some last thoughts about why this works this way

My intention in designing and conducting this course the way I do is to create as rich a context as I can for learning: after that, it's up to you. I've said that pretty often; I've also said that I don't have a specific agenda for exactly what you learn by participating in this process. You've had the opportunity to engage actively in reading some scripts, exploring the context of plays and their writers, in thinking about the material assembled and selecting and arranging it for a different audience, and watching people encounter that material; you've watched what other people did in that situation; you've had a number of opportunities to have and compare the experiences of reading a script and seeing a production, to reflect extensively and at length on those experiences in writing, and to engage in discussions of that production and that reading. My view is this: everything else aside, that range of experiences is one from which I expect that anyone can learn important things -- about plays, about performance, about writing and reading, about your own ability to reflect on your experience, and about what theatre, and perhaps art more generally, is about, and is for.

thinking about final reflections

If you are going to write a synthesis you need to post it in your engl2223 folder, as an HTML file called synth.htm, and it must be there by May 2. You can check to see whether you've saved it properly by going to the table of syntheses on the main course Web page; if you click on your name in that table and you've saved the file properly, it will display there.

I've explained in some detail in the prompt on Learning Journals the kind of thing you might write about. I suggest strongly that you reread that before you start writing. I'd also suggest you read my note on how I read these syntheses, and what I'm looking for (and what I cross out before I even begin to assess them).

It may be worth considering, especially if you're looking for a mark above the B range, that you should make a point of talking about different kinds of learning -- and that it will be especially important to be explicit about things you learned through your work on researching a play for a Web site and editing the material for a Playgoer's guide.

minimum grades

The question of whether you want to write one may be affected by your minimum grade, generated by the record of tasks completed. That mark will be available over the weekend, on the Records page of the course web site. If you're satisfied with your minimum, that's fine; if you don't have one or want a higher mark, you should write a synthesis. Reread the explanation, and if you have questions during the process email me or hunt2223@stu.ca.

About "excuses" for missed marks, or getting credit for work that was done but up late: I need to reiterate that the minimum mark is designed to keep my judgment out of the process; it's a record of what happened, and it counts what was done and where it needed to be when it needed to be there. Most of the writing in this course is intended to be part of a group process, and if it's not available when and where it needs to be it's not part of that process, and it doesn't make any real difference why that was the case. Further, if I put myself in the position of deciding whether I think your reason for not doing the work or doing it late was "a good one," or whether I believe you really had it done, the course becomes one in which you're doing the work for Russ and looking for his approval rather than contributing to the learning of others, and focusing on your own learning. I've written an explanation of this policy; it's on my Web site as well. So: if the record is erroneous (I do make errors) I'm happy to correct it. Beyond that, it stands as a record.

course evaluation: one last requirement

Like much else, this is different in this class. I've set up an online equivalent of the university's course evaluation form. One unusual requirement for this course is that you actually take time to complete (or to decline) that form. Most courses use the university's bubble sheet for evaluation, but my view is that I find out a great deal more if people have -- or take -- a reasonable amount of time to think about their  responses than if they have to do it in the ten or fifteen minutes squeezed out of a class meeting. So I've worked out a way to do it on line, anonymously, from wherever you like and whenever you like. Sometime this week (you may already have it) you'll get an email from  Garry Hansen, at the University's Institutional Research Office, with a link to a survey site where you can post your responses to the course.

Here's the deal. Save that email. Immediately -- or budget some time at some point before May 2, open the email and either go to the site and fill out the form (I hope you will) or decline. I can't know which you do, because they're anonymous, but of course I hope you'll do it. In any case, you're required, in order to get credit for the course, to make the decision before the deadline: either fill out the form or decline to. The reason for this is to make sure that people don't say, yes, I'd like to do that, and then forget about it till it's too late.

This process is intended to allow you as much time as time you need (rather than the few minutes you might get during a class session) to fill out the form thoughtfully -- especially the questions at the end, which are different from the usual ones, and specific to this course: I'm actually much more interested in what people say there than in what bubbles they tick, many of which don't really apply to a course conducted as this one has been.

Of course, as in the in-class course evaluation process, you can choose not to do it at all, or to do it quickly and get it over with: since the results are anonymous, I can't know. But I hope you'll take enough time to fill the form out thoughtfully; it'll make a difference to this course next time I offer it. It may also make a difference to the way some external folks evaluate my teaching, so, when you're writing your responses to the final questions, don't assume that the person you're writing to is just me, and already understands what you're referring to. Be explicit.

the very last assignment

Go to the theatre. Enjoy it. Think about it.