You have one "ticket" a semseter for a thorough progress review of you work. You can use the ticket anytime during the semester. To redeem your review, you need to send Paul or me a message with the following parts in an email message (copy the text to your email message and substitute).
Message Subject header: Request for a Progress Review:
Message Contents:
1) LINKS TO MY WORK:
Add links with a description of what want us to review. We will read your blog from where we have left off but it will help if you indicated messages your would like us to focus on. If you have revised your lit review or a cycle report please indicate this.
2) BUILDING KNOWLEDGE (my role) :
Please look through all of the messages you have contributed to the project or cadre forums and select one that most represents your ability to build knowledg with your colleagues.
3) CONTRIBUTIONS OF ________ TO KNOWLEDGE BUILDING:
Select a message written by a peer that really stimulated your thinking. As you read messages during the term, you should be thinking about this and maybe copying and pasteing ones that are likely candidates.
4)COMMENTS ON THE WORK OF A PEER (my comments) :
Now look through your learning circle messages. Find the message you sent to one of your partners that illustrates your ability to provide constructive critique to a peer. Copy this message here.
5)FEEDBACK FROM A PEER (received comments):
For this last part, select a message from a peer that provided help on your work. Copy the message here.
6) SELF ASSESSMENT:
Give us your best assessment of your grade as you see it at the time you send the request for review. We will let you know if your assessment matches ours. Here is a rough guide to help you assign the grade. Delete the two that are less true and modify the one you chose to make it more accurate adding plus or minus to the grades as needed. We will not look at this part until we have computed your grade and we can see if we are in agreement.
I log into the forums occasionally, read a few messages and maybe write one. I add to my blog about once a month and mostly use it to report what happened with respect to my action research. I skim the books nd readings as time allows. I am usually present at the weekly meetings with my learning circles and try to be as helpful as possible, but I am often behind in my own work so I have no time to read their work or offer any comments. I generally post my own assignments about a week or more after the due date. So I expect my grade for the course to be in the low B to C range.
I log into the forums once or twice a week but when I do, I read most of the messages in my learning circles and often read and give some comments to my circle partners but sometimes this is weeks after they have posted their work. I read about half of the group messages and I often don't know what to add as they seem to have covered all of my ideas. I enjoy the reading but find it very hard to write my own ideas. I sometimes respond to message but I rarely initiate a thread. I am working on my action research and post my progress both in blogs and in the learning circles. I try to make deadline but seem to need them for inspiration and mostly get my work in a few days late. I expect my grade is in the high B range.
I work hard to stay current on the messages in forums. I have set up a regular process of checking the forums 2 or more times a week. I always read the announcements and keep up with all of the group messages and the message in my learning circle. When I can, I read the messages in other learning circles to keep up with my peers from past circles. I plan for posting my assignments on time or early and often manage to keep to this schedule. As I read the books, and the posting, I think hard about how to help each of the people in my learning circle work at their potential experimenting with different leadership strategies and techniques. I am likely to both respond to and initiate discussions. I find that my action research is so compelling that it I often lay awake at night trying to think through the next phase. I expect my grade will be in the A range.
You can ask for this review anytime during the session. These reviews often take me quite a bit of time so we offer than in place of a midcourse review (or exam). This way you can get an assessment when it will be of most help to you. Of course, we will be reading and responding to your work as you post it in the forums. But this is a more comprehensive review--it is optional but please realize that if you choose not to use this option, that it was available.