Astronomy Classroom Policies

LESSONS:
All classes are optional, however, attendance is mandatory to receive a higher than a P in the course. P is the lowest of the passing grades. Therefore if you do not complete any classes in the course you will receive a P overall in the course. Lessons do have the ability to help develop your character. So they are a useful tool as part of your student's development. Many of the ministry careers have requirements of NEWT levels in various courses, including Astronomy as well in case your student's goal is to work there after school.

In the instances where life comes first and you're late to a lesson that's already been posted and locked and possibly archived, have no fear! I have a Make-Up Lesson thread you can reply to by posting what would have been your normal reply to the class had you been able to reply on time. These are graded for full marks, I don't think it would be fair to mark you down. Lessons are archived to keep the classroom neat and tidy as the semester goes on and multiple years of students are looking for their courses.

PREREQUISITES:
Astronomy has a prerequisite of an E to continue to the sixth year. To continue further you must receive an A or higher in the sixth year to continue to NEWT levels. Although, please make sure to PM me to discuss student attendance if you previously failed to achieve a high enough grade in the course to continue on.

GRADING:
As Professor, I hold the right of final judgment on my students' grades received in the class. A simple post saying they are there in the class will still result in an A for that lesson. Substantial posts will receive higher grades.
The content of your lesson does matter, I look at both the effort you put into the content as well as the effort the student makes in the lesson. Therefore, the quality of both is how I base my grading. In general, an Outstanding grade post will look like 150+ words where the student is active in notetaking or participating in activities.
If you wish to have your student receive a certain grade, especially one lower than P, then please PM me directly so we can discuss this.

RULES:
Board Rules apply at all times in classroom posts. and that certainly includes plagiarism:

HNZ RULES ON PLAGIARISM*with special thanks to Professor Arithmos Manteia
What is Plagiarism?
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense: All of the following are considered plagiarism:* turning in someone else's work as your own* copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit* failing to put a quotation in quotation marks* giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation* changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit* copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)Believe it or not...Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you have retained the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized. Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism. See the link below for more information and on how to cite sources properly.

Source for the above material

CREDITS: Lesson Tags at the top of each lesson were made by @Amber Chou Wilson (Daphne) for Steph as part of a Secret Santa Gift 2020
Year Tags were made to go with the Lesson Tags by @November Albertson (Steph)

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

FIRST - FOURTH YEAR POLICIES FOR PROFESSOR ZUMWALT'S CLASS​

GENERAL GUIDELINES
- Be respectful.
- Plagiarism will not be accepted. Please refer here for more on what constitutes plagiarism.
- Board rules apply to this class.
- Make-up lessons should be posted in the make-up section.
- Students enrolled will automatically be assigned a P for the class based on the grade book.
- PM me with questions or concerns!

REQUIRED SUPPLIES

• The Star Syllabus by Alpheus Ulloriaq (can be purchased at The Inner Eye in the Mākutu Mall)
• Quill, ink, and parchment
• Your notes, including previous year's

LESSONS, GRADING, AND EXTRA CREDIT
There is no word count or length requirement for posts. As long as you roleplay the lesson to its entirety, you will receive an O. For attendance posts, a simple 1-2 sentences outlining the character attended the class and studied will suffice. If you would like to talk about lower grades for your character for specific lessons or the overall course, please PM me to discuss.

Extra credit is offered in most lessons. There are a few opportunities to answer the question asked by Professor Zumwalt. Additionally, there are times when a student will be asked to write an essay. Essays are extra credit and are worth up to 6 points based on the sentence count. Please include links to any outside sources (so anything not talked about in lessons).

If you are looking to interact with other students in class or have specific plots, please PM before posting. If you want to interact with Professor Zumwalt, just tag her in your post. If you'd like to meet with Professor Zumwalt outside of class in her office, you can post in her office and also tag her.