The whole point of our “flipped classroom,” whereby lectures are provided online and viewed in advance, is to maximize the time available for discussion and debate in class.
This is why you are therefore expected to attend without fail, and also to participate actively.
1. respectful disagreement
With your participation, you are very much encouraged to speak your mind, and if necessary this may mean voicing differences of opinion with the instructor or with fellow students.
However, you should be attentive and conscious of the impact of words or actions on others and our community at large. This means listening to people with an open mind, treating everyone equally and respecting the diversity of our community.
There may well be times in which we touch upon difficult or controversial topics, and nobody should feel that they are not able to make their voice heard, or that their views are disparaged in any way.
Disagreement is welcome (even inevitable), but it needs to be accompanied by respect.
2. minimal use of electronics
The use of electronics in the classroom can be distracting to yourself, your peers, and the instructor, interfering with class discussion. For this reason, the default policy for the use of electronics in the classroom is “lids down.”
Phones should be put away and silent (if not off). You should not be consulting them, let alone texting or likewise communicating with anyone outside of the class while class is in session.
Laptops should only be used for the educational purpose at hand, i.e. either for consulting the text (though you are encouraged to have physical copies of the texts) or for taking notes (though, again, you are very much encouraged to use pen and paper, writing in a notebook or journal).
Using laptops, phones, tablets etc. for personal or non-course related matters is unprofessional and rude, both to the instructor and to your fellow students.
Students who do not respect these norms may be asked to leave the class and may be penalized.
