Grading

What

This course will be graded over the Fall and Spring terms as a combination of the following components:

  • 35% Written Work (graduated series of six homework essays worth 5%, 5%, 7%, 5%, 5%, 8%);
  • 20% Oral Presentations (10% Fall, 10% Spring);
  • 25% Timed in-class Tests (10% Fall, 15% Spring);
  • 20% Classroom Participation (includes pre-class reading assignments and speaking up in class);
  • NO final exam!

When

For specific details, consult our handy grading calendar for our academic year.

(Note: essays may be handed in up to one week late, but doing this is not recommended. The lateness penalty will be 4% per business day up to a total of 20%.)

How

If curious, you are welcome to read the Rubric I crafted for grading essays (based on a template provided by UofT’s Office for Teaching Advancement at an upskilling seminar).

Who

I do all the teaching and all the grading in this course myself. There’s just me, Prof.Peet. :-)

What to expect

Having a time-pressured final Exam and big time-pressured Tests for a PMU199Y seminar course like this seemed like a bad idea educationally (not to mention stressful for students). So assessment for this course is designed to be as evenly spread over time as possible, and it measures a variety of skill sets. Our class will be doing some course activity – writing an essay, prepping for a three minute oral presentation, or prepping for a test – every two weeks. This means that your grading stress is spread out thinly at a low level with no sharp peaks. The ordering is designed around the syllabus material and will, for both semesters, be: essay, essay, presentation, test, essay.

For the last four years, the class average (for what it’s worth statistically) has been a high B+, with many students earning As. The grade distribution for the total of 80-odd students has been nearly all As Bs and Cs, heavily skewed towards the high grades. Last year as many as five out of twenty students scored A+, and more than half the class got As. No-one has yet failed my course, although three students nearly did by not listening to my feedback.

Post script: Special Nature of this Course

Our course has enrolment limited to two dozen students, making it an unusually conducive environment for learning. One of the biggest  benefits of taking a 199Y course like this is that your professor will get to know  you well enough to be able to write you a decent recommendation letter – something very unusual for teachers of first-year university courses generally. Make the most of this opportunity, for instance by regularly attending office hours.

In such a small class, each student is a valued participant in the course. You are important to the course and to each other. I expect that you will find yourself actively learning from other students as the course progresses, as well as actively learning from the professor. Therefore, to help ensure the best educational experience for everyone in the course, I ask that you commit to regularly attending class seminars.

  1. Please do not skip class unless you really have to. If you do have to, please be courteous and let me know by email ahead of time, stating your legitimate reason(s) for your absence. Unexcused class absences will reduce your Participation grade.
  2. Each piece of work set with a due date that counts towards the final grade should be handed in on-time. All Tests and Oral Presentations are to be done on the dates scheduled.
  3. Essays (and only essays) may be handed in up to one week late, but the standard 4%-per-business-day lateness penalty will be applied.

If you find yourself struggling to complete the work assigned, please talk to me in office hours or privately. If you feel that venturing into my office might be embarrassing, then please use email or Skype IM instead. The sooner you communicate with your professor when you’re in difficulty, the better job I can do of assisting you. I’ve moved minor mountains to accommodate exigent personal circumstances of some students during the past four academic years while teaching this course, so your likelihood of getting a fair hearing is good.

Lest anyone think that the course professor might be a dragon lady, breathe easy now: in person I am usually a pretty nice warm fuzzy creature! :) And I know from hard experience how tough it can be to overcome adversity at university. In particular, when presented with a good case I do grant legitimate excuses for missed graded work.

If something seriously bad happens to you, such as an illness, injury, bereavement or other majorly negative life event, then please:-

  1. Seek professional help ASAP as your first priority. For medical problems, visit your family doctor or a health care clinic (such as the student health centre on St George campus) and get a medical certificate.
  2. Let me know about the disruption to your studies, especially its timeframe and severity, as soon as you can manage. That way, in response I can create sensible arrangements, like make-up work, deadline extensions, private tutoring-style appointments, etc. The general idea is to assist you in catching up rather than falling behind in your studies.