Daily Work

You might consult the "Activity Guide" to see a more detailed description of daily work and to get a better sense of how you might order that work during the term. Teachers have free reign to develop assignments and activities that help students accomplish the goals of the class. These assignments and activities might include:

• Class or group discussion of the readings in the coursepack
• Group or class discussion of newspaper or journal articles (some teachers ask students to read a specific newspaper once per week for discussion)
• Occasional lectures covering important basic material
• Group work on developing ideas for the final project
• Peer revision of drafts and visual aids
• Class discussion of sample student papers (from the class or the coursepack)
• In-class writing or revision exercises (selected from student papers) to address specific areas of grammatical or stylistic weakness (such as dangling modifiers or overuse of passive voice)
• Oral and written responses to student presentations

Ethical Issues
There should be coverage of ethical issues, especially those of academic integrity. The unethical nature of misrepresenting facts should be stressed. In the past, students misrepresented facts in a variety of ways, from outright changing of statistics to fit their own agenda to extrapolating figures from incompatible scenarios to make up for a lack of local statistics. You may want to follow a simple pragmatic approach to these issues (i.e.: the potential consequences of getting caught far outweigh the short term benefits of behaving unethically, the funding source is probably cognizant of the "real" situation through their review of past projects, and will reject any that seem to rely on shady numbers), but should encourage student participation and discussion, perhaps using mock scenarios. Since research writing provides many opportunities for plagiarism, whether inadvertent or deliberate, it is important to discuss the difference between documenting sources and violating the ethics and laws governing plagiarism and the abuse of intellectual property. For example, students who use found graphics (such as graphs found in a magazine or newspaper) must include a clear citation of its source, and should recognize that it is only possible to use graphics in this manner within the educational context of the class (otherwise, compensation is due). Without undue suspicion, teachers should be aware of a potential for breaches of academic integrity, and should bring potential violations to the Course Coordinator.

Agreement on Plagiarism
We usually distribute a "Plagiarism Agreement" each term, which gives students a description of plagiarism and asks that they promise to avoid it. Sometimes we will ask that they sign this paper to acknowledge that they read and understood it. These will be provided to you in your box, along with a memo, if we decide to distribute them. There are sample exercises to guide your discussion of plagiarism in Things That Work.

Student Paper Reproduction Agreement
Because we need permission from students to reproduce their work in the coursepack, we distribute a "Paper Reproduction Agreement" to each student asking for a signature. Students are, of course, under no obligation to sign. Your help in persuading them is always appreciated. I find it helpful to get a signed copy of the agreement from everyone, even those who do not wish to participate. These students simply write in their own option, "Do not use my work." This was we know clearly that the student has responded and has chosen if or how his or her work will be reproduced.

Student Survey
A survey is often distributed near the beginning of the term to help us know more about the students who are taking our classes. You will receive a notice in your box along with copies of the survey if we decide to distribute it.

Student Evaluations
You will receive student evaluation forms late in the term. Please have your students fill these out some time before the final class. Follow the instructions that accompany these forms. Teachers generally find that they get the best response from students if they give out the evaluations at the beginning of class, leave the room for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then return.