Assignments

Picture of vibrant multicolor woven textiles from a market in Guatemala.

Student Participation

Active participation is an essential part of a language class. Consequently, students will conduct weekly self-assessments of their participation and will answer three short questions to assess their own progress. A form for participation is available on Canvas, please submit it weekly.

The participation form has two sections:

The first is a numerical self-assessment. The criteria for this assessment are provided below.
The second section is a short-answer question. Students should write two sentences for one of the following questions; a thoughtful reflection is worth 1 participation point. An answer such as “I understand everything” is insufficient and will be marked with a zero.
- ¿Qué lograste hacer en la última semana para ayudarte en esta clase?
- ¿Qué meta te pondrás para la próxima semana para ayudarte a tener éxito en esta clase?

Note: If students’ self-assessments don’t reflect the criteria above, the professor reserves the right to adjust them in accordance with student's performance.

Participation Was Exceptional (3/3 Points)

Student comes to class prepared.
Student arrives on time and stays until the end of class.
Student actively speaks up in class conversations without being asked.
Student speaks Spanish all the time (including in group discussions)
Student remains on task and does not use their phone or computer except to access class materials.

Participation Was Average
(2/3 Points)

- Student comes to class with minor evidence of being unprepared.
- Student arrives on time and stays until the end of class.
- Student only participates when called on.
- Student speaks Spanish most of the time, relying on English only occasionally (including in group discussions).
- Student may have occasionally been distracted on social media or their phone for unrelated reasons.

I'm Struggling
(1/3 Points)

We all have off weeks, own it, let's talk about it if we need to, and work to improve.

- Student shows evidence of being unprepared.
- Student attends but may arrive late or leave early in some instances; or student had an unexcused absence.
- Student does not participate actively.
- Student relies on English significantly to express ideas (including in group discussions).
- Student is frequently distracted on social media or their phone for unrelated reasons.

Unsatisfactory
(0/3 Points)

Participation was not up to the standards above. (Inc. missing 2 or more classes) Let me know if there’s something standing in the way of your engagement with the course. I’ve been there before and am happy to help.

Photo of an art museum exhibit; there are many possible opportunities for participation extra credit.

Participation Extra Credit

If students find that their participation score is not meeting their own expectations, they may supplement the score by attending Spanish-language or Latinx culture events outside of class time. These will be announced throughout the semester. Any external event that a student attends is worth 1 point on ANY previous week’s participation score to a max score of 5 points.

You can claim your participation extra credit in one of two ways:

1. If the professor was at the event, say hi and send an email within a week of the event to ask for the credit.

2. If the professor was not at the event, send an email within a week of the event to ask for the credit, but in this case, you must describe the event and provide a few sentences about what you learned.

Note that this is the only type of extra credit available for this course.

Rough Draft Submissions

For some of the longer assignments students must prepare a rough draft and bring it to class to edit in groups. This should be typed, though formatting is not important at this stage. Students will work with their small groups to improve their work (utilizing the track-changes or suggest-edits function of their word-processing program).

A passing grade on these assignments meets all the following objectives:

Draft is typed in Spanish
Draft has been spellchecked prior to submission
Student submits assignment on Canvas by the due date.

Extensions cannot be granted for these assignments since you must have completed the assignment to participate in class.

Work meets all other criteria as outlined for each individual assignment. – Note that each assignment will have a different set of criteria.

Final Submissions

Final submissions take different forms based on the assignment. Some assignemtns are designed to be submitted without peer revisions, while others need to pass through the peer review process. Detailed instructions will be provided for each assignment.

A passing grade on these assignments meets all the following objectives:

Assignment is written in Spanish
Assignment has been spellchecked and grammar checked before submission
If the assignment passed through peer review, your changes must be tracked in your word processing software. See how to do that in Google Docs here, or in Word here.
Composition is uploaded to Canvas by the due date, or an extension has been agreed upon before the due date.
Work meets all other criteria as outlined for each individual assignment. – Note that each assignment will have a different set of criteria.

Final Paper

For the final paper, students must attend one event related to Latinx or Spanish-speaking cultures at some point during the semester and write a review of the event. The review should include a summary of the event as well as your own reflection. This paper must be submitted by the scheduled exam date, but I do accept early submissions.

Do not wait until the end of the semester to begin thinking about this assignment. In the last few weeks of the semester there is generally a much slimmer offering of eligible events to attend. Part of the design of this assignment is to encourage you to participate in campus/community life and to thoughtfully consider what you've seen.

A passing grade on this assignment meets all the following objectives:

Assignment is written in Spanish
Assignment has been spellchecked and grammar checked prior to submission.
Composition is uploaded to Canvas by the due date, or an extension has been agreed upon before the due date.
Student summarizes key points of the event.
Student clearly states their own reflections prompted by the event (this could include your opinion or things you learned that you did not already know.)
Review is at least 500 words long.

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