Seminar participation and grading

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I promised to get back with info about how we will grade the 4 points you can get at each seminar. I have updated the document "Course examination and grading" in Bilda - there is now a new version there ("130915 Course examination and grading.pdf".

You don't need to check out that document though, I have pasted the relevant part below and the new text about the seminars is marked in orange below.

/Daniel

Attendance and participation

The course covers a topic that, beyond a hard core of scientific facts, is rife with values and differing opinions. The purpose of the course is not to get people to acquire certain opinions (although that might be a side effect), but rather to gain a basic understanding of the topic of sustainability and to make connections to media/information and communications technologies (ICT). In the interest of fostering an open discussion climate, a large part (56%) of the course is examined through preparation, attendance and participation in course activities (lectures and seminars).

As a student, you have to participate in 80% of the scheduled course activities (10 lectures and 5 seminars) in order to get top points in the course. Attendance and participation that falls below the 80% threshold will have adverse effects on grades (e.g attendance at 5/10 lectures = 7.5/12 points for lecture attendance).

Furthermore, it is crucial to (according to instructions given) actually prepare for and actively participate in the seminars in order to gain top points at each seminar. Since you have the chance to earn as much as 4 points at each seminar (corresponding to 8% of the total score that is possible to attain in the course), the score for a seminar has been broken down as follows:

• Preparing for the seminar by submitting a seminar question – 0.5 points
• Preparing for the seminar by submitting a “position paper”[1] – 1.5 points (you will be awarded 0, 0.5, 1 or 1.5 points depending on the merit and quality of your position paper)
• Attending the seminar – 1 point
• Attending the seminar and actively contributing to it – 1 point

Note: if you attend a seminar without in any way contributing to the seminar discussions, you will only get 1 point for your attendance.

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[1] For more information about ”position papers”, see http://dm2573-2013.blogspot.se/2013/09/instructions-for-seminar-1-thu-sept-19.html