Participation as active attendance
This is, primarily, a lecture course, and so opportunities to actively contribute are more little limited than they would be in a seminar course. That said, students’ participation in class makes a significant contribution to the overall quality and enjoyment of the course.
Here are the attributes of effective and active lecture attendance for students to keep in mind:
- Completing reading notes in advance of class time
- Having few absences
- Engaging in little (ideally no) multi-tasking
- Asking questions
- Participating in small-groups activities
If we sense that a student’s participation is waning (e.g., many absences, or consistent multi-tasking during lecture), we will reach out to notify them.