Because of a quirk of history at Queens, instructors are prohibited from grading students on attendance. That means we can’t draw a direct correlation between attendance and a grade (e.g. “3 absences results in your course grade being lowered by a third of a grade.”). We’re comfortable with that at First Year Writing, because we would prefer to talk about attendance in terms of participation, anyway.
How Does a Participation Grade Work, Generally?
If participation is a part of the course grade, that must be stated clearly in the syllabus. As you devise that statement, remember that participation should never comprise more than 20% of the course grade, unless low-stakes writing or some other component of the course work in included in this category. (The last policy statement, below, illustrates how that might work.) The statement should also be accompanied by a rubric that defines how you measure and grade participation.
This statement should also help your students understand the learning goals and methods of the course. In English 110, for example, the rubric for participation helps students see how and why the course they’re taking functions equally as a workshop and as a seminar. Putting them in conversation with each other as well as with the texts they read, English 110 introduces first year students to the various ways one participates in and contributes to an academic or intellectual community.
With that in mind, a good participation policy should state in clear and unambiguous language:
- what we mean by “participation”,
- why it is necessary and important, and
- how “participation” is measured or graded, if at all.
In addition to helping students understand the range of actions and behaviors that correlate with student success in the course, an effective participation policy will articulate the type of desired actions and behaviors. A rule of thumb is that student participation should be engaged and ethical. And yourrubric should make it clear that participation does not imply “agreement,” political or otherwise. In class discussions, students should feel safe, even encouraged, to respectfully disagree with their peers and instructors without fear of reprisal.
What Constitutes Good Participation in an Online Course?
This is complicated. We’re mindful that our shift to remote learning wasn’t voluntary for us or for our students, and it may present them with all kinds of obstacles to their participation online. Many if not most will have limitations on their access to technology, their space to work, their privacy, and their time. It’s a public health emergency, after all.
We see the need to be more flexible and communicative with our students about their participation in our classes this semester. We can’t possibly anticipate all of the obstacles to they face, so we’ll need to be more receptive than usual to their needs and more flexible in our grading policies, too.
We’re thinking about the best ways to use technology to help our students participate under the current conditions. Among the possibilities, we might:
- Invite students to use a Zoom background if they have computers or phones that meet the system requirements, so they can maintain their privacy synchronous meetings;
- Replace some synchronous work with video assignments in Flipgrid or Zoom, which enable students to present themselves to each other on their own time;
- Use the “chat” function on Zoom, so students who can’t turn their cameras on can still participate in synchronous discussions;
- Work to create synchronous environments where students can feel comfortable with their cameras on when possible, and they also feel comfortable participating with their cameras off when that isn’t possible;
- Pay close attention to our students needs and adjust our policies as we go. We may need to work with some students individually at the start of the semester to reach accommodations that work for us and for them, and we may learn more over the course of the semester about the best ways to do that.
Here’s a graphic we found helpful for articulating some general guidelines. It was made for k-12 schools rather than colleges or universities, so some of the details are inappropriate to our context, but the general logic of it seems right to us.
Here is a sample statement on participation for the fall of 2020, from Gloria, who calls this category:
How to get an A for participation and collegiality
To do well in this course, you need to engage in a meaningful and consistent way in the class discussion, synchronously and asynchronously. Occasional lapses in your quality of engagement won’t affect your grade. There are days when we all feel less inclined to talk for one reason or another, and emergencies come up for all of us from time to time, too. This semester brings more unpredictability than most, and we’re all in it together.
If you need to miss a class or two, or if you need to absent yourself from the camera in a synchronous class, you don’t need to contact me. That’s your time. If you need to miss more than one or two classes, get in touch with me to work out a plan to engage with the class discussion in other ways.
One of the goals of this class is to prepare you to participate in scholarly conversation with professional skill and grace, so your collegiality is important. We’ll practice the rhetorical moves you can use online and in person to engage productively with your fellow students as well as with the authors you read. Those engagements will entail degrees of disagreement, so we’ll talk about the most productive ways to express a wide range of critical positions. One of your primary jobs in this class is to push yourself to think critically and honestly, without a shred of rudeness toward yourself or anybody else.
To do well on your participation grade, you should:
- Share your ideas and your personality generously with your fellow students and with me, synchronously and asynchronously;
- Let me know right away if you have any difficulty participating, knowing that I want to accommodate any difficulty you have;
- Come to class discussions prepared to discuss the reading, knowing that you don’t have to understand it all, you just have to bring informed questions;
- Make specific references to the texts in your weekly posts on Slack;
- Be maximally collegial in everything you do.
Below are three more examples of policy statements that can be used or revised for use in your own syllabus.
Example 1: A participation policy without a grade component
Participation
This course is as much about thinking as it is about writing; therefore, rich, consistent, and ethical participation is crucial to the successful completion of the course. You must strive to be actively and intellectually engaged, not simply present. Hence, “participation” in this course includes but is not limited to:
- completing all homework i.e. reading and writing activities
- volunteering to respond when questions are posed to the class
- responding thoughtfully and respectfully to classmates’ ideas
- asking questions that advance and contribute to the discussion at hand
- volunteering to read when text is to be read aloud
- contributing meaningfully during small group activities
- engaging in focused work and dialogue during peer workshops
- freewriting diligently when required
- volunteering for activities that aid the class goals e.g. writing on the white board
- engaging thoughtfully and respectfully with your peers during conference hour
- attempting to respond thoughtfully if cold-called by the instructor
- using gender-inclusive pronouns e.g. “he or she” or “they” instead of the typical “he” when referring to a general, non-specific situation
- sharing your point of view, feedback, perspective while respecting the diversity of opinions, ethnic backgrounds, gender expressions and sexual orientations, social classes, religious beliefs, and ethnicities within the class and larger society
- presenting research to the class professionally in the spirit of increasing collective knowledge and understanding
- seeking out, carefully considering, and incorporating feedback during your revision process
There is no separate grade for participation in this class. However, doing well in these essays will be difficult if not impossible if you do not attempt to diligently complete all homework and in-class exercises and participate consistently and productively in every class session.
Example 2: A participation policy with a grade component centered on writing
Participation
Since English 110 is first and foremost a writing course, your participation grade will be counted on the basis of individual and group writing completed in class and for homework. You will receive credit for the work you do whether in class or at home towards developing strong drafts. Your completion of such work not only advances your own learning but also contributes to a productive learning environment in the classroom. In other words, the writing work you do will form the basis for the discussions and group work that comprise every class.
You will not receive a letter grade on low-stakes writing assignments; instead, you will earn one of two scores:
- 1 (for having completed the assignment);
- 0 (for not having done it).
Example 3: A participation policy with a grade component centered on multiple behaviors
Participation
More so than with most courses, class participation is critical to passing this course. Participation will be assessed according to the quality of your contributions to discussions and exercises, your preparation for daily class meetings, and the feedback you give in writing workshops and writing groups (written and verbal). Also, I will be considering factors such as attendance and punctuality. Therefore, lateness and repeated absences will make a high grade impossible.
I grade participation according to the following scale:
A=daily, thoughtful participation in class discussion
B=Frequent to occasional participation in class discussion
C=Participation only when called on or prompted, some attendance problems
D=Refusal to participate even when called on, attendance problems
F=Consistent lack of preparation for class, severe attendance problems
For example, an A participator comes to class almost all the time, talks at least once a class, stays alert throughout class (i.e. does not fall asleep!), and has visited my office hours at least once throughout the semester. A “B” participator is partially engaged and alert, but misses more classes, talks less often, and shows less dedication.
