• My policy is simple.  Come to class and be on time.
• Class attendance, timeliness, and participation are important  for the success of the class since much of the work of the course  is in groups. If you must miss a class, we all suffer. When you are late you may miss the start of an activity and be left out for the balance of the class. In short, our learning is interdependent. We need and depend on each other.
• This is not a class in which someone can take lecture notes for you if you miss class. There are few lectures and lots of discussion.  Expect lots of interaction, group activities, and exercises.
• I don't take roll. When groups meet, I know who is late, who is missing.
• Classes begin on time. Late is after 7:00PM. If you arrive late, it's disruptive to your group and the class.  On a rare occasion the class may run over. Leave at 9:45 if you have to; I'll make up the overtime, another time.  
• How many absences or late arrivals before your grade is effected?  There is no magic #. Folks do become ill. After two absences, serious sanctions may begin; excessive absences will impact grades. In, short, I expect that you just act responsibly about your attendance.
• If you already know you will be absent or late a lot because of work, please wait to enroll in this course during a semester with less job related work demands.
• I do not want or expect an email or phone message explaining absences. We are grown-ups. I don't need a note from your doctor. Make it simple; come to class.  If you are sick, stay home. If you or you life partner are having a baby, be at the hospital.
• If you are going to be gone, and your group has assigned classroom responsibilities, your group needs to know.

Participation

• I assess the participation grade based upon you participation when the whole class meets not in your small group. Your group mates assess your participation there in terms of group assignments. Effective participation for me  means improving discussions, facilitating interaction, and/or focusing people on the task at hand rather than just talking a lot. 
• You will need to demonstrate a willingness to get involved in full class discussions and classroom activities and demonstrate you have kept up with the readings to gain full credit for this aspect of the course. If you chose to remain silent all semester when the full class meets, I will not be able to give you full credit for participation.
• On the other hand, in a class with a large class enrollment, one must be sensitive and allow others a chance to contribute to the discussion. 
•  Required readings are found on the schedule for each class and are to be prepared for the class on the date listed.  If it is obvious you did not read the assigned material, your participation grade will suffer.    
• Let's work hard to listen to each other carefully and skillfully as we try to create a psychologically safe place to learn, where we feel free to share important ideas about ourselves and the things we believe are important. Good class discussion builds on previous conversation.  So don't change the direction of our discussion just so you can be heard.
• In other words, differences in opinion can be valued as we discuss ideas.  But we don't need differences until we understand fully the point of view of the other person. Listening and sharing with others is how we learn and how we build a healthy place to learn together. 

Helpful Norms

• Here are criteria established a few years ago by a class that has been used in peer evaluations. Group mates also grade your participation and attendance.

  a) Respect for other's ideas - Did he/she encourage others to contribute their ideas? Changed his/her opinion when appropriate. We can learn to be hard on ideas without necessarily being hard on each other. Strong learning communities invite and tolerate individual differences and opinions. On the other hand, interpersonal incompetence such as personal attacks, not listening, devaluing others,  creating norms of distrust, caution, and defensiveness make not very nice places to learn.
  b) Contribution - Did he/she contribute productively and fully to the group's workload (e.g., writing, presentation prep)?
  c) Positive attitude - Were he/she a positive force in the group?
  d) Flexibility - Were he/she flexible when disagreements occurred? 
  e) Preparation - Did he/she come to meetings prepared? 
  f) Goals -Maintained focus on group goals?
  f)  Attendance and participation - Were he/she on time for meetings? Flexible in setting meeting times? Talked  and  listened?
  g) Encouraged innovation - Were he/she open to new ideas? Willing to experiment and take risks?
  h) Communicated ideas effectively - Were he/she  influential in group decisions? Clear, concise and to the point