Responding to Participation Comments
I and the teaching team can appreciate the concern many of you have with the class participation component of the course. First of all, we are privileged to have you at Case and in the Management program. Your concern signals to me a great asset of our program, and that is the high achievement orientation of the students. ... read more ...
In light of the several entries that have been made about participaton (see Valbona's entry, Danny's entry, and Trevor's entry) I wanted to comment on this issue. These students raise an interesting point regarding participation. Let me say that while we only expect about 10 or 20 percent of the class to receive a 3 for any given session, we are primarily concerned about quality of participation and not just throwing out comments in order to get a 3. Moreover, the criterion for earning full points for participation at the end of the semester is set dynamically each semester; last year students with average ratings of their daily participation of 2.2 and above earned full points. To get an "A" for participation, you don't need a 3 for every session -- only for every 4th or 5th class session.
Most of the students in our sections are doing well in the participation part of the course. Over time though, we hope that you will be comfortable with all the learning styles rather than feeling confined by them. If presentation skills and sharing your thoughts and ideas is not a strength (and you have an awareness of that), we encourage you to use the classroom to develop that skill.
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