Team project                  25%
Assignments                  45%  
Participation                   30%
 

The participation grade will be based upon quality as well as quantity, online exchanges as well as in class.  The grading scale applied to graduate students is one that is used by some others within SILS. Undergraduate students will be graded on a different scale, but expectations are for the same quality of work.

Team Project

The team project is designed to meet the goal of refining critical thinking and problem-solving skills and to apply both theory and principles discussed in class to practice.  Students will study the information needs and uses of a group of interest to you and either summarize your findings in a report or present a solution to an information problem that the group faces. Students may choose their own teams, based on their interests.  Descriptions/proposals and project ideas are due on October 11. The final project is due by 9:00 a.m. December 10, but students will present a preview of their projects in class either on Tuesday, December 4 or Thursday, December 6.

Assignments

Students are responsible for an "interaction diary" assignment.  The interaction diary consists of three smaller assignment that are designed to allow students to apply some of the ideas discussed in the course.

Interaction diary assignment 1, describing an information seeking event, is due September 11.
Interaction diary assignment 2, information discovery, is due October 11.
Interaction diary assignment 3, review, is due November 20.

Class Participation

Students are expected to participate in class discussions on the readings and to pose questions about those readings and about the course content.  The purpose of the discussions is to help students to think critically about research and its impact on the field and to address ways that the literature may affect practice. Your responsibilities are to read the papers due each day from the perspective of how it may apply to your area of professional interest.  Your task is to identify a key point or to raise a question that you will share during the day's discussion or to post to the appropriate forum on blackboard.  Although I will provide a brief introduction to the topic, we will not spend a lot of time reviewing the content of the articles, so it is important that everyone read the papers before coming to class.   

Some class periods during the semester are designated as "review, summary, and discussion" sessions.  During those class periods, we start by summarizing themes of the course and topics covered to date and will break into discussion groups to examine the readings and topics covered to date more globally. 

When time allows, at the end of class, there will be a one-minute paper where students will have the opportunity to comment upon a key point or to raise a question.

Posting a Question or Comment

Class participation is important.  Attendance and timeliness are factors that influence participation, but this portion of the grade is concerned with student demonstrated mastery of content and ability to apply the knowledge to real problems.  Comments in class and in online discussion (at the course Blackboard site) as well as performance on assignments and projects will be utilized in evaluating participation.  Additionally, students are encouraged to post questions for discussion under the appropriate categories on the blackboard site prior to class. Discussion leaders may choose among those questions to focus the day's in-class discussion. Supplemental materials and announcements may be posted to the Blackboard site as well.

Instructor class notes will be made available daily, and they may at times be more detailed than notes presented in class.  The notes will be available on the Blackboard site (http://blackboard.unc.edu - login with your onyen to get them).