important due dates
- 24 October: LRO Midterm Due no later than 7:00pm
- 25 March: In-class Moderations
the details
Please complete your Midterm LRO, which consists of the following:
- completed parts A1 and A2
- a selection of Observations you feel represents the work you have done thus far in the semester
- a selection of Samples of Work you feel represents the work you have done thus far in the semester (your samples of work should be uploaded to the LRO or a link should be provided if it is a web posting)
- completed part B1
- completed part C1
Part B1 - Midterm is a "summary interpretation of observations and evidence in terms of the major strands of work and the five dimensions of learning." For the purposes of this class, the major strands are: research, web design, graphic design, collaboration, and critical thinking. The dimensions of learning are: confidence and independence; knowledge and understanding; skills and strategies; use of prior and emerging experience; and reflectiveness (critical awareness). Part B is crucial to the effectiveness of the LRO. It helps readers understand what the bits and pieces of evidence gathered really mean for the student's learning. It does not need to be extensive, but it does need to connect the observations and samples of work explicitly to development across the five dimensions of learning in the main strands of work for the class.
Part C1 - Midterm is where you make an estimation of your grade based on the grading criteria and make suggestions for your own further development. Part C provides an opportunity to reflect over the entire LRO and the class, evaluate progress and achievement, and suggest next steps for development. Part C1 helps students take stock of their progress, estimate an evaluation in the form of a grade, and reflect on their plan of work for the remainder of the semester. I will take this opportunity to provide feedback to you regarding your work in class to this point. The midterm serves as a kind of "reality check" to prevent misunderstandings about the level of activity and progress I expect from students in my classes.
When completing Parts B and C, please first type them in their own individual documents and save them to the appropriate folders in your teacher folder. Parts B and C are the most important parts of the Learning Record and should be completed carefully and thoroughly.
Note that you are supposed to select work you believe illustrates what you have learned since the beginning of the semester, which means that you are not expected (and should not) include all of the work in the LRO (work not completed and not included in the LRO does not mean that you are excused from the assignment; all assignments much be completed to receive a certain grade). You may, however, include work that was not assigned, such as work completed for another class that uses some of the skills learning in this class.
Because we are using the paper-based LRO, you will be turning in Parts A, B, and C, as well as your observations and samples of work in one document. You already have documents containing the various pieces. For your midterm LRO, please copy and paste Part A1 and A2, Part B1, Part C1, selected Observations, and selected Work Samples into the Learning Record document. Please name your Learning Record document: "lastname-midterm-lro.rtf" and place it in the "MidtermDocument" folder, which each of you have in your own folder in the teacher folder.
When adding a Work Sample be sure to fill in each part of the form: Date, Title, Assignment (if not assignment, select "Unassigned Work"), Format (rtf document, email, forum posting, etc.), location (teachers folder, posted online, etc). In the "MidtermDocument" folder, please also create a new folder, and call it "Samples-of-Work." Place inside that folder the actual work samples -- do not repaste the text that is included with the LRO document.
You can download two sample midterms Part B and C at: sample 1 and sample 2 (note that the samples are from a writing course, not a design course). Use these samples as guides for how long and how to organize part B.
It is vital that your LRO not be late. Please post all questions to the LRO Discussion Topic, and check others’ questions before posting your own. I will check the forum frequently.