Midterm self-assessment
Quantitative minimum
If you go back and reread the section of the course introduction on evaluation, you'll see that one part of the process of generating a mark in this course is to see what (if any) minimum mark has been generated by sheer participation in the ongoing work of the course -- that's the next section on "Quantitative factors (time and effort"). Please bear in mind that the record of this is simply a record; it doesn't get changed by my judgment about whether or not someone had a good reason for missing an assignment, because I simply assume that people have good reasons. It doesn't alter the fact that an assignment was missed; it was. (It might clarify things to think about the extreme case: suppose someone had a really good excuse for missing everything during the term. Would anyone argue that we should give credit for the course in that case?)
So, the first thing you will need to do is look at the records page. Later today there will be a "Total" column, which simply adds up all the tasks I've been able to count through the end of term. Using those numbers as a base, and bearing in mind my rule of thumb that people need to do about 3/4 of the tasks in order to establish a minimum mark at all, I decide on the minima as they would stand as of now.
Remember, all this means is that (at this point) your mark can't be lower than that. In order for the mark to be higher, you would need to demonstrate that your learning was at the kind of level defined by the university calendar.
Qualitative minimum
You can (if you choose) demonstrate this by writing a convincing learning reflection (as you'll remember, there's an explanation of this in the course introduction). I won't elaborate on that explanation here, but I will offer you some questions which you can choose among as you write your reflection. Remember, in any case, that you are writing this as though for someone who doesn't know about the course, isn't interested in whether you have enjoyed it or not, and knows no more than you did at the beginning of September about the theatre and drama between 1660 and 1789. I often suggest, stealing an idea from my colleague Thom Parkhill, that you write it as though you were explaining to a well-loved but pretty skeptical aunt, who wants to know that you're not wasting your time in university (and especially in this course). Here are some questions she might ask.
Imagine each begins with "What are you learning, and how when and where are you learning it, about . . .
You can respond to any of these questions, or you can create your own questions. I'd suggest responding to at least four or five of those. Each section of your reflection should begin with a question, and then answer it. You should use your own learning journal (and those of others), and everything else you've written for the course, as evidence. Remember that one of the strongest evidences you can give of learning is to quote or cite something you used to believe or assume, and talk about how you came to believe something different. You can also discuss how you think your behavior (for instance, your reading) has changed and how you might expect to read something new differently now that you've been in this course for a term.
Remember that your aunt thinks your learning is something you do, not something that happens to you, and she's not very interested in why you haven't learned, or in whether you like this course. She's only interested in what you have learned, and seeing some evidence to support your claim that you're learning. Statements about the course -- how well, or poorly, it supports your learning, or how much, or how little, you enjoy it -- will not impress her at all (there's a place for them; see below). She's a tough old bird, and while she might think it nice that you like what you're doing, or too bad if you don't, her concern is what you're going to carry away from this experience for the rest of your school career and the rest of your life.
Take a couple of hours to write this; think of it as a midterm examination in which you choose, or make up, the questions. Write it as a file with your usual word processor, and post it in the "Midterm Reflections" Forum. You don't have to do it at all, but if you do, post it before the time of the midterm exam, Friday, December 14, 9:00 - noon.
I'd like everybody either to offer some anonymous feedback on the course, or decide not to (what I want to avoid is having folks simply intend to do it and then put it off and forget about it). So here's how I'll do that.
After tomorrow, and before the deadline for posting a reflection, click on the link to Feedback for Russ, fill in your name, and either skip down and click "submit" or go through the form and respond to as many questions as you like.
What happens next is that the form is automatically submitted to the department assistant, who strips the names off and saves the responses. After the 14th she'll send me the names of everybody who's submitted the form (that way I'll know nobody just forgot); after Christmas at some point she'll send me a file with all the responses, disconnected from the names. I'll read them and post them on the course Web site, with my own comments, where they seem useful, and an invitation to add your own comments -- anonymously again.