Grading

Course Grading Elements

This course is graded on three elements: discussion preparation, discussion, and Labs.

Discussion Preparation (25%) and Discussion (25%) -- Thursdays

This class cannot "run" unless you come to class thoroughly prepared. You will be doing the discussing, not us. Your preparation for class, and your active engagement during class are essential to the success of the course, your learning, and your grade. 

We will be collecting your annotated readings (or completed forms) in order to assess your preparation skills and give you feedback. Participation records will be created during class by your peers (and the instructors) following rubrics. 

You cannot get credit for preparation or participation if you miss class or do not hand in an annotated reading.  I will allow for 1 class absence over the quarter (e.g., for sickness, job interviews). In other words, I will drop the lowest preparation/participation grade.  You must still submit your reading preparation, or your absence will not be excused.  Showing up ready to participate counts for a lot, even if you don't say much. Participation is about quality, not quantity. I cannot accept the turn-in of a marked-up paper in lieu of coming to class (except for the one excused absence); they are a package. Note that participation on the class discussion boards counts as participation. 

I don't expect you to be great analysts or discussants right out of the box.  So, at the beginning we will be primarily grading effort, but by the end we will also be looking at the quality of the results. 

Labs (40%) and Lab feedback (10%) -- Tuesdays

Each week, you must engage the ideas in the assigned paper(s) by doing a a Lab or "micro-project": refactor some code, write some code, sketch some diagrams or models, etc. We will all be doing labs from the same code base. Labs will be performed in teams. Team size is determined by the class enrollment (bigger classes require bigger teams).  Labs will be presented in class so that they can be discussed, helping all of us improve our knowledge and skills. Everyone will ideally have presented their lab at least three times by the end of the quarter.

As with discussion, your presence is required for the lab presentations, even if you won't be presenting that day.  Your attendance is the core of the 10% "Lab feedback".  You are allowed one absence during the quarter.

Grading Scale

The initial grading scale in points/percent is:

     A   = 93.34-100.00

     A-  = 90.00-93.33

     B+  = 86.67-89.99

     B   = 83.34-86.66

     B-  = 80.00-83.33

     C+ = 76.67-79.99

     C   = 73.34-76.66

     C-  = 70.00-73.44

     D   = 60-69

     F   = 00-59

A+'s are awarded at the discretion of the professor according to extraordinary performance and contributions to the course.