The War of the Ants

Graded participation and cold-calling students is a common tactic teachers use to generate more participation. But is it really beneficial for everyone? Many student learn in different ways that do not involve the pressure of speaking a certain amount of time or being put on the spot.

“What is participation?” was the big question that we had to answer in our very first essay in the sociology class. My first thoughts were, “Oh, participation basically means being engaged through talking and actions”, but as I gathered information to compose the essay and thought more deeply about the whole concept, I was brought to a different light on what participation really means. I applied the new knowledge I gained and put all of my efforts into being an active student in the class. As I reflect on the grade I feel I most deserve is a 3.1 out of 4 because I exert my best efforts to participate, but there are some components in my performance that I know I need to improve and strengthen to make my participation be the best in its abilities.

Students are expected to arrive on time and be prepared for class. All cell phones and electronic devices should be turned off and put away during class to avoid interruptions. Your class participation grade will consist of classroom conduct, how much you participate in class, and the completion of any activities during class time.

are for each class and how actively you take part in the discussions. Thus, your level of preparation for class sessions and participation in discussions will be factored into the final evaluation. I realize that it might not be possible to attend every class. You can miss two or three class session without it affecting your grade; however, if you miss more than that, it could have an impact on your participation grade.

Class participation: This is an intensive, active learning course that requires your participation in class discussions, case analyses, group projects, and presentations. We will not have a formal mid-term or final exam. My goal, instead, is to encourage your consistent effort throughout the entire semester—an effort that will be reflected in your final grade. Your class participation will be evaluated in each class in relation to two main components—class discussion and class attendance:

Participation in class has been no problem for me over the semester. I have only missed one day for English 111, and as for my other classes, I have only missed certain credit hour days due to reasons I could not help. I try to come to class prepared with my Little Seagull Handbook and They Say I Say book. I enjoy taking notes as my professor talks in class, lecturing about certain assignments that need to be done. Peer review is how I use my group assignment time in English 111, which has helped

Participate actively in class is the first goal on the list. This may prove to be my most challenging goal. My personality is not of the out-going type. As a result, I prefer to sit on the sidelines and observe rather than take center stage. However, I am noticing that several professors include class participation in their grades. Therefore, if I intend to preserve the excellent marks in all of my courses, it will be essential to improve significantly in this area. This necessitates additional participation in group discussions and offering answers to questions queried during lecture.

Students’ class participation is an important tool of learning. However, large class size leads to less active student involvement in the learning process. This will result to lack of student-teacher interaction and opportunities to ask and entertain questions.

First of all, the children in this class would not have a reason to pay attention throughout the school year, so they wouldn't. They would not worry even the slightest bit about grades because the only one they would get would be at the end of the school year. From the beginning to the end of the year is a long time to forget the material they were taught. When it came time to make the project, they would look up all the information they needed on the internet because they did not pay

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary (2018), tardiness is the act or quality of being late. It is one of the most common problems that our educational system is facing right now. Though sometimes we cannot prevent ourselves from being late because of the traffic, the distance of our house to our school or we woke up very late. We have to remember that chronic tardiness eventually lead to a much bigger problem like school dropout or low grade. Constant tardiness can lead to an overall negative establishment of bad punctuality habits among students specially that attendance is one of the ways of showing they can keep up with their obligations. But the question is who we should

School should not allow cell phones in class.The cell phones are a big distraction for the

A lack of good cell phone manners is constantly observed in classrooms. Students all the way from elementary school to college use their phones during class. According to Ron Kurtus, the use of cell phones during class is something that upsets teachers because it distracts students from what they are being taught (1). That is the reason why teachers forbid their students from being on their phones while they are teaching, but students do it anyways. Students have to understand that by using their phones they are not only affecting themselves. There are some cases when they can be affecting their classmates. Many students like to be listening to music while they are doing their work, and that seems insignificant but it is not. Some of the times a student is listening to music they have the volume all the way up; this causes other students to hear their music too, so now there are more students being distracted in class because of one person that does not know the right volume they should use. Also, students that use their cell phones in class are disrespecting their teacher, because they are supposed to be paying attention to them, not to their cell phones.

Reflecting on the time I have spent in this class this semester, I have noticed that I have demonstrated many positive learner qualities which I would like to continue to pursue in the future as well as many aspects of my role as a student that I wish to improve on. Focusing on the positive qualities first, it is evident that I remained an active participant throughout the entire semester. During our class discussions, I always had ideas, observations, and questions to contribute or to further the conversation no matter the subject matter. Aside from class discussions, I was also highly engaged in group discussions during/aside from the seminars. I was frequently bringing up questions I may have had, things that I may have noticed from the reading, as well as answering questions that the seminar leader posed. At multiple occasions, I have also contributed personal anecdotes connecting to the topic and discussion going on, sharing my experiences as a student or as a teacher/mentor. Even as a seminar leader my self, I tried to have my group engage in thoughtful discussion by beginning my seminar with an activity- something a little different from what they were used to- in order to have them think back to the reading and understand the reasoning behind the answers they gave during the activity. Apart from my group and class participation, I have near-to-perfect attendance in this class, I always arrived at class on time at the beginning of class, however was late twice after the 20-minute break due to long lines in the TEL café. Despite my tardiness, I did not disrupt class coming in late as I was only late by 2 minutes at most.

Negative points can also be obtained if the student is not working adequately in class assignments or team work.

Everyone attending every class meeting will have two points added to the final grade. If one misses a class, two points will be deducted from the final grade unless one watches an assigned video and write a paper. This is not punishment. It is an opportunity to get one’s money’s worth by added learning.