Engagement

Regular Attendance & Commonplace Book (100 points)The number one way to succeed in this course is to attend class regularly with an intent to participate fully. This course is designed to be delivered face-to-face, and while many of the instructional materials are available online and in print, the key learning methods and objectives are practiced through interactive lesson plans. Regular attendance is crucial for student success, roll will be taken daily, and on-time arrival is expected.

Surprises sometimes get in the way of regular attendance, but don’t let them destroy your chances of success in this course. Contact me if you run into any obstacles this semester. It is your responsibility to make sure your attendance is recorded if you arrive after roll has been taken.

Commonplace books “are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. Such books are essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces are used by readers, writers, students, and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts they have learned. Each commonplace book is unique to its creator’s particular interests.” (Wikipedia)

In addition to regular attendance, preparedness, and discussion, students will engage in regular collection and curation of materials from the course, compiling a commonplace book of knowledge and artifacts for further research and inquiry. Over time, we will look for patterns in the artifacts that you snip, and begin to identify fields of study for you to investigate further.

Commonplace books are typically small journals dedicated to the purpose of copying and embellishing the sources of knowledge that you collect. For this course, you may alternatively create a digital commonplace book, in which you gather photographs or quoted texts into a consistent digital platform. Tip: choose the method that will be most sustainable and consistent with your daily habits. You will need to bring your commonplace books to each class period.

See examples of commonplace books, past and present, here.

Assessment

• 100: consistent attendance, participation, and meaningful collection of knowledge in your commonplace book from the course materials that leads to patterns of discoveries and inquiries documented in your reflection
• 90: semi-consistent attendance, participation, and collection of knowledge in your commonplace book from the course materials that leads to emerging patterns of discoveries and inquiries documented in your reflection
• 80: inconsistent attendance, participation, and collection of quotes in your commonplace book that demonstrate engagement with the course content
• 70: weak attendance, participation, collection of quotes with little evidence of engagement
• 60 or below: poor attendance, participation, and infrequent collection of quotes; score will vary based on quantity

---

Final Letter (100 Points)