CRIMINAL JUSTICE 160 - FALL 2005 - SECTION 001
Guidelines on Classroom Expectations and Decorum
From the Professor
On-time
I expect you to strive to arrive in class on or before the stated starting time. Late entries disturb everyone. I expect you to be in class for the duration; if it is absolutely essential that you must leave before class ends, please let me know before class starts.
I may decide to lock the doors five minutes after the scheduled class starting time. If you have another instructor who is holding you over, please speak with him/her at your earliest convenience and tell him you need to leave promptly at 12:50
Special Dates
There will be some "special" class dates
that we will announce as the semester progresses. On these dates we may have
any of the following: an in-class video, a portion of a movie, or an in-class
speaker. You need to regularly check the memos section to keep posted about
these dates. I will try to let you know a week in advance. If you miss class
on these dates you may miss information that is crucial to a paper or a test
or a participation point. You can check the memos section at
http://www.rbtaylor.net/160_fa05_memos
Cell phones, calculators, palm pilots and pagers
Turn these off before you come to class. These are enormously disturbing to your colleagues. If by chance you forget to turn it off, and your phone or pager rings, I expect you to turn it off immediately. I do not expect you to answer it.
If I see that you are on the phone -- this includes doing text messaging -- for any reason whatsoever, I will probably ask you to leave the classroom and not return for the rest of the semester. When you are in class I expect you to be paying attention to what is happening.
I do not want people to be on their palm pilots in class. If you must use your palm pilot to take notes, then you should speak to me individually before you start doing this so you can explain your situation.
If, during an in-class examination, I see you consulting with or using any of these devices, I will ask you for your test, which will be assigned a failing grade, and you and I will speak further about how to proceed from that point.
Handing in Papers
Given the size of this class, I am PRETTY SURE I will be asking you to turn in papers using the course BLACKBOARD site using TURNITIN. I will be checking to be sure this system continues to work but at this juncture you should plan on submitting ALL PAPERS ELECTRONICALLY through the BLACKBOARD site. At this point we are NOT accepting papers submitted sent to our EMAIL addresses.
Food
Although many of you have classes both before and after this one, but please try to avoid bringing food to class; it is oftentimes disturbing to others. A soda or a cup of coffee is fine if you REALLY need it; more than that DON'T bring it unless you have enough for EVERYONE. PLUS: this classroom was just redone two years ago.
How I "Count" Participation
As you can see from the course requirements, there is a participation portion. Here is how that is calculated. On different days in class you will be asked to fill something out. Sometimes I ask for your name, sometimes I do NOT ask for your name. At the end of class be sure to get the form or card you filled out to Ms. Garcia. We keep track of these when we ask for names on them. At the end of the semester we count up the proportion of times you completed these.
Going In and Out of "Buzz" Groups
We will be breaking out into small discussion or "buzz" groups of no more than five students. When we come out of these groups we can lose a lot of time unless we really make an effort to re-focus on what is happening in the larger classroom. Please try to help rather than slow down this transition
From the Students: Finding the Bounds of Civil Discourse
In this class we will spend a lot of time on topics that are highly controversial and emotionally charged. We will only be able to discuss these topics if we can agree on how to speak to one another and how to listen to one another
As a class you will spend time in small groups suggesting guidelines for class discussion. These guidelines will cover how you talk to and listen to each other, and other expectations as well. Once those guidelines are defined you will receive a copy, and I will post them on the web site.
We can learn the most when we strive to listen to views different from our own, and phrase our own views so that they can be understood by others with different perspectives. You will probably find in this class when you express an point of view that some agree with you, and others disagree with you. I hope that as this class evolves you all will feel comfortable about contributing and will see these differences as a learning opportunity rather than a hindrance.