Participation grades ("lecture")

Participation is sometimes known to teachers as "the wiggle grade" or to students as "the bullshit grade." I try to make things a bit more transparent.

Per the syllabus I handed out on the first day of class, the "lecture" participation grade is determined by homework (completion only) and by vocal involvement in class discussions, with the "most helpful student" poll serving as a bonus. The quizzes wound up being ungraded, so I left those out.

So that's basically 5% for homework and 5% for speaking in class.

I divided the 19 of you into frequent speakers/contributors ("A"), occasional speakers/contributors ("B") and reluctant speakers/contributors ("C"). Per the syllabus, more than two absences to discussion eroded these grades, by one letter grade per day absence, in fact. Wes & Shae were the only ones affected, but they were also first and second in the poll, respectively, so I canceled out their absences. Stephanie was also tied for second, but attended every class except the day she was Laura. For her I'll cancel out a missed homework. And also for Ivan, who took me up on my mixtape proposal. So in the end, the 5% speaking grade fit exactly into my original A/B/C categories. (There were 5 As, 10 Bs, and 4 Cs.)

There were 14 homework assignments by my count. I'm throwing out the last 3 group homeworks because I can't remember who was responsible for what... I'll just assume everyone did those. That leaves 11, and I'll give you a free pass on one of those. From there, I'm starting everyone with an "A" for homework and subtracting one letter grade for each missed assignment of the remaining 10. That makes 12 As, 3 Bs, 2 Cs, and 2 Ds. Well, then I have to change Ivan from a B to an A, don't I? And that leaves us with Stephanie again. Hmmm, where does the extra credit go? I guess I'll code in an A+ for your participation... I think that raises it a tiny fraction.

The average grade for lecture participation, taking both talking and homework into account, is more or less a B.