BIS 361

Studies in American Literature: The 1930s

Winter 2007

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

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Learning Portfolio Assignment

midquarter learning portfolio due online no later than 10:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6;

optional interim portfolio submission due after Tuesday, Feb. 13 but before  10:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20;

final portfolio due online no later than 10:50 a.m. on Tuesday, March 6

The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with a chance to reflect upon what you have learned, to critically analyze your work, and to practice the selection of and presentation of your work to an audience.

You will submit your portfolio electronically, using the Catalyst Portfolio tool.  I use electronic portfolios for several reasons:

Note: It is very important that you follow these step-by-step instructions.  Do not try to navigate the online Portfolio tool on your own.  These instructions work!

Important:  All artifacts (documents that you upload into your portfolio) must be Microsoft Word documents (not Microsoft Works or Wordperfect).  If you use a Macintosh computer, you must add the suffix .doc to the names of all attached artifacts described below.

 

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Midquarter Portfolio

  1. Research Essay. The working thesis and bibliography for your research essay constitute the first component of your midquarter learning portfolio. To submit this artifact, click on the blue "Research Essay" phrase from the main portfolio menu. Click on the blue "Attach artifact" button. In the pull-down menu following "Artifact type," choose "A file from your hard drive." Then use the "Browse" button and locate the file on your computer. In the next box, name your artifact "Lastname BIS361 Thesis," using your last name in place of Lastname and omitting the quotation marks . Don't change the artifact location (leave it "My Artifacts"). Then click the "Create Artifact" button.  You do not need to write anything in the "Your reflection" text box; just leave it blank.  IMPORTANT: Be sure you have named the Microsoft Word document properly as requested here, and be sure that you attach the artifact correctly.  If your artifact is attached correctly, an icon with a "W" on it (for Microsoft W ord) will appear on this page of the portfolio.  With this item and all of the others, you can click the "Save" button periodically to make sure you don't lose your work, but when you are all finished with this page, you must click on the "Finished" button. That should take you back to the main portfolio menu (but does not submit the page or the portfolio).
  2. Contribution Self-Assessment. To begin your contribution self-assessment, click on that blue phrase. In the provided dialogue box, write two substantial paragraphs that explain (a) which of the participant profiles described in the course's contribution document at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Partic.html> best fits you so far, and why you think so, matching specific elements of the descriptions to your own observations about your contributions so far; and (b) which of the small group roles, described in that same document, you have already tried.  Please note that I expect this short response to be carefully written and proofread. I recommend composing your short response in Word so you can edit, proofread, and spellcheck, and then paste your finished response into the space in the portfolio.  When you are finished with this page, click on the "Finished" button.
  3. Reflective paper. Leave this page empty but include it in the midquarter portfolio by clicking on that blue phrase and then on the "Finished" button.

 

 

 

Your midquarter learning portfolio is due online no later than 10:50 a.m. sharp on Tuesday, Feb. 6. There is no grace period for the midquarter portfolio because there is no significant penalty for not submitting a midquarter portfolio.  You just will not get comments on your portfolio's contents.  I also will not confirm receipt of midquarter portfolios for the same reason--they just are not crucial like the final portfolios are.  However, you can check the submission for yourself as described above, which is required.  Please do not slow down my grading by asking me to confirm receipt of your portfolio.

 

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OptionalInterim Portfolio

  1. Research Essay. This is your opportunity to get specific comments from me regarding your research essay to help you revise for the final version in your final portfolio, which will be graded.  To submit this artifact, click on the blue "Research Essay" phrase from the main portfolio menu. Click on the blue "Attach artifact" button. In the pull-down menu following "Artifact type," choose "A file from your hard drive." Then use the "Browse" button and locate the file on your computer. In the next box, name your artifact "Lastname BIS361 Essay," using your last name in place of Lastname and omitting the quotation marks . Don't change the artifact location (leave it "My Artifacts"). Then click the "Create Artifact" button.  You do not need to write anything in the "Your reflection" text box; just leave it blank.  IMPORTANT: Be sure you have named the Microsoft Word document properly as requested here, and be sure that you attach the artifact correctly.  If your artifact is attached correctly, an icon with a "W" on it (for Microsoft W ord) will appear on this page of the portfolio.  With this item and all of the others, you can click the "Save" button periodically to make sure you don't lose your work, but when you are all finished with this page, you must click on the "Finished" button. That should take you back to the main portfolio menu (but does not submit the page or the portfolio).
  2. Contribution Self-Assessment. Leave your midquarter comments here, without adding anything new, but include it in this portfolio by clicking on that blue phrase and then on the "Finished" button.
  3. Reflective paper. Leave this page empty but include it in this portfolio by clicking on that blue phrase and then on the "Finished" button.

 

 

 

Your optional interim portfolio will not be accepted before Tuesday, Feb. 13, and no later than 10:50 a.m. sharp on Tuesday, Feb. 20. There is no grace period for the optional interim portfolio because there is no significant penalty for not submitting it.  You just will not get comments on your portfolio's contents.  I also will not confirm receipt of optional interim portfolios for the same reason--they just are not crucial like the final portfolios are.  However, you can check the submission for yourself as described above, which is required.  Please do not slow down my grading by asking me to confirm receipt of your portfolio.

 

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Final Portfolio

    1. Research Essay. Your final version of your research essay is the first component of your learning portfolio. Attach the final version here.  To submit this artifact, click on the blue "Research Essay" phrase from the main portfolio menu. Click on the blue "Attach artifact" button. In the pull-down menu following "Artifact type," choose "A file from your hard drive." Then use the "Browse" button and locate the file on your computer. In the next box, name your artifact "Lastname BIS361 Essay Final," using your last name in place of Lastname and omitting the quotation marks and including the spaces exactly as shown .  Don't change the artifact location (leave it "My Artifacts"). Then click the "Create Artifact" button.  If your artifact is attached correctly, an icon with a "W" on it (for Microsoft W ord) will appear on this page of the portfolio.  Please leave the original document(s), too.   Then, in the "Your reflection" text box, type eitherrevised ornot revised to indicate whether the final version of your paper is different from the one you submitted in the optional interim portfolio ("revised") or if it is the same ("not revised").  If you do not indicate that the research essay was revised, I will assume that it is the same as the one you submitted in the optional interim portfolio (if you chose to do so), and I will not bother to open the new artifact.  Then, click on the "Finished" button. That should take you back to the main portfolio menu (but does not submit the page or the portfolio).
    2. Contribution Self-Assessment. To begin your contribution self-assessment, click on that blue phrase. In the provided dialogue box, type a line, using a row of hyphens, below your midquarter assessment.  Then typeFINAL SELF-ASSESSMENT right below that line.  Underneath that, write two substantial paragraphs that explain (a) which of the participant profiles described in the course's participation document at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Partic.html> best fits you now that we have reached the end of the course, and why you think so, matching specific elements of the descriptions to your own observations about your contributions this quarter ; and (b) which of the small group roles, described in that same document, you have tried this quarter.  Please note that I expect this short response to be carefully written and proofread. I recommend composing your short response in Word so you can edit, proofread, and spellcheck, and then paste your finished response into the space in the Portfolio (although the formatting will be lost, which is o.k.).  It is o.k. if your final response is identical to, or nearly identical to, your midquarter response, or to a response you wrote for a portfolio in a different course of mine, as long as it makes sense right now.  When ready, click on the "Finished" button.
    3. Reflective paper. Your reflective paper is the next component of your learning portfolio. To submit this artifact, click on the blue "Reflective Paper" phrase from the main portfolio menu. Click on the blue "Attach artifact" button. In the pull-down menu following "Artifact type," choose "A file from your hard drive." Then use the "Browse" button and locate the file on your computer. In the next box, name your artifact "Lastname BIS361 Reflective," using your last name in place of Lastname and omitting the quotation marks, and using exactly the spacing as shown . Don't change the artifact location (leave it "My Artifacts"). Then click the "Create Artifact" button. When you get to the next screen, click on the "Finished" button. That should take you back to the main portfolio menu.

Your final learning portfolio is due online no later than 10:50 a.m. sharp on Tuesday, March 6 . Because I have provided the maximum amount of time to complete this assignment, because I need to return graded portfolios before grades are due, and because I need to ensure an equal amount of time to be fair to everyone in class, I will accept late portfolios submitted after 10:50 a.m. on March 6 but no later than 10:50 a.m. sharp on Thursday, March 8, with twenty percentage points deducted from the learning portfolio score and the research essay score.  However, I will be an absolute stickler for that grace period.  Let me be clear:  A portfolio submitted at 10:51 a.m. on March 8 is not one minute late, but rather is forty-eight hours and one minute late, and I will not accept it.  I will accept no portfolios after 10:50 a.m. sharp on March 8 for any reason, which probably will result in a 0.0 for the course, so I strongly recommend finishing early to avoid any unforeseen problems .  Try not to count on the forty-eight hour grace period.  Think of the deadline as 10:50 a..m. on Tuesday, March 6.

 


 

 

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Basis for grading your learning portfolio:

Completeness (responds appropriately to the assignment in form and content)

20 percent

Depth of response (quality of detail and support; sophistication of ideas and argument)

70 percent

Quality of writing (organization; spelling, grammar, diction, punctuation)

10 percent

TOTAL

10 percent of final course grade

 

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This page last updated February 28, 2007.

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