCT-xx wikispace.
Complete draft of H required before moving on to final report.
Final date for submissions and revisions: session 14, except one week later for H and J.
(Substitutions are possible--read Accommodating different kinds of students, then consult with the instructor.)

Assessment, including rubric to assign grades above B+

80 points or a B+ is earned automatically for 7 Written items marked OK/RNR (=OK/ Reflection-revision-resubmission Not Requested) plus 21 Participation items fulfilled [18 for online sections]. (Not requiring every assignment or item allows you to make choices based on your other commitments about which participation items and revisions to skip.)<br>
If you reach that level, the simple rubric below is used at the end of the course to add further points.
If you don't reach the automatic B+ level, your points = 3 for each writing assignment submitted on the due date + an additional 4.5 for each writing assignments OK/RNR + 1.25 for each participation item fulfilled [for online sections. 1.5 points], up to a maximum of 80.

Optional: Use the following system to make your own self-assessment for each quality below


 student
 instructor

(optional)
 (if different)
A sequence of assignments paced more or less as in syllabus (and revisions timely),
 ..........
often revised thoroughly and with new thinking in response to comments.

Project innovative,

well planned and carried out with considerable initiative, and

Project report clear and well structured,

with supporting references and detail, and professionally presented.

Active, prepared participation and building class as learning community,

including conscientious peer commentary on other student's assignments.

Consistent work and development of your research organization outside session as evidenced in workbooks and computer files

Self-assessment in relation to course goals that shows deep reflection on your development through the semester and

maps out the future directions in which you plan to develop.

Briefing submitted, summarizing important themes/tools/resources related to the chosen topic and suggesting that you are ready to teach others about processes of research & engagement.


If there are big discrepancies between the student's and the instructor's assessments, we should discuss the discrepancies and try to come to a shared agreement about them.

Policies for Completion of Work and Incompletes

0. If you miss the due date for initial submission ask for an extension or skip the assignment/item—-the intended learning rarely happens if you submit a stack of late work all at once.
Two aspects of taking initiative in or through relationships are i) not relying on the instructor to remind you of what you have not submitted; and ii) making your choices strategically in light of your other commitments.
To gauge whether you are on track for at least a B+, note whether you have revised and resubmitted 1/2 of the assignments and fulfilled 2/3 of the participation items to date.
If you are behind do NOT hide and do NOT end the semester without a completion contract.
You are free to do revise and resubmit more than 50% of the assignments and fulfill more than 80% of the participation items, but it does not hurt your grade to choose strategically to miss some in light of your other work and life happenings.

1. Final date for submissions & revisions (exc. revised final report) = Start of last session

2. Final grade will be based on work submitted and work completed (i.e., marked OK/RNR) by the date for submission of grades.

3. Exceptions to the 1 & 2 require a completion contract to be submitted by the student and approved by the instructor by the last session. Use your assignment checklist to indicate (in green) contracted dates for specific assignments. Note: The perusal of the research workbook for changes made in response to comments (d) is the only participation item that can be made up after the last session. (To make up any of the others would not contribute to the learning interactions during the semester.)

4. If you don't get around to submitting a completion contract and haven't got up to a passing grade, an incomplete grade may be submitted anyway. Subsequently submitted written assignments and revisions will be considered only to get you up to a passing grade of C. To improve on that grade, the course must be taken again when it is next offered.

5. Please don't expect instructors to work with you over the summer and winter breaks to complete your assignments. (You need to respect that they have professional "incompletes" that they need to try to make up during these periods.) In other words, do what you can by the day when grades are due and then take a break from "dialogue around written work" until the new semester starts. Please write your completion contracts with this in mind. Even in the new semester, be patient because responding to students from the current semester must be given higher priority over incomplete completion.

6. Please note that, despite the best intentions of student and instructor, the desired learning rarely takes place during standard on-your-own incompletes. There is no substitute for the development of teaching/learning interactions that happens with peers and regular week-by-week sessions. Expect that comments made on work for incompletes will be brief.

7. If you do not get OK/RNR on the revised final report by the date for submission of grades, participation in a writing support group next semester is recommended. The group is planned for Tuesdays from 5.30-7.30pm. (If you complete the course on time, you are still welcome to participate.)

Notes on participation and contribution to the class process


Ongoing development of the course
Through the mid-semester self-assessment and the support survey, students are encouraged to approach this course as a work-in-progress. Instead of harboring criticisms to submit after the course is over, we can find opportunities to affirm what is working well and suggest directions for further development. Throughout the semester please make suggestions about changes and additions to the course activities and materials. Also email the instructor addresses of valuable websites with a brief explanation (1-2 sentences) of their value. Support the instructors as they experiment in developing this course.

Accommodating various kinds of students
This course aims to accommodate students of various skills and experience, so you need to assess what kind of student you are and let the instructor know how you plan to approach class activities and assignments. Be prepared to revise your assessment and plan as the semester unfolds.
If you are experienced in extended research projects, adjust the sequence and make-up of assignments to suit your project and your style of research and writing. Use the course as an opportunity to make sense of what you have done (or regret not having done) and to practice teaching others during class. Provisos: Keep me informed about what you're doing; take note of the goals of the phases (e.g., many people are able to compile a bibliography, but an annotated bibliography is different—it disciplines your to check that the readings relate to your Governing Question), experiment with new tools, and be open to surprises.
If you are experienced in term paper research projects and confident about extending that to semester-long project without cramming in work at the end of the semester, the explicit phases/goals should help you meet the challenge of not cramming work in at the end of the semester. Consult with instructor about adjusting the sequence and make-up of assignments to suit your project and style of research and writing.
If you are experienced in term paper research projects, but liable in a semester-long project to cram work in at the end of the semester, take the role this semester of someone looking for more experience, structure and tools re: research, writing, and forms of engagement.

a. Building learning community (see also f & g.)
Prepared participation and punctual attendance at class meetings are expected, but allowance is made for other priorities in your life. You are not required to give excuses for absence, lateness, or lack of preparation. Simply make up the 80% of participation items in other ways (b-i) and catch up with out-of-class work. Cell phone calls during class & lateness: two allowed then count as –1 participation.
See also: pointers on class preparation and participation and good etiquette for email.

b. Syllabus quiz or treasure-hunt

c. Conferences
in-office or phone, for discussion of comments on assignments (see Dialogue around written work), the overall direction of your project, your workbook and research organization, and the course as a whole. They are important to ensure timely resolution of misunderstandings, and a chance to open up significant issues about one's relationship to audience and influencing others. If you are falling behind, conferences are especially important for checking in, taking stock, and getting a recharge. Minimum of two conferences--one before session 5; the other before session 11.

d. Research workbook and organization
e.g., Journal/workbook, organized system to store handouts and loose research materials, copy of system of folders/files from your computer, system for backup.
This will be perused during conference before session 5 and again during session 12 or 13, checking for changes made in response to early- and mid-semester comments.

e. Mid-semester self-assessment of the gap between where you are and where you'd like to be in three regards, with respect to your

f. Peer commentaries
on other students' assignments. Five times during the semester comment on a submission from another student. (Except for in-session commenting in session 13, at the end of a session pick up a submission from the "Comment on This!" folder and give them comments at or before the next session.)
Include your comments in your workbook.
One component of taking initiative in or through relationships is sharing one's work at the same time as defining the kinds of response you need at that point. Keep Elbow, Writing with Power, chapters 3 & 13 and Varieties of responses in mind when you decide what approaches to commenting you ask for as a writer and what to use as a commentator. In the past I made lots of specific suggestions for clarification and change in the margins, but in my experience, such suggestions did not often lead students beyond touching up into re-thinking and revising their ideas and writing. On the other hand, I believe that all writers value comments that reassure them that they have been listened to and their voice, however uncertain, has been heard.

g. Support survey
An open question, that is, one always worth discussing is: By what means can the group function as a support & coaching structure to get most students to finish their reports by the end of the semester? Complete the survey, which provides material for a practical vision cardstorming process on this question (item j).

h. Extra, optional item: Briefing on topics about the process or mechanics of research and engagement
For this item select a topic on which to prepare a summary (2-4 pages) in written form that gives other students in this and future classes a quick start when they face that topic. These briefings are intended to provide or point to key resources = key concepts, issues and debates, lesson plans, web sites and bibliographic references, annotations on and quotes or paraphrases from those references, informants/contacts on and off campus, relevant workshops, etc. Imagine as your audience peers who you can interest in your topic, but who do not want to start from scratch in finding key resources on this topic and learning how to think about it. To begin preparing their briefings, students view previous versions linked to course website (http://www.faculty.umb.edu/pjt/briefings-TOC.html) or meet with instructor to get initial suggested resources. It's OK to revise/refresh/update a previous briefing.
The briefing assignment addresses the goal of students becoming better able to fulfill the needs of your school, community or organization, address the information explosion, adapt to social changes, and collaborate with others to these ends. (Draft due by session 7)

i. Extra, optional item: Volunteering to have your work discussed in front of session for certain assignments, session 4, 6, 9, or 11. See sign-up sheet.

j. Extra, optional item: Participating in a small group "cardstorming" session to digest the responses to the support survey (see item g).