SSK 1202 - Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Student Contract

SSK1202 teachers expect students to make the following learning contracts:  Student Contract and Team Performance Contract. You may download the student contract here. 

• I agree with the standards in this course and that I am responsible for monitoring my own learning. 
• I agree that the class will focus on practice, not on lectures. 
• I agree that on a typical class day I will be working in a small group and that I will be responsible for taking an active part in completing the assigned tasks. 
• I agree that I will be held regularly responsible for assessing my own work using criteria and standards discussed in class. 
• I understand that if at any time in the semester I feel unsure about my "grade", I may request an assessment from the professor. 
• I accept that there are written assignments, due at specific dates. 
• I understand that written assignments must be computer generated. 
• I accept that if an assignment is not completed or not handed in on time, I will receive no grade for that assignment. 
• I accept that there is a midterm and a final exam in this course. 
• I agree that I am responsible for learning the critical thinking concept list. 
• I agree that the course requires consistent classroom attendance and active participation. 
• I accept that the class will not be graded on a curve.  It is theoretically possible for the whole class to get an A or an F. 
• I understand that to pass this course I must obtain an A, B or C grade. If I receive a D grade or an F grade I will have to take the course again. 
• I understand the basis of the final grade. 
• I understand the university absences policy. 

Name:  _______________________________________________ 
Student Number:   _______________________________________ 
Signature:______________________________________________ 

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Peer Evaluation

Teamwork is your immediate academic future.  There are few work or educational environments that do not require working together.  However, developing an efficient, fair, and productive workgroup is one of the most demanding tasks people can face.  It requires the subsuming of the individual into the group dynamic - yet retaining and harnessing strengths of each individual - for the good of the whole.  Clearly, each team member will have individual strengths and weaknesses.  It is the responsibility of the team as a whole to harness these appropriately.  It is also the responsibility of the team to ensure that the overall task workload is distributed evenly.  This requires effort on the part of each team member. 

Part of your academic assignment in SSK1202, is the development of a team and the evaluation of the contribution of each team member to the group.  This requires the assessment of productivity in a number of areas: 

Academic Skills 

• Analysis 
• Evaluation 
• Synthesis 
• Application 

Editorial Skills 

• Typing 
• Editing tone/style 
• Editing language 
• Editing format 
• Spell checking 
• Grammar checking 

Administrative Skills 

• Scheduling task completion 
• Scheduling meetings 
• Conducting meetings 
• Planning tasks 
• Distributing task 

Communication Skills 

• Constructive 
• Reinforcing 
• Active 
• Patient 
• Positive 
• Diligent 
• Helpful 

Teamwork Contract

Student grades for the project derive from various sources: self evaluation, peer evaluation and teacher evaluation. Groups will recieve a raw score value for their projects out of 100% from the teacher.  Each group member will also receive a score for group work based on peer evaluation of contribution to the group.  This score will be allocated confidentially by each group member and given to the teacher in a sealed envelope. Individual scores will be adjusted from the raw score according to their peer evaluation.  You may download the team performance contract here. 
Team Performance contract
I understand that my semester grade will be partially determined by my successful performance in team work.  (team grade converted to individual grade at end of semester) 
Confidential evaluation:  must be submitted in a sealed envelope.  Semester grade not given unless the evaluation is received by end of term 

100 point bonus to be allocated to team members at team's discretion 
 

NAME                                                AMOUNT ALLOCATED 

1.  ________________                      _____________________ 
2.  ________________                      _____________________ 
3.  ________________                      _____________________ 
4.  ________________                      _____________________ 
5.  ________________                      _____________________ 
                          TOTAL                    100 POINTS 

Justification 

myself:  ________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 

Team Member 2:  ________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 

Team Member 3:  ________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 

Team Member 4:  ________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 

Team Member 5:  ________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________ 

SIGNATURE _____________________________________________ 
 
 

Calculation
Each team member will receive an adjusted project grade based on the following calculation.  It is essential that each team member be very honest in their evaluation of peers’ performance and subsequent score.  Following is an example of an adjusted grade calculation. 
1.  Team:    86% grade on assignment from teacher 

2.  Team Member 1:  21 
                    Peer 1:  20 
                    Peer 2:  18 
                    Peer 3:  19 
                    Peer 4:  19 

total / 5 = average 19 

3. Team Member 1's Average / even distribution (20 with 5 team members) 
    19 / 20 = 99% 

4. Modify raw score:  86 X .99 = 85.14 

Team member 1 would receive a grade of 85% for the group assignment. 

Responsibility
Assigning grades to peers is a serious responsibility as it can have a powerful impact on an individual.  Scores should be assigned objectively, according to each individual's contribution to the team.  The calculator here gives a general idea of the impact of your scoring. 

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