As you will notice from the syllabus, you will be posting to this course blog regularly throughout the semester. While I encourage you to post short reflections and items of interest for the class whenever you come across something worth of sharing, there are specific, directed posts you must make as a part of this course. For the “provocations” noted in the syllabus, you will be providing a close reading of a small section of text including your initial analysis and posing questions you would like to discuss further with the class.
These writing assignments are broken down into groups (3 groups, 5 students per group), which rotate roles. On the week you are not posting a provocation you must respond to at least two of your peers through the comment feature.
Here is a breakdown of how these posts will be graded:
| Rating | Characteristics |
| 4 | Exceptional. The blog post is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The post demonstrates awareness of its own limitations or implications, and it considers multiple perspectives when appropriate. The entry reflects in-depth engagement with the topic. |
| 3 | Satisfactory. The blog post is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed. The post reflects moderate engagement with the topic. |
| 2 | Underdeveloped. The blog post is mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. The post reflects passing engagement with the topic. |
| 1 | Limited. The blog post is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic. |
| 0 | No Credit. The blog post is missing or consists of one or two disconnected sentences.
(Adapted from Mark Sample) |