Class Attendance and Participation Policy 2020b

[a] Standing at attendance RF

Class Attendance, Class Participation,
and Computer Use Policy

All Classes

Autumn 2020

Robert André LaFleur                                                     Office Hours: Email me 

Morse Ingersoll 206                                                         (what a weird era this is)  
363-2005                                                                            lafleur@beloit.edu 

Please note that I have kept the gist of this post (used routinely, with small changes, over the last decade). I have made slight adjustments for the pandemic era, but certain details ("classrooms") are left as they were (Zoom is also a classroom).

A specter is haunting Beloit College—the specter of missed classes, half-empty classrooms, and disjointed learning. I have tolerated these patterns of vacuity in the past, but it has reached a point in which missed classes affect both the students who are absent and more punctual class members (who have to hear explanations for material and key points more than once...or twice). It also detracts from the pedagogical goals of not only our little course of study, but of liberal education in general. 

From here on, attendance is absolutely required.*

*Of course, I will work with anyone who has a letter from the college, and encourage anyone it is needed to get one immediately. I will always work with you. The substance of what is covered below is about making sure that students don't lose the "threads" of the class through too-frequent absence. My concern is for student learning, not keeping some arbitrary rule about absences.

[b] Late RF

                    ***  ***
I will expect regular attendance and participation in class. I will take attendance during every class session, and students will be expected to be on time and respectful of the length of breaks. While this may seem draconian, it is simply meant as a way to create a positive learning environment (see * above)

Class Attendance
You are expected to attend every class session during the term. Period. This is not a policy that “allows” one or two (or three) “misses.” Short of significant illness, or a major—catastrophic—event, you need to be in class. 

Class will begin promptly at the scheduled time, and there will be a quiz at that time.  All quizzes will be collected no later than twenty minutes after the scheduled beginning of class. Be in class on time and use your twenty minutes for the quiz. [During the modular, pandemic, schedule, we will have to adapt certain things, but it is not o.k. to skip the quiz and just show up twenty minutes after the beginning of class. The entire purpose of the quizzes is to stimulate thinking for class. If you are later than that, you will receive the minimum score (70), although you are still encouraged to fill it out for your general academic benefit.

Please note (the following information is new):
Class attendance and participation is expected. 
More than four hours of missed classes will result in the loss of a letter grade for the course.*
Ten or more hours of missed class will result in an F grade for the course.*
*Unless you have a letter and we have discussed strategies.

 ***  ***

Class time will cover significant issues that go beyond the foundation of materials you have been assigned. In other words, you are supposed to prepare with the readings and then take the quizzes in order to think in new ways about that material. In the class that follows, we will take all of that preparation in new directions (that is the purpose of class, after all). Much of what we do in class will figure prominently on future quizzes and exams. 

Occasionally, it will happen that you are not able to be in class, no matter what. These occasions should be rare, occurring for most students once or twice every third semester, and only a handful of times during an entire college education (I am not kidding).

Attendance matters.

[c] Portal RF

When absences do happen, send me an e-mail message letting me know. Please note the wording. Do not ask me for “permission.”  Do not plead for “leniency.” I prefer to deal with these matters the way members of any civil society would—with a sense of decorum and mutual respect. That is ultimately how I will evaluate your attendance. It is really quite simple to tell the difference between not being able to pry oneself away from Madden NFL 25® and experiencing an illness or loss. Don’t be too “personal” in your e-mail messages. I don’t want to pry, and I don’t need explanations (or, worse yet, excuses).  Just let me know the situation.

Class Participation
By “participation,” I mean being fully engaged in the lecture or discussion. This may or may not include active voicing of opinions or interpretations. In short, I do not belong to the school of thought that equates “talking” with participation and “silence” with lack of engagement. It is easy enough, after a quarter century of teaching, to see the exceptions. What I seek is solid preparation, engagement with the subject under discussion, and (eventually) evidence in your writing that these things have come together.
[For Zoom classes, it is not acceptable simply to lurk in the background. You need to be engaged, which means being ready to ask and answer questions. I do not want to see those people who do not appear on video just to "be in the background" passively.]

I expect you to listen to my (and your peers’) comments, and to add your interpretations whenever you feel compelled to do so. The best advice is for each student to push her or his “comfort zone” a little. If you are inclined to speak often, pull back (a little) and listen. If you rarely speak, push yourself to do so.

[d] Gathering RF

You need to have the required books with you for class discussion. In cases for which reserve materials have been necessary, you need at least a series of notes to which you can refer during our discussions. Reading books on reserve (or leaving it to the last minute) is never a valid reason for being unprepared.

After an initial “getting acquainted” process, I will start calling on people. This will never be punitive, and will only occasionally create (unwittingly) the kind of “I-don’t-know/deer-in-the-headlights” terror that makes everyone uncomfortable…for about ten seconds. I plan to get people talking about the materials with a minimum of fuss and worry—and will explain the process once the course gets underway.

The most important part of the “participation” expectation is note taking. I want you to explore various note-taking skills as part of your expanding liberal arts education. You will more than occasionally hear me say “write that down.” That is for emphasis. I expect all students to develop note-taking strategies so that they have useful materials for further analysis when writing papers or studying for exams. 

Do not dismiss the neurobiological power of physically writing the notes on paper. Not everything has to be digital (something I never had to mention before a few years ago).

[Unfortunately (for me), the following paragraph will not be enforced until we are back together in the classroom...whenever that will be].
Because I take the note-taking process so seriously, I am requiring that you keep a notebook that will be turned in as part of your class work. Notebooks will be due several times during the semester and at the end of the term. Do not "just listen." I don't deny the value of listening, but I feel that note-taking is becoming a dying art in our society, and I am requiring that you actively take notes about the course's subject matter, both in and outside of class.

[Obviously, the following paragraph will also not be in effect during Zoom classes].
Laptops and Classroom Computers
There will be no use of laptop or classroom computers during class time without approval. I realize that taking notes on computers can be a useful practice, but I would like to emphasize a number of other note-taking strategies in our class (see above). Part of a liberal education lies in pushing one’s boundaries. Experiment with various note-taking strategies. The only possible exception to this policy will be for clearly stated (mostly medical) needs. See me if you need approval. If you are curious (or incredulous) about this requirement, it is because there is a pandemic of social media monitoring in far too many classes, resulting in (while I am, for example, speaking of a tragic event or very serious issue) a loud guffaw and laugh while someone else has been checking social media feeds. This happens far, far, too often.
Keep your laptop, tablet, phone (etc.) in your bag during class.

[e] Connected RF

You may do a quick check of e-mail and social media during break if you wish, but you must complete your work before class resumes (with time to spare). Then put away your device.

Occasionally during class something will come up that might benefit from a quick on-line search. In those cases (these seem to occur a handful of times during the term), I may give permission for people to do a quick in-class check.  Such times are the exception, not the rule. For the most part, we will be engaged in a distant intellectual world of books and paper. It will be a healthy contrast to our “connected” worlds beyond the classroom.

Just to reiterate (and I shouldn’t even have to say it), turn off your phones…and everything else, too.

I fully realize that this is a great deal of legalistic material to handle at once. A single, sensible thread runs through all of it, though—a learning community that is engaged in examining old questions and pondering the new. Or, as Confucius was said to have said:

溫故而知新可以為師矣

Acquire new knowledge while pondering the old, 

and you may become a teacher of others

[f] Teaching RF