“Prof for the day” (10%)

“Prof for the day” assignment guidelines

1. Choose your day

Please check when you have heavier assignments (tests, midterms, essays, papers, etc.) in other courses and tell me

  • email juliet.obrien@ubc.ca
  • or Canvas message

which of the following would work best for you and which would be horribly NOPE: I’m updating this as people write in to book … (last updated: 2021-10-22 18:50)

  • week 6 = Thursday 14 October
  • (not week 7, this week is for project appointments)
  • week 8 = Thursday 28 October
  • week 9 = Thursday 4 November
  • week 10 = Tuesday 9 November SPACE
    • note that this session is on Tuesday as Wednesday-Friday = midterm break / reading week
  • week 11 = Thursday 18 November
  • week 12 = Thursday 25 November
  • week 13 = Thursday 2 December

I’ll then group you by preferred day. If need be, there might be some weeks where we use both days for Prof For The Day sessions. That’s fine: I can fit my teaching around that, and indeed work as Assistant For The Day. Logistics stuff like this is on me to figure out, once I have all your preferences …

2. How being Prof For The Day works

  • Stage 1: meet and prepare with me, the Tuesday or Thursday or Friday afternoon of the week before. I’ll prepare some readings and ideas: for ex. excerpts from set readings + a theme, an object, images of Tintagel, castles in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I’ll also talk you through my teaching plan for that next week, as some of it might be more interesting for you; we’re effectively planning the next week’s classes together. The plan for the week and for your day is open to change, as you might have further ideas while we’re talking. (This is a discussion: not just me assigning you a topic.) You choose.
  • Stage 2: about 2-3 hours work outside class: prepare about 5 minutes about your reading and a question/topic for discussion. This might be the same for all of you or a different one for each person.
  • Stage 3: in class (usually Thursday).
    • Part 1 of class, each Prof For The Day will be responsible for helping a group of people to investigate a topic / question / part of the reading. We’ll take plenty of time for reading in this first part of class. Profs will be distributed around the class (so, for ex., with a group of 5 profs each will have a group of +/- 7 other students around them): summarise and explain / recount your reading—you’re the expert teaching your group—and set up your question/topic for discussion; write up on canvas discussion
.
    • break
    • part 2: present to and compare notes with another 1 or 2 groups, add further canvas discussion notes; include links for any images and sound collected
    • part 3: project any collected links in class and I’ll add commentary and further explanation, information, etc. as needed
  • grading:
    • 10% = “prof for the day” round table / errant champions (like a presentation, but better)
    • partly based on peer appreciation (starting with “liking” contributions to discussions and add comments there if you wish, that day); I reserve the right to be a superpeer and “upvote” (I never use that superpower other than for good)
    • partly based on self evaluation (end of term)
    • see: “Profs for the day” round tables assignment (info copied in next section below)

3. How about marking?

This part of your final grade is SELF-ASSESSED AND PEER-ASSESSED

Self-assessment:

  • Please comment on your own contributions to the Prof For The Day sessions by writing or recording yourself in the text box or by attaching a PDF. (on the assignment, at “Profs for the day” round tables)
  • Please include your self-grading and a short comment (1-2 sentences) explaining it.
  • Due date: Monday after the end of the teaching term, 13 December

Peer assessment:

  • Please also nominate at least THREE other Prof For The Day groups who you think deserve 5 points for their discussion session
  • You may nominate as many other Profs as you wish

Criteria for a self-graded A: Thoughtful and respectful participation. You

(1) kept up with the reading in the course, and demonstrated that to our community through your

(2) generous and respectful participation in class discussions, and your

(3) feedback afterwards there.

If you decide to assess your work with a B, C, or D range grade, it will likely be because you didn’t manage some or much of what is described above. We’ll talk about that together: come and see me in office hours or leave me a Canvas Inbox message.

For the purpose of this class, a failing F grade isn’t a grade as much as an acknowledgment that you did not show up and/or do the work. Submitting work that is plagiarized – work that is not your own and/or that you have copied from someone or somewhere else – effectively constitutes not doing the work and will result in an F for that assignment.

**Important Note**: This self-grading scheme assumes presence and timely participation. Students who consistently don’t submit the required work or participate in the self-reflection process will default to a grade that I will assign, based on the work (including presence and participation) that the student has completed. In that case, I reserve the right to change or assign a grade, where appropriate.

(Criteria adapted from Prof. Carla Nappi, University of Pittsburgh .)

  • 5 = A
  • 4 = B+/A-
  • 3.5 = B
  • 3 = C
  • 2.5 = D
  • 0 = F
  • (if you’re thinking of giving yourself a mark in the 0-2 range, come and see me first or leave me a message by Canvas Inbox and I’ll try to persuade you of your merits)