Readings for the week of December 8

For this week, please review the following as needed:

• Editing and Proofreading tips and skim Appendix B of Markel.
• Documentation on Submitting Assignments in Canvas:
  • How do I submit an online assignment?
  • How do I upload a file as an Assignment submission in Canvas?
  • How will I know when my Instructor has graded my Assignment?

Work for the week of December 8

• If you have not already done so, please fill out the Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) survey for this course. I do not see the feedback until late December (after grades are submitted), and your comments are anonymous. The feedback helps the department make important decisions about teaching methods, course content, and faculty promotion. Written comments help me decide what to keep or change the next time I teach the course.

• Write and submit your final exam, Project 5: Course Completion Report, by 11:59 PM on Monday, December 14, following the instructions below. There is no grace period on the exam, since course grades must be calculated and turned in.

  1. Go to our course in Canvas.
  2. Choose Assignments from the left sidebar.
  3. Choose the "Project 5: Course Completion Report (Final Exam)" assignment.
  4. Click the big Submit Assignment button on the upper right. You’ll see this File Upload form:
     
  5. Click the Choose File button, and navigate to your file. It must be a *.doc, *.docx, or *.pdf file.
  6. Type your reflection comments in the Comments… box (indicated by the orange arrow). I read your comments before I read your project. These comments are worth 10 points of your grade. Don’t forget them! Include this information:
     • Tell me what grade you aimed for (e.g., I aimed for a B+ by including headings and icons).
     • Tell me how well you met your goals.
     • Tell me anything else you want me to know before I grade your project.
  7. Click the Submit Assignment button, and your work will be uploaded and turned in.
  8. Watch for a blog post later in the week of December 15 that will let you know that the course grades have been submitted. You can check your Grades in Canvas to see what you earned.

Important Dates

• December 14: Project 5 due by 11:59 PM
• No grace period. Work not submitted by 11:59 PM on December 14 earns a zero.
• If you have multiple exams on December 14, contact me by 11:59 PM on the last day of class (12/9) to make alternate arrangements.

Goals

learn the characteristics of performance evaluation reports that are typical in the workplace

review your participation and highlight your best work

The Project Assignment

You will review your work in the course and write a completion report that outlines what you have done during the term. In the workplace, you would think of this report as a performance review.

Step-by-Step Details

Step 1: Review the course requirements.
Begin by reviewing the Assignments page, which explains the expectations for the work you do in the course. Your completion report will explain how you met those goals (or offer some explanation for why you didn’t).

Pay particular attention to the Teaching Philosophy section. If you have completed the course successfully, you should have developed strategies to write anything you will need in the workplace during your career.

Step 2: Gather your data.
Collect details on your work in the class, using the details on the Assignments page as a guide. Specifically, you need to find data such as the following:

• What have you done to participate consistently?
• Have you completed all quizzes and forum posts (Discussions in Canvas)?
• Did you put in your best effort on the course projects?
• Which forum posts demonstrate high quality work?
• Which project demonstrates best what you can do?

You should gather the relevant numbers and excerpts from your work that demonstrate your effort. For instance, you might demonstrate why you think a particular forum post you made is the best by summarizing its content and providing a quotation from it that shows its effectiveness. Alternately, you might quote another student who has commented on your post’s effectiveness.

Step 3: Set your goals for the project.
As was the case for the other projects in this course, you have the opportunity to aim for the grade you want to earn for Project 5. The options below outline what you need to do for the grade you want to receive.

Again, no one aims for a D, so I have not included any details for below-average work. If you really want a D, just put in minimal effort and do sloppy work.

Complete the B-level project and then use unique strategies and details that are clever, original, creative, and/or imaginative. Your memo should include well-chosen graphics or visual elements (like a a table or chart that illustrates or tracks some aspect of your work). . Your memo should have no errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics, linking, and formatting.

Complete the C-level project and then use design elements (like headings, layout, etc.) to highlight key information and make the memo easy to read and visually appealing. Your memo should have no more than two or three minor errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics, linking, and/or formatting.

Write a report in memo format that describes your work in the course and includes examples of your best achievements. Your memo should be complete, well-written, and include no more than 5 spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.

Warning! Remember that no grade is guaranteed.
Make sure your work is error-free, fully-developed, and ready to share with the intended audiences. Any work that is incomplete or that contains multiple errors will not earn an A or an A-.

For instance, say the writer aimed for a B and used design elements to make the project visually appealing, but the information in the report was incomplete and sometimes inaccurate. The project earns a C rather than a B.

Step 4: Create your project.
Once you have gathered all of your information, write your report. Use a friendly, inviting tone with “you attitude” and powerful word choice. Your underlying goal is to persuade your reader (me) that you have done a good job in the course.

Since you are discussing your achievements and grade in the course, you are not required to post your report for peer review.

Step 5: Submit your work in Canvas.
When you are finished with the project, you will upload your file in the Assignment tool on Canvas. Details on how to submit your work will be included in the post for the week of December 8.

You will use the Comment section for reflection on your project. In this section you will tell me the following:

• the grade that you have aimed for on your final.
• how well you reached your goals.
• any other information I need to know to understand the work you did on your final.

Be sure that you follow the instructions, include the relevant information, and proofread your memo. If you skip adding the Comment, you lower your grade on the project. Remember that there are no rewrites or revisions after work is graded.

This week, you will read through the assignment for the final exam and discuss some example documents and advice.

Readings for the Week of December 1

• The assignment for Project 5: Course Completion Report (the final exam).
• Information on progress and status reports (which are similar to a completion report) on pp. 302–311 in Markel.
• Details on Powerful Word Choice
• Self-Assessment Examples
  • National Guard self-assessment brochure
  • USDA self-assessment document
  • Denver County Public Schools Employee Brief

Work for the Week of December 1

• Read the Project 5: Course Completion Report assignment (the final exam), and begin gathering data on your work in the course by rereading your posts in the Discussions and your projects to identify your best work.

• Analyze the self-assessment documents you have read for today for Powerful Word Choice. Go to Discussions in Canvas and post two replies to the "Comparing Self-Assessment Examples" Discussion, following the instructions in Canvas by 11:59 PM on Monday, 12/7 (two-day grace period ends at 11:59PM on 12/9).

• Please fill out the Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT) survey for this course. I do not see the feedback until late December (after grades are submitted), and your comments are anonymous. The feedback helps the department make important decisions about teaching methods, course content, and faculty promotion. Written comments help me decide what to keep or change the next time I teach the course.