Introduction: 

In a departure from traditional grading strata, I would like to try a different methodology in this course – contract-grading. Here are some Links to explanations of How Grading Contracts work.

But before Our Course formally begins, I wish to give you the full explanation of how grading will work this semester. Unlike in traditional grading, I will not be grading any of your work on a points or letter basis. Instead, you and I will decide on a level of commitment and quality of work you will do over the course of the semester, and what final letter grade that labor will get you. We will predetermine this, so as to prevent any future disagreements about your grades, and you will have the freedom to make an informed decision about your responsibilities for this spring semester.

Rationale: 

As a Professor centrally concerned with student mental health and hygiene, labor and structural imbalances in the classroom, I have decided to eschew traditional grading schemas for something entirely different: Contract-based grading. My reasons are fairly simple: Students have a multiplicity of experiences and life situations, which impedes them from completing their degree or my courses, and I do not feel my own arbitration and biases should be the deciding factor. Further, as the Pandemic has taught us, there are things which matter more at certain points in your life than schooling, and there should be no stigma or uncertainty around shifting those priorities. And finally, by contractually agreeing to receive a certain grade, you and I can be more honest and productive in feedback and revisions to whatever level you feel comfortable working towards, and we as a class can work to become more collaborative and supportive.

My Responsibilities to You:

In equal fairness, I pledge to do the following things throughout the semester, and in according to the level of expectations I have for you:

• I will provide substantive and timely commentary on your assignments aimed at cultivating your research skills, analytical abilities, and scholarly voice.
• I will make myself available for consultation and practical help during office hours and at other scheduled times, including virtual meetings if we cannot find a mutually-agreeable time to meet on campus.
• I will not assume technical expertise from students going into this course, and will be patient and understand the difficulties in learning Middle English. We will begin at the beginning, so that no one feels left behind. In order to ensure this happens, I will listen carefully to students if they feel lost and adjust a given lesson or the reading schedule as necessary to keep everyone together.
• I will always allow students with expertise in particular technologies to challenge themselves and craft their own experiences and assignments beyond our work in class. 
• I will work with you to understand your goals and methods when you take intellectual risks in assignments, even if the final product does not turn out as expected.
• I will always respect your identity, perspectives, and intellectual commitments in class discussions and assignments. I may push you to consider other perspectives, but I will not dismiss your thoughts or take them lightly. If you feel I am doing either of those things, I will listen and adjust my responses as necessary. 

This Contract has 3 tiers – “A” “A-” and “Credit/B+.” We will walk through them in order of increasing responsibilities, and you will then be given the chance to select your chosen tier. Whatever tier you chose this week will be the Tier I am expecting you to meet – and will do my best to gently hold you to. Failure to meet your goals will lead to a realignment to the appropriate tier, or failure from this course.

Credit/B+ Tier

Attendance/Lateness: You will not miss more than 3 classes, and will not be late more than 6 times. These are cumulative, with a late equal to ½ an absence. Any late or incomplete work is made up by the semester’s end.

Participation/Collaboration: You attend class regularly, are personable and polite, and do not take multiple or extended breaks or disrupt the classroom in any manner. You show interest in the reading material, and listen to the presentations of the day attentively. You are respectful with all other students, asking appropriate questions and showing interest in other’s passions, and you do not bring any hateful or bigoted speech or beliefs into the course. You are willing to share your work in a limited fashion, and work with other students to revise and build better projects and assignments over the course of the semester. 

Workload/Assignments: You will complete a final project, and will do your best at two presentations. If your work is missing, or you are unable to make it to class on the day of the presentation, you will reach out to me at least the night before (Tuesday night). The presentations need to be on a tale and its criticism/readings, and on an archive or resource for the class’s betterment/awareness, and be at least 5 minutes in length. You will take these presentations seriously, and will consider all feedback with an open mind. You will take a few short, simple check-ins on Middle English reading competency, and will work to better your confidence in Middle English pronunciation and reading. You will complete a final paper of 15 pages in length that attempts to engage with The Canterbury Tales in a meaningful and thoughtful way.

Extra Work: You are not responsible for any additional work, beyond what is highlighted above

A- Tier

Attendance/Lateness: You will not miss more than 2 classes, and will not be late more than 4 times. These are cumulative, with a late equal to ½ an absence. No more than two assignments are late or incomplete.

Participation/Collaboration: In addition to all the requirements of the A- tier, listed above, you will also come to class well read, with thoughts and opinions on specific moments or passages in the text. You will always have your copy of The Canterbury Tales on you, and you are taking notes or have brought to class a note-taking device appropriate to your capabilities (laptop, recorder, note-taker). You will not misuse technology in the classroom, and will eagerly demonstrate proper care and interactions with your classmates.

Workload/Assignments:  In addition to all the requirements of the A- tier, you will make sure all work you present is well-research and well-presented, following clear citational style guidelines and using some sort of engaging presentational accouterments (e.g. a Powerpoint, a tri-fold presentation board, an artwork or demonstration, etc.). If you are using or demonstrating electronic resources, you will email me a copy of the material and be willing to improvise and work with whatever capabilities we have in the classroom. You will write a 15 to 20 page scholarly paper, using proper citations and extensive quotations from the scholarship and Chaucer, that corresponds in some way with the theme of our course: Love, Sex, and Gender.

Extra Work: You are responsible for doing one additional assignments. This can be an additional presentation, a commentary or close reading of a passage of Middle English (with accompanying translation, or a smaller creative work that is germain to your discipline.

A Tier

Attendance/Lateness: You will not miss more than 1 class, or be late more than twice. All work is submitted in a timely manner, as assigned. Any divergences from this are clearly discussed ahead of time with me, and you are willing to propose alternative work or engagement methods to supplement any problems that arise.

Participation/Collaboration: In addition to all the requirements of the B+ and A- tiers, you will come to class willing to close read or analyze any passage within the assigned reading. You will have interesting and thoughtful comments on the readings, and strive to provide new and engaging insight into each tale we read. You will listen attentively to your classmates, and be willing to ask them questions and work together to decipher the meaning of whatever we read. You will be mindful of your space and presence in the classroom, being mindful of how much you are speaking or how little you are contributing, and adjusting as asked.

Workload/Assignments: in addition to all the requirements of the B+ and A- tiers, you will work to make whatever you do new, interesting and exciting (if only to yourself). You will deeply investigate the digital resources available to you, choosing to present on those that most interest and educate you, and strive to identify gaps in scholarship or focuses that are under appreciated within your presentations and projects. In conversation with me, and your fellow classmates, you will self-design a feasible final project that can be accomplished in the semester, and that is genuinely beneficial to your life goals or aspirations. This project will meaningfully engage with and complement the course’s aims and themes, and you will be willing to present your findings or work at the end of the semester. 

Extra Work: You are responsible for two additional assignments. These can be additional presentations, a sustained commentary or close reading on a passage (with accompanying translation from Middle English), or a smaller creative work that is germain to your discipline.

Exceptions:

Immovable Foreseeable Obligations. Any absence due to a university-sponsored group activity (e.g., sporting event, performance, band, etc.) will not count against you, as stipulated by university policy, as long as you FIRST provide written documentation within the first two weeks of the semester of all absences. This same policy applies if you have mandatory military-related absences (e.g., deployment, work, duty, etc.) or have other mandatory extenuating circumstances (e.g. jury duty, giving birth, childcare or other caretaking work, etc.). Notably these types of exceptions are for events you can predict and cleanly explain to me at the start of the semester – anything that happens within the semester should instead become a plea. This will allow us to determine ahead of time how you will meet assignments and our contract, despite being absent.

 Pleas. Because we all know that life isn’t perfect and that each semester does not always go according to our plans, I offer you one plea that you can make to me to change your progress in the course. For instance, you might plea to get a late or missed assignment removed from your record so that you may still meet our contract, etc. Anyone can make a plea to me once during the semester. However, there must be some kind of special or extenuating circumstances that warrants the plea. You may not plead a case just because you want something removed from your record.