Assignments & grading

There are no exams. Grades are based on:

• A semester-long project, reported in six stages (40%), marked by in the schedule. Some tips:
  • Be sure to look at examples of past projects for ideas about content, format, and length. Note that in some cases the project Inquiry Unit was a draft, rather than the final version. A typical one-person final report might be ~3000 words, more if it's essentially a review article, less if it's reporting on a service learning project. A report by three or four people might be twice as long, but you should use whatever space you need to develop your story. The JAAL columns are another reasonable model in terms of scope.
  • A group project is assumed to receive equivalent, but not necessarily the same, contributions from group members, and is expected to be more substantial than an individual project.
  • Research involving human subjects, such as interviewing, surveys, or observations, requires Institutional Review Board approval. If it fits within the existing approval from the Institutional Review Board (see IRB-1), no additional approval process is needed. Research participants should be informed fully of the research and given a copy of the consent letter.
  • If the research involves schools, an additional approval is required through the Bureau of Educational Research.
• Six smaller assignments (40%), each marked by in the schedule. The last assignment is a reflection paper: What have you learned from the course activities? What do you see as the future for literacy? ...the most surprising changes? Do you see ways to apply that learning to your own work?;
• Participation in discussions, discoveries, class notes, helping others learn, computer helper, ... (20%). Notify in advance about any absence and complete alternate assignment.

Work must turned submitted through C-Base by the date on which the assignment is listed in the schedule in order to receive full consideration. The grading is criterion-based, with an indication in C-Base:

Excellent,exceeds expectations, "A" quality work
Does what was required, "B" quality work
Something missing, with an indication of the work that is needed. If you choose to do so, you may revise the assignment in order to improve your grade.