The final 10% of your course grade reflects the degree to which your presence in our class has been a boon to the rest of us. Do your behavior, comments, interactions, and contributions enhance your peers’ learning? Do you move the conversation forward in productive ways? Please note that that is not the same thing as simply raising your hand often; nor does that mean showing off how much you know in ways that shut other people down. Rather, it means listening thoughtfully to what your peers have to say and responding directly to their comments, referring to them by their names and explaining how your comment relates to theirs (“this is building on what Peter said,” or “I have a different interpretation from what Maddie said …”).
Another way to contribute to our conversations is to comment in the comment boxes that exist at the bottom of every page on our website. I urge you to use these as a way of sharing ideas, links, observations, and questions that will benefit your peers’ learning. Have fun with them too!
