Discussion

Since you are receiving a participation grade, it's only fair for you to know the criteria by which you will be evaluated.

Spoken Comments

a. Sustained point

b. Originality—interesting, thought-provoking ideas

c. Quality of comments

d. Textual references—the more specific the quotation, with reference to specific page and paragraph numbers, the better.

e. Reference to other works

f. Accuracy of comments

g. Clarity of comments

h. Questioning

II. Listening

a. Listening to other students or "checked-out"?

b. Comments fit—follow the flow of the discussion

c. Ability to reference comments—refer back to the person who formulated an idea originally, ability to "tag" onto others' comments

d. Comments show listening—student does not repeat ideas already raised, doesn't misrepresent comments made by others

e. Student does not inappropriately interrupt others

III. The Performance and Attitude

a. Consistency in participation

b. Leadership—does student help others enter discussion?

c. Empathy

d. Ability to learn, adjust to the dynamic of the class

e. Humility

f. Politeness/respect for all members of the class

g. Eye contact and names—speaks directly to other class members, address them by their names

h. Addresses the whole class—not just teacher and/or friends

i. Patience with the process—it takes some time to develop a group dynamic where everyone feels at ease

j. Preparedness—books and articles marked, responses written, questions prepared

h. Risk taking—prepared to ask questions that seem obvious or silly or will provoke dissent. Willing to state own ideas even if different from those of other students or the teacher?