Reading quizzes and the discussions that follow them are an important component of your participation grade in this course (together they are worth 10% of your grade!). The quizzes will be given in class on the day indicated below, and a ~1-1.5 hour in-class discussion will follow each one. It is everyone’s responsibility to read the assigned articles and to come to class prepared to take the reading quiz and to contribute to the class discussion. Additionally, you and a group of fellow students will be in charge of leading one of these discussions over the course of the semester, and will be graded on how well you prepare for and facilitate discussion. Basic descriptions of the format and topics for the Reading Quizzes, as well as information about facilitating discussion can be found here.
The reading quiz and discussion portion of your grade (10% of total) will be broken down as follows:
- 1/3 – the average of your 6 best reading quiz scores (lowest 1 dropped)
- 1/3 – your group’s discussion leading score
- 1/3 – your active participation in other discussions (quality of comments will be judged over quantity)
Reading Quiz #1 – February 1, 2012 – The Nature of Science (and this class)
- You will be asked 10 multiple choice questions about the syllabus and the class expectations that it lays out
- The second portion will be on the article “Wonder and Skepticism” by Carl Sagan, which can be found here. This article is a great introduction to a number of the topics that we’ll be discussing throughout the semester.
- Reading 1
- Readings 2 and 3 will be distributed in class
- Reading 1: Wikipedia entry for the Betty and Barney Hill Abduction
- Reading 2: Testimonial
- Reading 3: Symptoms of Alien Abductions (you should also read the ‘selection of comments’ after the article!)
Reading Quiz #4 – March 21, 2012 – The 2012 Apocalypse Hypothesis
- Reading 1
- Reading 2 will be handed out in class.