CPR Question/Next Assignment

CPR Question

Angie writes:

"Hi, I have read through the syllabus and CPR information and still am a little confused.
I understand that each CPR is worth 5%. I was wondering, if our ratings don't match
yours, are we penalized? Or, do we just get a completion grade for doing the CPR for
each assignment?"

Angie asks some super questions about how CPR is used in the class. Let me try to give you additional information.

You receive a grade for each of your assignments and a grade for each CPR.

CPR allows you to review how I judge technical writing documents using a very specific set of criteria. This is the calibration stage. I have included 3 assignments in each calibration. One is great, one ok, one is not very good (High, Medium, Low). You will see these same assignments and grade them following the question set, trying to match my criteria. This section tries to teach you what makes good technical writing.

Then you will receive 3 of your classmate's papers to do the same scoring, with the same questions.

Finally, you get your own paper again to score.

The grading is actually pretty complex--you don't receive a completion score for the A1-A4 assignments--just the initial assignment.

A1-A4 are weighted in this manner:

Text Entry: 30%
Calibrations: 10%
Reviews: 30%
Self-Assesssment: 30%

What does that mean? Let me break down each piece:

Text Entry: This score is the score that you are given for your actual assignment. It is initially based on the peer review scores (weighed by how well your peer calibrate--the closer to my calibration results, the more the peer score counts). Then, I check the score to make sure it is accurate, making changes if necessary. This will also be the grade you receive on your paper.

Calibrations: This score is what you are given for matching the calibrations on the first three papers. There is some room for mistakes--you can miss a few and still score a perfect score. You are also allowed to retake them once if you have problems. The calibrations are designed to help you understand what is important to look for in the papers.

Reviews: These are the reviews that you complete for your peers. Your review score is based on how well you calibrate to each other and based on your calibration scores as well.

Self-Assesment: This score is what you are given for calibrating to your peer review scores of your paper. So, if you give yourself an A and your peers gave you a C, you won't receive many points in this section. The goal is accuracy.

All of this complex mathematical formula is to give you accurate and fair scores. Please be aware that I will look at each step of the process to be sure that things are accurate. If not, I will adjust grades.

When we finish our first CPR do look carefully at the results. This will all make much more sense. There is a lot of information to be learned about how people review your papers. Please make use of it--it will make your writing better!

Assignment 1

Assignment 1 is now available on WebCT, under the Course Materials. Please read the assignment carefully and get started. Don't wait until the last minute!

AND! Check out Chris' Lab Pictures and Renee's cool camping pictures.