Assignments and Grading Criteria

Participation - 20%

Class participation is 20% of your final grade.  However there are many misconceptions about what high performance in participation looks like in a classroom. Let this section clarify what does and does not constitute participation in my course.
 
What Participation is NOT:
  1. Completing readings and other assignments
  2. Attendance in class
  3. Respect for other students by actively listening and engaging in class
  4. Turning off electronics or placing them in airplane mode
  5. Speaking up, but making points that have already been made, giving redundant examples or any form of “jockeying for air time”
  6. Playing the “devil’s advocate” for the sake of argumentation (creating an “either/or” discussion rather than a deeper conversation around “why” and “when”)
  7. Playing it safe by making comments that are merely minor elaborations on other peoples’ comments or the class materials
  8. Speaking in every class
 
 
What Participation IS:
  1. Making points that link back to the materials and previous courses in a way that help build a holistic view of Organizational Behavior
  2. Synthesizing the points made by others and driving the discussion in an intellectually challenging way
  3. Testing new ideas even though they may be not fully formed, and taking chances
  4. Raising questions that expand the scope of our discussions
  5. Not Speaking when you have nothing important to say
 
 
Clearly, you must participate in class if you are going to share your ideas with others. However, there is no need to speak in every class session. Some of the best contributors participate less often than the most active speakers; though less vocal, their thoughts are truly insightful and persuasive.
 
How is participation measured? (in order of importance)
  1. The evaluation of your peers: The best way to create a classroom culture that promotes productive participation is to allow students to have a voice in reinforcing appropriate behavior.  After class you will be asked to email me the names of the individuals who most positively contributed to your learning in class that day.  You must nominate students a minimum of 10 times.  If you get nominated you will receive an email from me with a “thumbs up” or “smiley face” emoji.  If you find yourself speaking and not being nominated, this is an indication that your comments are not moving along the discussion productively.
  2. Your self-evaluation:  Effective self-reflection is essential to ongoing success.  As a result, you will be given multiple chances to perform a self-evaluation and I will assess the accuracy of that evaluation.
My evaluation: On the margins, I will use my evaluation in order to supplement your self- evaluation and the evaluation of your peers.

Exams- 50%

There are 2 exams in this class.  The first is an in class exam that will consist of multiple choice, true false and short answer questions.  The second is a take home final exam.

Individual Assignments- 10%

These assignments fall in two categories:

1) Preparation Assignments:  Most days before class, I am going to ask you to think about the readings or your own experience and pose a question (this can be found on the course schedule).  Please email your short answer to eblock@ualberta.ca before class begins.  These will be worth 100 points.

2) Reflection Assignments:  There will be two individual reflection assignments.  The first is based on the "Being Different" exercise.  The second is a final reflection paper.  Both will not exceed 5 pages and will be each worth 50 points. 

Details for all assignments will be found on the Schedule.

Group Project 20%

The group assignment for this class uses the board game Pandemic.  The objective of the game is to find the cures for the four diseases. You will be randomly assigned to groups of four on the day of the exercise and your grade will be based on your performance in the exercise.  You will be given many chances to practice the game, both in class and on your own time.
Grading Scale
Your final grade in this course will be a combination of your numerical score and the U of A 4-point scale as given below:
>90% A+
85-90% A
80-85% A-
75-80% B+
70-75% B
65-70% B-
60-64% C+
55-59% C
50-55% D
<50% F