This class uses the format of many Evergreen programs: a healthy combination of theory and applied experiences. It requires self-discipline, individual work, and group work. Active involvement both in and out of class is a really important part of the learning process.  Please follow the schedule closely and attend all seminars, workshops, lecturettes, group meetings, and experiential activities.  It will be hard to achieve the program objectives without actively attending and contributing to class.  All work must be submitted on time.  Late submittals communicate that you are not keeping up with your work and may result in a reduction of credit.  In all but the most extenuating of circumstances, work that is submitted past its due date and time will not be read by faculty and your evaluation will state that your work was not submitted in a timely fashion.

EVALUATION OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE

In order to receive full credit in this course, students must successfully complete the following:

Active Participation and attendance

• Full, well-prepared participation in seminar discussions and other small group activities should demonstrate a close reading of all assigned material.  Additionally, we will often do experiential activities that are sequences of manageable challenges designed so that a group of students (you!) must cooperate to achieve a solution.  They require you to learn and practice a number of skills: goal-setting, problem-solving, values clarification, trust and conflict management.  In addition, at their own level of comfort, students will be asked to explore their own “parts” RELATED TO THEIR LIVES AS STUDENTS OR WHILE WORKING IN AN ORGANIZATION.  Faculty and student colleagues will collaborate to establish a safe learning environment where self leadership is encouraged, all “parts” are welcome and accepted, discussion of diverse opinion and experience is valued, and principles of respect and confidentiality are upheld.
• Students are expected to attend all classes and actively participate in classroom discussions and exercises.  Students may opt to observe any experiential exercise they do not feel comfortable participating in directly.  Students may do this with no need to explain themselves to the faculty or their classmates.
• In case of absolute emergency or serious illness, students are expected to inform the faculty within 24 hours of the class missed in order to negotiate make-up work.  If the faculty is not notified, make-up work may not be an option.  Given the brief, intensive format, and as much of this class is experiential, it will be difficult for students to make-up missed time.  Additional written work may be required in lieu of participation in class exercises due to absence.

Seminar Preparation papers on all texts

These one-page papers are intended to help you focus your understanding and responses to the seminar texts. One paper is due on each reading at the time it is discussed. Each paper should have four components:

• i) a statement of the author’s thesis,
•  ii) your response to the reading(s) (such as what surprised you, what you think we should discuss in seminar, what you had difficulty accepting),
• iii) an integrative statement in which you connect ideas from this reading(s) to something else we’ve read, or discussed previously and,
• iv) three questions for seminar discussion which are tied to the reading(s).  To be productive, these questions should defy yes/no answers and should require more of your classmates than simple opinion.  Be sure to cite authors and page numbers in your integrative statement and to be specific about which parts of the text are motivating your questions.

I will read the papers for quality of coverage only.  Students should not expect comments or feedback on their writing for these papers.  As is the case for all written work in this program, papers must be typed.  The papers should cover the entire assigned book or reading; this means that students must complete all the reading in advance of the seminar in which we discuss it.

Insight Journal

I require that you keep a journal of your thoughts from class discussions and corresponding assignments, such as Personal Learning Experiences, as given out in class.  This will be turned into me at the end of the last class and used for evaluation purposes.