<p>For my health course, my professor has Attendance/Participation as 5% of our grade. In the beginning of the course, I vaguely remember him saying that if you just come to class each lecture and you are engaged in class, the 5% is easy to earn (nothing is elaborated in the syllabus). However, throughout the class, there has been this one girl, who took him before for another health class and is chummy with him, and she answers every question, sometimes without even raising her hand and sometimes he just picks on her when other people's hands are raised. During our 10 min break time, he even started talking to her about their shared interest in indie rock and he kept whispering to her how thankful he was that she was participating and keeping the class alive. How rude! Insinuating that without her, the rest of us would be useless, just because we can't answer questions as quickly as her. We still care just as much as she does. He only knows this girl's name and maybe 2 other people's names out of 30 students. When the rest of us do get to raise our hand and answer a question, he just points at us to answer, without saying our name. How in the world is he going to give the 5% if he doesn't know our names? Should I be worried about this or am I overreacting? That 5% does make the difference btwn an A (4.0) and a B+.(3.5). I remember my hs history professor saying the best time to participate is toward the end of the semester, when your participation is still fresh the teacher's mind. I still have 3 weeks left. What do you guys think? I kinda feel like he'll just give us all the 5% anyway, he's kind of lax and seems like he would do that anyway, but I'm not sure...Ok I'll shut up lol</p>
<p>To me, “engaged in class” just means paying attention and appearing to take notes and not being disruptive. lol</p>
<p>It really depends on the professor. Some professors just give everyone a 100% on the participation as long as you aren’t disruptive, constantly texting, being rude, etc. Others want you to make a certain number of comments each class (1-2 are usually the minimums that I see). Some just have an arbitrary idea set in their head.</p>
<p>I had a class last year where I was very active. I always participated in discussions. I came in on time and prepared. I really liked the class and felt like I was learning a lot. At the end of the semester, I found out my professor only gave me an 88% on participation. I was extremely peeved, but I thought, “Okay. Maybe I could have done more.” Then I found out that my partner in the class also got an 88%, and I was furious. He constantly came in late, he clearly wasn’t prepared, and he never participated. Even HE agreed that I was way more involved than him. For whatever reason, the professor just decided that we both deserved an 88%. In my opinion, it was a very arbitrary decision. It was also annoying, because at the end of the semester, I came out with an 89%. One point short of an A.</p>
<p>So point is… It’s really up to the professor. You might want to talk to him and say “I was wondering how I was doing on participation.” If he says something not so positive, then ask “How can I improve for the remainder of the class?”</p>
<p>At the very least, I doubt he will give you a 0 for that section. You’ll probably get at least 2-3 points (40-60%… not even really passing).</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about your participation grade, just ask. Drop by his office hours, and just say that you were wondering what your participation grade was so far and how you could improve it. Keep going to class prepared and actually participate. Even if the another student is always answering the questions before you, noting is stopping you from asking questions. It doesn’t have to be mind blowing, but it does show that you’re thinking about the material and participating in class.</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about the professor not knowing anything about you, try going to office hours to ask about the material. That’s a great way to get to know the professor and to let the professor get to know you. He’ll start to notice your participation in class, and odds are, when he’s assigning participation grades, he’ll remember your engagement with the material during office hours.</p>
<p>@AUGirl: Did you ask your professor about your participation grade? What grade would you have needed in your participation grade to get an A in the class? If your so borderline that it’s only a point or two, some professors will give it to you, if you can present it in a way where you earned those extra points. You can always ask the professor why you got the grade you did, when you always came on time, was always prepared, and actively participated in discussion. I know it’s too late for that class, but in the future, you can always ask. I know a lot of professors who are willing to bump borderline students based on their participation, and even some who will bump people down, if they really didn’t participate at all.</p>
<p>Yeah, it really depends. I had instructors all over the map just in my freshman year.</p>
<p>First quarter, my anthro instructor only cared that you were there. I always showed up to class but never said anything and frankly was only half awake during class most of the time because I was so bored. Ended up with 100 on participation.</p>
<p>My German instructor (who I had all three quarters) went from lenient to strict between fall and winter. First quarter I got the 100 by being there and answering questions when called on. Second quarter I did that and got 80, while third quarter I volunteered more answers and got 90 for not volunteering often enough.</p>
<p>My TA for religious studies spring quarter was pretty strict. I was one of the most active in the class and got a 95 because there were a couple people who participated slightly more than me. Most people I talked to got between 70 and 80 for participation if they talked once or twice each discussion.</p>
<p>The best solution is to talk to your professor directly, as previous posters have said. It will depend on them, and in some cases it could vary by term on top of that.</p>
<p>Quick Update: I got an A for the class!! :)</p>
<p>Good for you! May I ask what your participation grade was (if you know)? </p>
<p>This thread is interesting. I’ve only had a few classes that factored participation into my grade, and I’ve always gotten 100%. I am a regular participant (my comments vary from 2 to maybe 20 depending on the length of the class and the subject), but I’ve never been in a situation where I’ll get marked down because someone else participates more than me. </p>
<p>Is that a common thing? Have I been living in an ivory tower of sorts?</p>
<p>Haha thanks harvestmoon! Yeah he gave me a 4.4 out of 5 for participation (where the .4 comes from idk), but I killed it on the final (34/35), which I was not expecting because I got an 85 on the midterm, but for the final I was aware of how his tests looked, so I figured out how to effectively study. And I got a 96 on my research paper. So when I calculated my final grade it was a 92.15, which is an A :). I still don’t know how he assigned me a 4.4 when he doesn’t know all of our names. I know some professors have a paper with our ID pics and names in order to know who is who, but that’s only some professors, not all. But since I got my A, I’m not complaining lol.</p>