MSE 220 Fall 2013

MSE 220 F13
Annotating in NB

As stated in the syllabus, 15% of the course grade is based on your annotations of the text. Your annotations, like most of the other course components, are evaluated on (genuine) effort. In this document we explain why annotating the text is important and what constitutes “genuine effort.”
Why annotate?
Annotating the text helps you and us. First, you get practice reading a technical textbook. Once you graduate, books will be your primary vehicle for learning and, trust us, learning does not stop when you graduate. If you can learn from books, you have mastered an important lifelong skill. Second, by reading with attention and with an inquiring mind, you take ownership of your learning. That skill too will be useful for your whole life (in fact, you may want to start reading ahead in some of your other science classes to get more out of those classes; you’ll have to read those books at some point anyway!).
Third, by annotating the text, you are reversing the roles of student and teacher: for a change you are the one determining what’s wrong or confusing. In a traditional class, it’s always the teacher telling you what is wrong or confusing about your work. When you annotate the text because you are confused, you have identified a problem in the text: you are right and the author is wrong! By communicating that confusion to others, you create an opportunity to address the confusion and learn. And if many people in the class express confusion about a particular topic, we will know that we need to address that confusion in class or online.
How (much) should I annotate? (what we expect)
As we have no lectures, the reading is your initial —and in some sense primary —exposure to the materials science and engineering content of this class. It is therefore essential that you study each chapter with an inquisitive mind. Your annotations can either be queries, comments, or answers/reactions to queries or comments posted by others.
When we look at your annotations we want them to reflect the effort you put in your study of the text. It is unlikely that that effort will be reflected by just one or two annotations per chapter, unless your annotations are unusually thoughtful and stimulate a deep discussion. On the other extreme, ten is probably too many, unless they are very superficial comments or questions. Somewhere in between these two extremes is about right.
When do I get feedback on my annotations?
We will continuously monitor the annotations, but we will always first allow others in the class an opportunity to answer or resolve queries before we jump in. After the class has the opportunity to participate, we may decide to contribute to the discussion, if necessary. We will evaluate the annotations and provide feedback every couple of weeks on blocks of 3–4 chapters to give you some flexibility in the reading schedule. At that point we will provide feedback on your annotations in that block of chapters using this three-­‐point scale (if you do not annotate in a meaningful way or not at all, your score will be zero):
1 = Needs improvement. Your annotations do not quite meet our expectations or it is difficult for us to determine from your annotations if you have really put in the required effort in studying the text.
2 = On target. Your annotations meet expectations. Keep doing what you are doing!
3 = Admirable! Your annotations exceed our expectations. If you scored a “1” in another block, this score will balance out that 1.
If you obtain an average of 2 on all five blocks of chapters, you get full credit for the NB component of your final grade.