Course assignments fall into four main categories: 

1. Attendance
2. Participation
3. Unit reflections
4. Collaborative learning projects

Attendance (10%): You should plan to attend most class meetings (90%+). In case of absence, I do not need to know why you are missing class. I do, however, need to see evidence of substantive engagement with course material from the class you missed within one week of the absence if you expect to avoid penalties. The page for each course meeting will detail the requirements to demonstrate this engagement in case of absence.

Participation (6%): I want to hear from you during class, outside of collaborative learning projects. To make participation easier, the readings pages in Canvas indicate what you should focus on while reading to prepare for discussion. You need to participate at least six times over the course of the term outside of collaborative learning projects. You can participate either by responding to or posing a question. You will receive a preliminary grade around midterm and an updated grade at the end of the term. Students concerned about their ability to participate should speak with me as soon as possible. While I am happy to work with you to find the best ways for you to participate, I will not accommodate pleas or excuses raised only at the end of term.

Unit Reflections (24%): This course contains six substantive units, each of which addresses a central guiding question. For each unit, you must submit a reflection of 250-350 words integrating materials covered during that unit. The reflection should contain the following:

• at least four specific references to course material
• (where applicable) at least one reference from a reading assigned during that unit
• at least one reference to a study your group selected during the unit's collaborative learning project(s)
• at least one reference to a study or a presentation from another group during the unit's collaborative learning project(s)

A full rubric is available on reflection submission pages; this rubric considers response length, appropriate and meaningful references to course material, organization and clarity, and integration of empirical evidence. I will drop your lowest two grades, only one of which can be a zero. You may request an extension of up to three days using the extension form on each submission page; you must request the extension in advance of the deadline. Reflections received more than 24 hours after the deadline (including extended deadlines) will receive a maximum grade of 70%.

Collaborative Learning Projects (60%): Grades within this category encompass both product evaluation and process evaluation at both the individual and group level.

• Individual Product Evaluation (20%): For each collaborative project indicated in the syllabus, you will submit an individual contribution. A full rubric is available on  submission pages; this rubric considers whether you have fully answered each question using appropriate and accurate information from the article you selected. While the syllabus specifies deadlines for these individual contributions, groups may choose to set earlier deadlines; students who fail to meet group deadlines will likely incur consequences during peer evaluations. Each student can miss one individual contribution during the course with prior permission from their group; groups must coordinate to approve these non-submissions because only one student in each group may skip an individual contribution for a given collaborative project. There are no extensions for individual contributions, as extensions will inhibit the group’s ability to complete its collective product. Individual contributions received more than 24 hours after the syllabus-indicated deadline will receive a maximum grade of 70%; students can also expect such late submissions to adversely affect peer evaluations.
• Group Product Evaluation (20%): For each project, the group will give a presentation with slides submitted before class begins. A grading rubric for the presentations are available on slide submission pages; this rubric considers proficient use of slides/visual aids, organization, and content (accurate, relevant, and complete responses to questions posed for the group submission). You will receive feedback and grades for the first two group submissions (1A & 1B), but they will not contribute toward your final grade. This “learning period” allows groups to work through initial problems and build understanding of expectations prior to evaluation. For the third and subsequent projects (#2 onwards), presentation grades will contribute toward your final grade.
• Process Evaluation (20%): You will submit two group work evaluations during the course. The first evaluation, completed at approximately midterm, will be formative: this evaluation provides a preliminary assessment to let students track progress and identify areas for improvement, but it will not contribute to final grades. The second evaluation, completed at the end of term, will be summative; in other words, the data collected during this evaluation will form a component of your final grade. The percentage points for process evaluation are evenly split between peer evaluation (how your peers rate your efforts and contributions for collaborative projects in the final evaluation) and self evaluation (how you rate your own efforts and contributions for collaborative projects in the final evaluation). Out of the 20 percentage points for this component, I will deduct one points for each 24 hours that passes after the process evaluation submission deadlines (both midterm and final) without a complete submission. You will receive anonymized, aggregated feedback from other group members submitted during both the midterm and final evaluations. When completing these evaluations, you should be honest but constructive.

Grade Dispute Procedure: To dispute grades, you must submit a regrade request via email within the dispute window. The dispute window starts 24 hours after students receive the returned graded assignment and ends 72 hours after students receive the returned graded assignment. The regrade request must include a specific description of where and why I should have awarded additional points. I will not accept generalized requests to regrade assignments without this specific description. Upon regrading, I can either raise the grade, lower the grade, or keep it the same.

Final Grade: When evaluating final grades, I will round your weighted average to the nearest whole number and assign a letter grade based on this breakdown: A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, D = 60-69, F = 0-59.