- Attendance & Participation in Class
- Participation on the Listserv
- Participation involving Diversity Book
Attendance & Participation in Class:
All students will be expected to attend and participate in the class discussions. In addition to participation in class, students will be expected to make 3 original posts and 5 response posts (comments) on the classroom discussion board. Students will utilize appropriate and professional communication skills in class discussions, class activities, and communication with the instructor and peers regarding the class. This includes but is not limited to listening while others are talking, assertively stating your perspective in an appropriate manner, giving positive and negative feedback, disagreeing appropriately, and dealing with conflict in an appropriate manner.
Participation in the Class Community:
Participation is an important part of the class. It is essential that students complete all the required readings for the course during the week they are assigned and come to class prepared. Students are expected to make a minimum of 3 original posts reacting to the class reading. lecture, and discussion and a minimum of 5 posts responding to other posts. These may be completed any time during the term.
While students are encouraged use the blogging function of the course community for a variety of functions, not all will count toward your participation requirements. All posts counting toward participation credit must include content which advances the discussion. For example, the post must add new information, a different perspective, or connect the discussion to other relevant issues. Posts which are evaluative in nature (i.e., “I agree/disagree,” “nice post,”), summarize previous posts, or only ask a question will not count toward the minimum number of posts. Posts which are about class business (papers, due dates, etc.) do not count toward the 8-required posts for the week.
Critical thought, in reference to discussion board posts, should demonstrate several factors. First, they should demonstrate the student is current on all the reading for the course. Second, they do not merely summarize content from the books, lecture, other posts, or outside sources. Rather, they include additional thought about the content. Third, critical thought is not just agreeing with the perspective of other students or the professor; it is developing your own opinion/perspective on the topic.
Grading Rubrics for Class Participation:
An “A” demonstrates that the student 1) has completed all the reading from the texts and the lecture, 2) the student has read prior posts on class discussion board, and 3) the student has critically thought about the relevant issues prior to posting.
A “B” demonstrates that the student has 1) completed most of the readings for the week (90% or more), 2) has read the majority of the class posts, and 3) has used some critical thought about relevant issues prior to posting.
A “C” equivalent demonstrates the student has completed 1) some of the readings for the week (80% or more), 2) has read some of the class posts, and 3) has demonstrated some critical thought before the post.
A “D” equivalent demonstrates the student has 1) read a minimal amount of the required reading (less than 80%), 2) has read some of the class posts, and 3) has used little critical though about relevant issues prior to posting.
Note on Appropriateness of Communication: Appropriate professional communication is an important part of becoming a psychologist. Students are expected to use appropriate professional communication skills in all class discussions including Emails, class community posts, and chat room discussion. This includes being respectful of different opinions and disagreeing appropriately.
Participation Involving the Diversity Book:
Studnets are required to read one of two diversity books listed in the required reading. Students should make one original post about their reaction to the reading in the course community. This will count as one of the original posts required in the guidelines above.