Engagement Grade (10%)   [Attendance, Participation, Group Work, Quizzes, In-class work]

A:  Students who receive an A for an Engagement grade are clearly involved with whatever is going on in-class.  They hardly ever miss, frequently contribute nearly every period, and show that they have been thinking about the material we have covered.  The things they say open up possibilities, make connections, encourage others, and deepen our learning.  They are exceptionally open-minded.  They do excellent work in-class, including any quizzes, and they take every opportunity to learn and grow.  Not only have they read all of the books closely, they come to class prepared to engage their classmates.  You can always count on them to lead us into new and interesting directions.  They are above average students.

B:  Students who receive a B are clearly interested in what other people have to say and clearly demonstrate that they are following the material.  They fairly regularly contribute to discussions, and offer interesting ideas that advance our learning, but they just as often listen.  They follow discussions rather than lead them.  They are almost always in-class, and do very well on all assignments.

C:  C represents a passing, acceptable grade.  Students who receive a C rarely or infrequently contribute to discussions, or talk only when called on.  It is clear that they are listening, and are great students otherwise.  They have missed a few, but not an exceptional amount of classes.  They do fairly well on any quizzes or in-class work.

D:  Students who receive a D miss an unacceptable amount of times, and one could not reasonably say that they have contributed to class or gathered the same number of experiences as other members of the class. Or, when they are in class, students who receive a D are clearly doing something else, like reading from a book, writing e-mails, or anything that shows they are not involved with what is going on in the course.

F:  Students who receive an F never contribute or hardly ever contribute to conversations, stop coming, or miss more than a reasonable or acceptable amount of classes.

Remember, this is one component of your Overall Grade, which is constituted by a number of other factors.