CS 3604: Class Activities

Fall 2002, Dr. Rosson

Attendance in class will be a challenge for many of you (at 8am!). However, because of the extensive discussion and role-playing in course delivery, it may be impossible for you to obtain a top grade without attending a significant percentage of the classes (so you should decide early onwhether you want an A :-).

The full set of class activities will develop over the semester, so it is unknown now how many opportunities you will have to contribute. Your final grade will be calculated on a sliding scale, based on how many opportunities there are to contribute, what the range of contributions are over the class, etc. Likely class activities (and corresponding credit) include the following:

1. Submission of discussion questions:

   Most weeks we will spend a fair amount of time in open discussion of the topic addressed that week. The discussion will draw from what you read (assigned or otherwise), as well as your own personal views and arguments. A reading will be assigned at the beginning of each week. Anyone who submits a discussion question during the week will receive participation credit. These questions should be printed on a piece of paper with name and ID clearly marked, and shoul be turned in at the beginning of class.

2. Participation in role-playing:

   On occasion, we will ask for volunteers to come to the front of the class and enact a situation, taking on different roles, or demonstrating a professional interaction technique. Students who contribute in this way will receive two points for participation.

3. Responses to unannounced quizzes or other in-class activities:

   On occasion, there may be a brief in-class quiz or short written assignment based on the readings or other issues; points will be assigned to these based on their length or complexity. There may also be deliverables created during various small-group exercises which will also lead to participation points.

4. Evaluations of debate summaries:

   The last few sessions of class will be devoted to team presentations of their debate summaries. On these days, each audience member will have the opportunity to complete an evaluation of the presentation; these forms will contribute to your class activity score.