There are five components that will make up your final grade. The course is designed to allow you to maximize your potential learning. In structuring the grading for the research assignment and short essays, we use a practice known as “ungrading”. In that practice, all assignments are broken down into several parts to allow students to receive feedback as they move through their projects. Only the final versions of these assignments receive a grade which is reflective of the work engaged in for the whole semester.
A few comments on “ungrading”:
- You are required to submit ALL components of a project for the final step to be graded (so if you don’t submit step two or three or four of the research assignment, step five will not be graded—with some exceptions).
- We will provide detailed feedback on everything you submit. This feedback is designed to help you improve as you move forward in these assignments.
- You will be given the opportunity to assess your own learning based on defined learning outcomes for these projects.
Research Assignment (35%)
Step 1: Sign up for your topic (due September 18th)
Step #2: Using Encyclopedias and AI to develop basic contextual knowledge (due September 27th)
Step #3: Analyzing your primary source (due October 18th)
Step #4: Using journal articles (due November 8th)
Step #5: Sharing your knowledge and reflection (due December 4th)
For details on the assignment: Research Assignment
Short Essays (20%)
Short Essay Version #1 (due October 25th)
Revised Version of Short Essay (due November 27th)
For details: Short Essays
Tutorials (20%)
Tutorial attendance is required for this course. If you miss more than 6 tutorials over the semester, you will fail the entire course. HOWEVER, if you are ill, please do not attend tutorial. Get in touch with your TA to let them know.
For details on tutorials: Tutorials
Final Exam (15%)
The final exam will take place during the UNBC exam period in December. It will cover the entire semester. A study guide with detailed information about questions and format will be provided.
Online Discussion (10%)
Questions will be posted weekly in your tutorial groups on the Chatboard. You will have one week to respond to the question posed as well as engaging in discussion with your fellow tutorial members. These questions will be open-ended with no “correct” answers but rather designed to help you think broadly about the topics we are exploring in class.