Class Participation & Grading

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Almost every semester in every class, I determine grades partly based on “participation”. Usually, this is largely based on attendance, but students are also assessed on contributing to class and/or completing in-class assignments. For most students this amounts to “free points” and I often consider eliminating it from the grade completely. However, I like to know who is attending class and that can be tricky in large lecture courses (my GEO 121 course enrolls about 90 students). I also don’t like to feel like I am holding students captive. How many students will show up if it is left to their discretion? College students are legal adults, so if they want to skip class, they can deal with the consequences. It can often be disruptive to have uninterested students in class, since they talk to their friends and text during class (despite me asking them not to).

In the fall, I am thinking of doing an experiment by not monitoring attendance in GEO 121. Students are required to attend lab once a week, so I can monitor the class population that way. I am also going to have a participation grade, but it will be based on online quizzes and discussion, rather than warm bodies in the lecture hall. I am also considering bringing back my group exams for the course. In the past, I have split each exam into two parts: a traditional exam that students complete on one class day, and a group portion that is completed the next class meeting. The group portion is all multiple choice and students each get their own answer sheet. The difference for the group exam is that they can discuss their answers with classmates. In the past, it has been quite entertaining to watch 90 students talking about physical geography and waving their arms around to explain earth-sun relationships to each other. I had discontinued the group part of the exam, but may try it again this fall.

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