Class_Procedures

Mr. RhodesGraduate EnglishSpring Semester 2014Classroom Procedures and Expectations1. NameYou must use your English name for all purposes in this class. You may only change your name if you ask my permission first. Even then, you still need to give me a good reason for the name change. For example, your old name was “Buttface,” and now you want to be c alled “William.”If two students share the same name in the same class, you still cannot change your name. We will do the same thing as Western schools: you will be called by your family name and your given name. For example, if there are two Johns, one may be called John, and the other called John Wang. If the problem of duplicate names arises when someone is visiting from another class, then the visitor would be called by their first name and family name.2. Attendance PolicyYou are not allowed to be absent for any reason. If you are absent even once, you may not take the final exam. How could anyone possibly obey this rule? It is very easy. I teach the exact same class 8 times every week. If you miss your regularly scheduled class, you must attend one of the other seven classes before your regularly scheduled class meets again.For example, if you are registered forMonday from 8 to 10, but you are sick on Monday,then you can attend my Tuesday class. Then cometo class again on the following Monday.If you have my class on Friday and are sickon Friday, then come to class on Monday, and againthe next Friday. This will mean that you attend thesame lecture twice in one week. If that happens, it isyour responsibility to find a classmate and receivethe notes from the lecture you missed.If you need to leave campus five academic days or more (that is, a full week or more), then I must receive a written note from Mr. Liu in the graduate office. The note must contain: ∙Your English name.∙The dates you will leave and return to class∙The reason of your absence, in English.I need to receive this note before you leave.Do not ask me for leave. I will not allow you to be absent. Do not email me or tell me that you will be gone from class, because I don’t care. All I want is for you to attend the make-up class.When you attend a make-up class, wait until after I have called the regular class’s attendance. When I have finished that, stand up and tell me that you are making up a class, what class you are from, and your English name. Once I have recited your name, then you may sit down.3. Tardiness PolicyAt the beginning of class, I will call attendance. Do not arrive to class late. If you arrive after all names have been called, then you will not be counted as present. You will then need to attend a make-up class. This is to prepare you for the business world, where punctuality is greatly important. Showing up late to a meeting could cost you your job, or at least a raise or promotion.4. Electronics PolicyYou are permitted to use a laptop or tablet PC to take notes during lectures, as long as the internet is disabled. You may also use an electronic dictionary during lecture, as long as the internet is disabled. If you cannot disable the internet and other connectivity on your device, then you cannot use it in class. Cell phones are completely forbidden during class. You may only use a phone during emergencies with my permission. You can, however, use your cell phone normally during the 10-minute rest period. If I see your cell phone during class, I will take it to my desk and you will not be able to use it again until the final bell.Electronics of all kinds are forbidden during discussion time.5. LecturesThe first hour of class will be lecture time. You must produce your own notes; I will not send you my powerpoints.During lectures, you will be allowed to ask questions, make comments, and even make corrections, as long as you raise your hand first. I enjoy hearing all three of these things. When you ask questions, it helps me to learn what you do or don’t know, so I can be a better teacher. When you raise your hand to offer comments, it can lead to discussion. Discussion can bring other students into the conversation and allow everyone to pr actice their English. Don’t be afraid to correct me. I don’t know everything, especially when we compare American culture to Chinese culture. If you’re shy about it, we can talk during the ten minute break between hours.During lecture, I will also ask questions of you. When I ask a question, I expect an answer. I want students to raise their hands and give me an answer. If I receive no answer, I willinvent one. Sometimes, I will make an answer that I know is not true. I will then look to see if anyone in the class can recognize that it is the wrong answer and provide the correct one. Not everyone will tell you, “This is right, this is wrong,” so it is good to know how to discern for oneself.6. DiscussionThe second hour of class will be set aside for discussion. Discussion topics will be unrelated to the lecture, and will usually comprise a story that I read followed by about six questions. The class will then divide into groups of about 4, although more in a group is acceptable. I know you like to sit with your friends, but expect your group to be different in every class. Do not complain if I tell you to pick up your things and join another group across the room. Your discussion group may involve students from other classes who are making up a class. Do not exclude these students from the conversation or from the group. You should treat them with the same courtesy you treat your friends.Discussion should take place in English. I may tolerate the use of electronic dictionaries in class as long as they are not used as a crutch. If you are struggling to find the right English word or you have a question, simply raise your hand.7. HomeworkThis is an Oral English class, so your homework is to speak English. A good rule of thumb for this class (and all college classes) is to spend one hour on homework/studying for every hour in class. Three times each week, I expect you to have an “English-only half hour.” For thirty (30) minutes, find someone else who speaks or studies English and talk them using only English during that time. There is no Chinese allowed during the English-only half hour. A good idea is to speak with other students who take my class, although it is not required. You can speak with me or the other foreign teachers or the undergraduate English majors or the Chinese teachers of English or a complete stranger you met at Jusco or your roommate or anyone else who knows English. I say three times, thirty minutes each, but really, I don’t care how you do it as long as you converse in English ninety minutes every week.After speaking, write in a journal what you talked about. Write a paragraph of at leastfive sentences. At the beginning of each journal entry, write:∙the date∙the number of minutes the conversation lasted∙and the name of the person you talked to∙if your partner is from one of my classes, note which one∙if a group of people were in the conversation, only list one nameFor example: February 1st, 10 minutes, John (Class 3)The journal cannot be a stack of loose papers or a stapled packet. It must be a book. This journal is only for the homeworks in my class; I will not accept it if I see notes for any classes, even if they are notes for my own lectures. You must write your English name on the top outside edge of every page you write on. I will collect the journal once at the midterm and again at the end of the semester.Journals count as 15% of the course grade, with each week counting as 1% for 15 weeks.I understand that the journals can be faked, that I can never prove you had any conversations in English. Even though you can fake it, you should not fake it. Remember, only you can improve your English through dedication and practice.Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using someo ne else’s words without proper citation. If I catch you plagiarizing for any assignment, you will be awarded negative points. What’s less than zero? Negative numbers are less than zero. If you plagiarize, it would be better if you did not do the assignment at all. It would undo the other work you had done for the class. Why is this such a big deal? In the West, plagiarism will get you expelled from university or fired from your job. It is considered the same as stealing, because if you don’t cite your sourc es, then you are claimingthat the words are yours. I cannot expel you from university. I cannot even fail you for one caseof plagiarism. But I can give you negative points. Compared to the West, this is a forgiving policy.8. GradingThe course grade breaks down in the following way:∙Final Exam – 70%∙Journals – 15%∙Other – 15%What is this “other?” Well, I may give additional homework assignments on top of the regular journals. If you miss a class, you must find out from your classmates if I gave additional homework, as well as the usual notes. “Other” also includes participating in class. That is, asking questions during lecture and speaking during discussion.I want to stress the importance of that not-final-exam 30%. If you don’t do journals, your maximum course grade is an 85, which is a B. The practice involved helps you improve your English, which is necessary to score well on the final exam. Students with low participation grades usually also do poorly on the final exam. Those who do well on the final despite low participation still pass with only C’s and D’s.9. The Class Coordinator (CC)The class coordinator’s job is to exchange information between the 8 classes that I teach. When I want to address all the classes at once, I will email the CC. The CC will then email the eight monitors. Depending on the information, the monitors will then email the students.How will we select the CC? I will allow the eight monitors to decide who it will be. The CC may be a monitor, but it is not required. I have not decided the full responsibilities for the CC yet. The job may be easy, or it may be very time-consuming.10. Extracurricular ActivitiesI am more than your teacher. In America, wehave a Latin phrase to describe this: in loco parentis.That is, the university and I act as your parentsbecause they are not here. If you ever need anything,like you are depressed for some reason, do not beafraid to contact me. I will listen with understandingand try to encourage you.Remember that all these activities areoptional. They cannot be used for extra credit in myclass, and you are not required to attend any ofthem. They are extracurricular, which means theytake place outside of class.a)English CooperativeI am planning to begin a group committed to the study of English and communityservice. While you are not required to attend based on registration in my class, the group is based on membership. If you want to be a member, prepare to spend lots of timecommitted to the group. Some of the activities I want to organize are study groups, trash pickups, and fundraisers to buy books for the library. I expect members to be present for activities. Also, being the English Cooperative, the language of meetings will be English and not Chinese. If you are interested in membership, email your class monitor.b)Language ExchangeLanguage exchange is a system where I teach you English for an hour, and you teach me Chinese for an hour. The times I am looking for a language exchange are theyellow-blocks in the schedule on the right. If you don’t have class at that time and youwant to begin a language exchange, contact your class monitor about which block youwant. I can do language exchange one-on-one or with a small group.c)Book StudyAt the book study, we read and discuss ancient Western religious texts. The discussion will take place in English, but the texts are available in English and Chinese. If you are interested, contact your class monitor.。