Grading guidelines: Active attendance

The Winter 2022 quarter gives us 18 class sessions together (Tuesdays and Thursdays for nine weeks). Students receive 1 point for each time they actively attend a class. The last 2 points for participation come from contributions to the two class debate and turn-taking feature presentations.

Active attendance at class sessions

I will ask myself the following questions after each class session. If the answers are ‘yes’ to both, the student receives 1 point. Otherwise they receive 0 points.

  1. Was the student present?
  2. Did the student make one or more contributions (examples: asking a question, giving an answer to a posed question, sharing a comment)?

What if I can’t make it to class?

Can you still make it via Zoom?

Perhaps you’re feeling a little ill but are still up for class over Zoom? Please don’t come in if you are feeling at all ill!

Please let Dr. Casillas know that you would like to remotely join the class that day, adding a brief note about why you can’t be present in person. Active attendance will then be assessed as if you were present in person.

You can’t make it at all?

If you can’t make it to class, please try and contact Dr. Casillas in advance to let her know, and add a brief note about why you can’t be present. You can also email after the class is over if your inability to participate came at the last minute. To still earn participation credit for a missed session, you should do the following within two days, unless noted otherwise:

  1. Review the slides from that day’s session
  2. Send Dr. Casillas one thoughtfully critical or deep-thinking question about the lecture materials or readings
  3. Send Dr. Casillas response(s) to all activities and questions posed in the lecture materials

Unless otherwise noted, you must send these questions and comments to Dr. Casillas within 2 days of the missed class session (i.e., missed a Tuesday = send by Thursday; missed a Thursday = send by Monday).

Can I make up attendance credit?

Yes! If you get a zero for a session and you’d like to make up the missed credit, you can follow the protocol above for those who are unable to attend class altogether.

Contributions to the debate and the turn-taking “feature” presentation

Group debate: Turn-taking behaviors are universal to communicative systems

There is one in-class debate planned in this course, and you will receive up to 1 point for your contribution.

In this debate, we will split up into groups and have a debate with one group arguing for the prompt and one group arguing against it. Groups will have a chance to work together to build their arguments and their response to the other group’s arguments.

Full credit for participation in this debate (1 point) is gained by your contribution to at least one of the following activities:

  • taking notes during brainstorming
  • taking notes while listening to the other group’s arguments
  • fact-checking your group’s arguments
  • fact-checking the other group’s arguments
  • presenting one of your group’s arguments

NOTE: More than one person in each group can do each of these tasks, and it is up to the group to make sure that everyone is given the opportunity to make a significant contribution.

A small panel of listeners will log in to listen to your arguments. They will vote on the prompt both before and after the debate. The team that sways the most votes in their favor wins a mystery prize.

“Feature” presentations (in pairs): Why is feature X needed to explain conversational turn taking? What consequences does this feature have for our cognitive model of turn taking?

For these presentations, students will split up into groups of 2–3, each of which will be assigned to represent a particular proposed feature of conversational turn taking. On the presentation day, pairs will meet each other and make the case for their feature. We will then discuss as a group if/how people’s perspectives shifted over the course of the presentations about the fundamental features of turn taking.

Students will have two in-class work sessions with their partner to develop a case for their feature which, to gain full credit (1 point), should include a description of the feature, some specific examples, an argument for why it is necessary to explain patterns in conversational turn taking, and an outline of the consequences it has for cognitive models of turn taking.

NOTE: An outline of this case presentation is optionally due after the second in-class session (0 points) for early feedback from Dr. Casillas.

Unable to participate in the debate/feature presentation?

If you are unable to participate in one of these activities, please let Dr. Casillas know as soon as possible for individual negotiation.