Your+Wiki+Page

NOTE: This is still a draft (posted at 8:08 a.m. on 19 October 2010). It is close to how the final product will look. Dave Lambert


 * WIKI GRADING RUBRIC**

YOUR SEMESTER GRADE

Your grade is what YOU have earned. Your semester grade is not so much about the grade I give you. Your own effort and consistency over the course of the entire semester determine the grade you have earned.

Your semester performance is quite open: your personal wiki page (your "portfolio") and your contribution to our class time. In a way, this semester experience is a bit like an independent study—in which you yourself must set your own standards and drive hard to reach them.

My Georgetown story: It affects how I approach my own learning and how much I want to help you be a self-directed learner for the rest of your life. It is why I entitled this wiki "THE LEARNING PROFESSOR." I still do what I am preaching to you. During my sophomore year, I asked one of my professors what he did not like about how students interacted with him. The response I remember him giving was, "I don't like them asking questions they can answer by themselves." I thought about that and had the startling insight that he knew more than I did and seemed so much smarter than I was because--in my analysis at the time--he had merely read more than I had. I figured that if I would read as much as he had, I would be just as smart. From that day forward, I began driving hard on my own to learn as much about things as possible. In those days, before laptops, that meant reading books and articles. Today, for you, that can mean doing the same, but also using your laptops to reach even further than I ever could in my own college days.

Most everyone would want to have an A, but that is probably not realistic. Please trust that my judgment of your overall performance for the entire semester will be fair. I keep your feet to the fire during the semester but am not unreasonable in the final grade; few or no students have ever felt they have been cheated. Don't stress too much over the likelihood of getting a really low grade (i.e., a D or F).

Remember: I still love you as a person, even if I have to award a lower grade than you would like to have.

Short version of the grade: It will represent the sum total of your reactions, modified by your semester-long contribution to our class.

Those who get an A or A- in the course will have posted full and insightful reactions on their wiki page for virtually every class and will either have verbally contributed regularly in class or have exhibited a positive attitude, enthusiasm, a constant work ethic, and concentration during class time.

Those who get a B+ or B in the course will have shown less consistency during the course of the semester in their wiki page reactions and in their use of class time.

Those who get less than a B in the course will not have consistently met the standards for an A or B.

Numerical coding:

4: Evidences consistently OUTSTANDING work over the course of the semester

3: Evidences consistently ABOVE AVERAGE work over the course of the semester

2: Evidences AVERAGE work over the course of the semester

1: Evidences BELOW AVERAGE work over the course of the semester

Longer version of the grade:

Your grade in this course will be determined mainly by the quality of the reactions you post to your personal wiki page (let's call it your "portfolio"). But the semester grade is a holistic one, not just a mechanical calculation. I will lay out the four attributes and the relative weights in my assessment. Here is a more specific breakdown of how I will come up with a fair grade for your efforts:

CONTENT OF YOUR REACTIONS (70%) Depth of your thinking Record what impresses you, troubles you, differs from what you thought before (but more than a trivial "oh, I never heard of Lord North before"), connects to current real world issues, or influences your spiritual walk.

Reactions are thoughtful (not shallow or obvious), not merely repeating what was in the notes or telling the story of the people and events we covered. Evaluation, reflection worth more than summary and obvious or trivial Engagement with course material: wrestling with the ideas that arise from what we do in class

Your reflections should give evidence that you are thinking about the issues.

Key focus of your reactions has to be on the course notes and associated web sites. No need to go beyond that.

CLASSROOM CONTRIBUTION (10%) Your class contribution will make the difference between an "A" and a non-A. It is not possible to get an A (even given the weighting system) if your classroom contribution over the course of the semester is lacking.

Paul Kress (a friend and colleague of many years and one of the wisest men I know) says it to his students: Be the kind of student in this course that you as a teacher will want your own students to be.

Basic: Come to class. Attendance is required and will be taken. Your grade will be reduced for each unexcused absence beyond three.

Beyond basic: Do something once you are here.

Important for your career: Facial expression and body language demonstrate enthusiasm and a positive attitude versus apathy and boredom. My approach to requiring you bring your laptops is still a bit disconcerting to me. Let your conscience (and the Lord) be your monitor. Be faithful in appropriately using your laptop during class time. Look toward me and make eye contact periodically.

You can act like a basketball player who has a tough night scoring but contributes by tough defense, rebounding, diving for loose balls, acting as an encourager on the bench, demonstrating a positive work ethic in practice.

QUANTITY OF YOUR REACTIONS (10%) All of them there [must have for an A] Posting on time within 24 hours on your personal wiki page [must have for an A] But not just doing it during class period; need to think about it for homework

To get an A you need to stay up with your reactions. Your page count needs to be consistently high over the course of the semester. Our work requirement, given no exams as time markers, needs to be even out over the semester.

Attractive look and feel on your wiki page. Use, not overdone, of images.

How much you have written over the course of the semester. Length: # of words beyond the minimum MWF HIST 151==250-word daily reaction TTH Upper-division==400-word daily reaction

The word requirement is just a threshold level for a B. The A student should have to do more and contribute to class. We are using these (minimum) 250-word daily reflections as a substitute for exams and term papers.

HOW WELL YOU WRITE (10%) I believe in the importance of what is called "writing across the curriculum." The mechanics of your writing is important--along with the quality of the thinking expressed in your work. Evidence that your work is not just a first draft, off the top of your head. Correctness and clarity of your prose. Don't be lazy in your typing. Capitalize the letter "I".

This course differs from others you are taking. I don't just lecture, tell you not to open your laptops, give you 3 essays exams and a term paper requirement. This is not a "gotcha" approach in which I throw hurdles in your path with quizzes and strict grading on blue books and your term paper. So I have to be able to separate the A from the B, since I don't have the lower end of grades because of "gotcha."

Rather, the pacing is different. I require you to bring your laptop. I try not merely to lecture, but to make our time in class as interactive as possible. And--this is key--I ask you to work all throughout the semester. You will do as much work but it won't seem as pressured and condensed, but spread out over our 14 weeks together. Your requirement of a 250-word reaction for each class period means you will write almost 40 pages over the semester. That is pretty much a writing-intensive course.

Internal gyroscope/compass Setting your own high standards for your work Like the Holy Spirit setting our moral compass Our course is more like going to work each day. No big ups and downs, like midterms, finals, term paper. No daily quizzes. But how you do your job day-in and day-out. Similar to how you create a good reputation with your boss, coworkers, and clients. Like an independent study.