GENERAL EXPECTATIONS
There are a few elementary things you can do to ensure that you receive a totally respectable grade in this course. These things may seem simple and obvious, but they can be hard to get right and are vitally important:
- Be present. Show up to all of the course sessions, on time.
- Be responsible. Communicate with your professor beforehand if you must miss a session.
- Be aware. Contribute to the well being of the class community.
- Be diligent. Submit all of the Assignments, on time.
- Follow instructions: do all parts of the Deliverables, paying careful attention to seemingly trivial requirements (such as categorizing your blog posts correctly, using quality photo documentation, giving your blog post a title in the requested format etc.).
There are also some things you can do to earn a really great grade in this course:
- Make interesting, novel, provocative work that’s well-crafted.
- Document your work well.
- Be fearless and resourceful about getting the assistance you need.
- Help your classmates when they’re stuck.
- Make helpful contributions to discussions.
FOLLOW YOUR PASSION
This is a class based in creativity and making. I strongly suggest that you (the creative maker) to make the assignments interesting to you. Our assignments are starting-points, prompts and propositions.
Notwithstanding the above, you will always be expected to conform to certain basic expectations in regards to deliverables and documentation. Did you include an image of your project? Did you write the requested narrative and reflection? These expectations are non-negotiable.
ASSIGNMENTS & PROJECTS
There are 6 major assignments: Found Loom Weaving, Tapestry Weaving, Mending, Replicas from the Future, Digital Print on Fabric, and a Final Project (which can be collaborative or individual). There are also a few smaller assignments that are simply pass/fail. All assignments are due at the start of the class on the due date indicated. Due dates for each assignment are listed on the course schedule. Late Final Projects or the small pass/fail assignments will not be accepted (without special advance permission). Other late assignments will be will lose 10 points for each week late.
RUBRICS FOR CREATIVE ASSIGNMENTS
I will use a rubric in assessing the creative assignments. The aim is for these rubrics to serve as a communication tool between us, articulating expectations and requirements of each project, and the evaluation criteria I use in grading. I will grade each category of the rubric and give feedback for each assignment through Canvas. If you have any questions, check in with me about your grades or other concerns during office hours or by making an appointment.
General rubric considerations:
- Experimentation and Inventiveness: Are you discovering/exploring methods outside the obvious and predictable?
- Tenacity: Are you forging through difficult problems without giving up?
- Execution: Are you crafting with purpose, precision, and attention?
- Fulfillment: Did you meet all of the requested supporting criteria (such as providing scans of sketches, categorizing your blog post correctly, documenting your projects, writing reflections, etc.)?
Assignments always have a list of supporting requirements. These are straightforward to fulfill, but if you fail to meet these, you will have points deducted. Nearly every Assignment will ask you to:
- Create a unique blog post for your assignment, on our course website.
- Make sure your blog post is titled and categorized as requested.
- Include quality, static documentation image(s) of your project, such as a photograph.
- Include scans or photos of any notebook sketches, if you have them.
- In the case of dynamic work, include dynamic documentation too: embed a YouTube, Vimeo demonstrating your project.
- Write 100-200 words about your project, describing its development process. In your writing, include some critical reflection and analysis of your project: In what ways did you succeed, and in what ways could it be better?
Related to our course policies on Academic Integrity, you must also:
- Name any other students from whom you received advice or help.
If you had collaborators, explain how the work was distributed among the collaborators. - Cite and link to the sources for any imagery, text or information which you used in your assignment. Citing your sources is super important. Err on the side of generosity.
Projects will be graded with scores of A,B,C,D, or F, as follows, and will be evaluated using the “Evaluation Guidelines” rubric at the bottom of this page:
- A: You made something good [i.e. creative excellence]
- B: You made something that works [i.e. correct and timely fulfillment of all requirements]
- C: You tried to make something [i.e. needs improvement]
- D: You didn’t even try [i.e. unacceptable]
- F: You didn’t even show up [i.e. zero credit]
On perfection: Not every project you make can or will be a work of brilliance. It’s OK. In this class, it is much more important to submit work on time than to freeze up, because your work isn’t perfect. Get it done and then get some sleep. This class is about developing fluency through practice. When you’re just learning how to speak a new language, no one expects you to make beautiful poetry. Your ability to explore and experiment is is a critical ingredient, which means sometimes your work will not look like what you expected. This is okay and part of learning.
PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT
Participation includes attendance in class, active participation in the class community, stewardship of communal space and resources, helping peers, contributing to discussion and critiques, attentive listening, general demeanor and respect of peers, faculty, and staff.
Each student will start the semester with 10 points. The following infractions will cause deductions of one point for each occurrence, at the discretion of the professor. You may or may not receive a warning before receiving a demerit:
- Unexcused lateness (more than 10 minutes)
- Repeated tardiness (less than 10 minutes)
- Active Facebooking, texting & social media use
- Open laptops during a guest presentation
- Interrupting someone who is speaking
- Inappropriate remarks or other behavior
- This list is not exhaustive.
GRADING BREAKDOWN SUMMARY
Your final grade is the product of your Participation and your Projects, i.e.:
(Participation and Engagement) × (Projects and other Deliverables).
- Participation and Engagement are straightforwardly calculable from your attendance record and any demerits (see above) you may have incurred.
- Projects and Deliverables are graded as above, A-F.
Specific point structure, equalling 100 points:
- Found Loom Weaving: 15 points
- Tapestry Weaving: 15 points
- Mending: 5 points
- Replicas from the Future: 15 points
- Digital Print on Fabric: 10 points
- Final Project: 25 points
- Small Assignments (collectively as a group): 5 points
- Class Participation: 10 points
(Credit: The text above is adapted from syllabi by Golan Levin.)