This course is designed to be a collaborative learning experience: it’s not a passive flow of information from professor to student, but a cooperative, mutually supportive project to explore the world of Greek myth together. To recognize your contribution to that work, I’ve made “course contribution” a key part of how you earn your final grade.
My most fundamental expectation is that each day of class you will:
- Be present in class. This means showing up to class on time, but also being as fully present as possible: asking questions, offering thoughts in conversation, enthusiastically participating in group and partner work, not using your phone or computer in distracting or distracted ways.
- Be prepared for class. This means reading the assigned material for each day of class in advance, slowly, carefully, and thoughtfully. It also means seeking out other members of class to study and read with, bringing questions or topics of conversation to professors and librarians, and otherwise finding ways to set yourself up to be an active and supportive member of class.
Your contribution score in this class will be self-assessed: every other week, you’ll submit a survey about the ways you contributed to class during that two-week period. If you’re able to state that you attended class every day, fully prepared, then your contribution score is secured.
I also understand that life gets in the way of these expectations. If you weren’t able to attend or prepare for class adequately, I’ll offer alternative ways you can earn that credit: meeting with me, studying other students’ notes from classes you missed, seeking out additional readings or other modes of learning.
I want everyone in this course to contribute to our mutual learning, and my expectation as a result is that everyone will earn all the available contribution points for the semester. If you have questions or concerns about this part of your grade, please contact me (Prof. Farmer).