Participation points
One way to get students involved is to have participation points. Once they involve themselves in the beginning "just for the points", they will soon realize how much they enjoy working with each other and how much they can learn from one another.
Hi Gary,
I've experience students that were in attendance, but did not participate, therefore I separate the two grades.
Patricia
I wish I was able to give credit for participation. My school does not allow participation points. I teach in an almost completely hands-on career (massage) and it is very hard sometimes to get studetns to step up to the plate.
Participation point or attendance points! they should go together to just come and sit in class and do labs and not participate in over all class activities should not be rewarded. Not to mention the amount of knowledge missed that is picked up in shared groups
I personally will not award all of the points if the student does not participate in the class/lab and or discussion. I do document in my gradebook why I reduced the points and have already made the student aware of the rubric for participation. Most of the time the students do find the discussion and group activities are more engaging than they had ever realized.
Hello Rhonda,
You are so right, participation is so very important at a career college. Along with this, we add a certain number of those participation points for professionalism which includes coming to class prepared, appropriate dress, attitude and working as a team. We discuss it the first day of class and we reinforce that these are the things that will make them good employees. We have a rubric that we use to grade them and this helps the students know what they have to do to earn full points. I think awarding participation points is important in every course and not for just “holding the chair down†but actually adding valuable dialogue to the class.
Sharlen Krause
Hi Delekia,
I am a big fan of participation points. Students do not realize that sometimes participation points can mean the difference between an A or B or B and C. I have had students whose poor attendance caused them to fail my class because he/she was not present and did not receive participation points which are tied into class discussions and attendance.
Rhonda Daniels
Assessing a students level of participation is an evaluation involving two parts, quantity and quality. When grading students participation I look for the number of posts as an initial requirement, making sure they meet the minimum required posts per day and required number of days participated in discussion. Subsequently, I review each post for well thought out remarks and questions. Furthermore, I relate theses comments to the post they are responding to, making sure that their response is adequate and appropriate. Finally, I look for length and general substance behind their post. If a student meets these requirements then they are in fact actively participating, offering something valuable to classmates and learning from their peers.
Hi Delekia,
You are absolutely right! I have a scale for every class to allot participation points. It is a great way to encourage attendance as well.
Patricia
