Our Class

Our Classroom is…

  • an inclusive environment in which our diverse community can learn.
  • a place that will challenge us intellectually and possibly personally. I am committed to working with you on these challenges.
  • a place for people of all abilities and backgrounds. Please talk to me about how I can support your success and reach out to the relevant offices at OU
  • one piece of your broader life. Any student who has difficulty with basic needs (food, a place to live, etc.) and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to notify me, if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable me to provide any other resources that I may possess or direct you to other resources on campus.

Our Learning Community

To foster an effective learning environment, we will create a class compact.  In addition to items you the students will add to the compact, the following principles will guide our work together:

  • As your professor, I pledge to be honest with you, and I hope that you will do the same for me as well as your peers.
  • As a learning community we share a responsibility to each other to do our work to the best of our ability and to learn from and listen to each other.
  • Derogatory comments based on race, sex, gender, religion, ability, sexual orientation, and other identity positions prevent us from learning.  They have no place in our community.
  • Knowing and applying the names and pronouns students wish to use are crucial to developing a learning environment that fosters safety, inclusion, and personal dignity.

Class Participation is not just talking

Since we will all be members of a learning community this semester, diligent preparation and enthusiastic class participation are essential. 

Daily assignments should be completed before class on the day on which they are listed on the syllabus.

All students are expected to participate in a thoughtful, well-prepared manner that is grounded in the course assignments.

All members of the class are expected to reflect critically on the ways in which they can contribute to constructive rather than destructive class dynamics. I often call upon students and may not wait for students to volunteer themselves.

Participation involves:

✓ Informed, thoughtful, and respectful engagement in discussions & activities on a regular basis
Listening to the professor and the other students (including taking notes)
✓ Bringing class readings and/or notes to class to enable discussion
✓ Respectful behavior in class. Disruptive or disrespectful behavior (including arriving late and leaving early, or using one’s laptop for non-class-related things).

Technology

To be successful in this course, students will need access to a computer (laptop or desktop) and high speed internet access every week during the semester.

If you do not have a laptop (or desktop with internet at home), plan to spend time in a computer lab completing your homework.

If you have a laptop but no high speed internet at home, plan to spend time on campus completing your homework.

Required Readings, Media, and Course Materials

  1. Articles and readings online (on Canvas or on links on the course schedule)
  2. Tutorials and software (handouts or links on the course schedule on this website)

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