Important Messages
Alright, here is the deal. We are coming out of the throes of the COVID-19 Pandemic. There will still be COVID spikes, there may be changes in our modality based on county orders, this is one of the first "normal" semesters in a loooong time. All that said, there may be times that things may need to change quickly. We will work together as a community to ensure that we are doing what is best for your learning. So, assignments might change. Due dates might change. But I will always make these changes with your best interest in mind.
I PROMISE I won't make things due sooner. I wont spring surprise assignments on you. If things change it will benefit you. I just ask that you be flexible and that you are willing to participate to your full extent.
The more you participate and the more effort you put into your assignments the more you will get out of this class. So let's all get the most out of this semester
Journal/Self-Reflections/Discussions are all worth 5-10 points each. 50 points of your total grade will be dedicated to these types of assignments. These will either be turned in on Canvas or you will bring them into our in person classroom sessions. This will be 25% of your total grade.
Presentations are each worth 25 points. Each presentation will have a rubric that describes the assignment requirements. Every presentation is worth 25 points, regardless of how long it is. Make sure to give your all for every presentation. You will have a total of 4 presentations throughout the semester. This will be 50% of your total grade.
We will have a handful of quizzes throughout the semester. Quizzes will be worth up to five points. Quizzes will be worth 50 points toward your total grade. This will be 25% of your total grade.
Details about each of the individual assignments can be found in Canvas.
We have an alternative grading scale. I think that this gradings scale is to your advantage. Please see the breakdown below
The reason for this scale is that is is more equitable. Instead of weighting more than 50% of the grade as less than passing we give an equal range for each of the letter grades. So every letter grade has a range of 20 percentage points.
At first glance you might think, this is going to be a walk in the park! I just need to get half credit to earn a C??? That is not the attitude to have. Instead think, Okay, I need at least 80% in the class to get an A. What can I do to make sure I get in that A range? This grading scale helps to account for things that might happen outside of your control. Perhaps you miss a few assignments or perhaps you have an emergency that doesn't allow you to complete your work, this grading scale allows you to still master the concepts and pass the class. I am more focused on you really understanding our course material than making grading tricky.
Our different assignment types will have different submission requirements. Make sure to read through this section carefully so that you are aware of what you will need to do for each assignment type.
It is your responsibility to ensure you are aware of and understand all submission requirements. If you have any questions please let me know. You can send me an email (abracamontes@cerritos.edu) or PRONTO message to ask your question.
In an effort to be as paperless as possible you will be required to submit your journal/self-reflections/discussions through Canvas. You may either upload a file or you can type directly into the text box.
Each Journal/Self-Reflection/discussion should be AT LEAST 5 sentences long and you should make sure to address the entire prompt outlined in the assignment. If you do not meet these requirements you will be asked to resubmit with a journal/self-reflection/discussion that does meet all criteria listed. Only those journal/self-reflections that meet the submission requirements will be graded and receive feedback.
You may be required to access your journal/self-reflection during a class period. This means you should either have a printed/handwritten copy of the assignment OR you should have access to a device that can display your journal/self reflection in the class.
All portions of the oral presentation will be done LIVE and IN PERSON on the day that you are assigned to give your oral presentation. To be eligible to receive full credit for your oral presentation you must submit the following at the end of the class on a presentation day:
Your MAGIC NOTECARD that you used during your presentation*
Your feedback form (if required for that presentation)
Quizzes will be completed in our Canvas course. Quizzes will be open for 2-3 weeks for each quiz. You MUST complete the quiz while it is open in Canvas. You cannot submit a quiz after it has closed. If you are experiencing a hardship that makes it impossible for you to complete the quiz within the time it is open you MUST contact me to let me know so that we can create a short term alternative learning plan
I accept late work! You heard it right, I accept late work, with NO penalty!
I don't accept no work. That means you are expected to keep me in the loop when you need to miss an assignment or class period. You need to communicate with me. If you let me know that something isn't working for you we can work together to create a short term alternative learning plan. These short term alternative learning plans will help to ensure you don't fall behind in the course and you are able to do the best you can.
JOURNALS/SELF REFLECTIONS/Discussions
You are able to turn in your Journal/Self Reflections/Discussions up to the last day of the semester. However, there may be times that you need to have a journal/self reflection/Discussion during our class period. If that is the case, and you have not completed that journal/self-reflection, you will be asked to take a seat in the communication studies area to complete your journal/self-reflection/discussion (hand written). Once you have completed your journal/self-reflection/discussion you are welcome back to class and to our discussion. This is not to punish you. This is to let you have an opportunity to become prepared to participate in the class discussion. I want us all to be the best classmates we can be and in order to do that you must be prepared to participate.
QUIZZES
Quizzes must be turned in while the quiz is still open. All quizzes will be open for several weeks. You are encouraged to complete the quizzes during the week we are learning about that topic however, I understand you may need to turn your quiz in at a later date. Remember, you MUST turn the quiz in while it is still open. I will NOT reopen a quiz for you unless it is part of your short term alternative learning plan.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS
Oral Presentations are due the day you are assigned to present. We will have ONE make up day for oral presentations. During our finals week you will be allowed to make up any of your oral presentations. There are a couple of things to keep in mind about this oral presentation make up day:
You may not have time to make up more than one oral presentation. It will depend on how many other students have to make up oral presentations. Do not count on being able to make up all of your oral presentations.
You may not have the opportunity to make up audience feedback. So make sure to attend the days you aren't speaking!
You ARE able to re-do your previous oral presentations if you would like to attempt to earn a higher grade. When you are re-doing a speech you will get to keep the higher grade (original or re-do). You will still need to submit a new magic notecard and feedback form for any speech re-dos