1. Do I need to attend the in-class meetings?

• No. The in-class sessions are very, very helpful and are usually noted as the most fun part of the class, but attendance is not monitored (the instructor will, however, occasionally take roll to associate faces with the names).  During the in-class sessions materials will be covered that will be on the exams, and information will be discussed that will be critical for answering certain exam questions.

• Participation in the in-class sessions is a privilege, not a responsibility. Students who are disruptive, reading the newspaper, or otherwise wasting other students' time will be asked by the instructor to leave the in-class sessions since they are not required for the grade.  Cell phones must be put in the silent mode or turned off.
• If you should choose not to attend class meetings, then don't be surprised if you have a hard time doing well in the course.

2. How much time should I be spending on the readings?

• Most readings assigned should be read in 15 to 30 minutes with a bit of contemplation, and note-taking is highly recommended.

• Each student should expect to spend at most 1-2 hours per week session reading the assigned materials.

• The readings include a wide vocabulary that will be beyond some students. It is NOT a good idea to look up each word that is not understood unless the word is encountered multiple times. Meanings of words should be understood within the context if possible.

3. How much time should I be spending watching or listening to the  DVD or on-line presentations?

• The length of each presentation varies quite a lot. Some are as short as six minutes while others are as long as 55 minutes. Most students will need to watch each episode more than once to learn the materials involved. This is an advantage over former lecture methods where the student had only one opportunity to learn the material. Most students should spend 2-3 hours per week session on the presentations.

4. Do I need to watch and listen to ALL of the materials provided.

• No. Several different formats are provided so that students may select a learning method that works best for them. The following options are provided for many but not all presentations. Only one option should be selected for each episode:
  • Video on DVD. [Best quality] 
  • Video as on-line, streaming media or downloaded for watching on a computer. [Intermediate to low quality]
  • Audio as on-line, streaming media or downloaded for listening on an .mp3 player. These may be listened to alone or with a downloadable .pdf or PowerPoint presentation. [Lowest quality]

5. How should I cite references in the writing assignment?

• The written presentation must cite all referenced materials and include a set of references.

• Reference types

  • Journal Articles: Author Last Name, First and other Initials (then secondary authors as First and other Initials, Last Name). Publication year. Publication title. Complete Journal Title, Volume:Pages.

  • Books: Author Last Name, First and other Initials. Publication year. Book Title. Publisher, Location.

  • Book Chapters: Author Last Name, First and other Initials (then secondary authors as First and other Initials, Last Name). Publication year. Publication title. Pages in Book Title. Edited by Last Name, First and other initials (then secondary editors as First and other Initials, Last Name) Publisher, Location.

  • Theses/Dissertations: Author Last Name, First and other Initials. Publication year. Title of Thesis or Dissertation. Thesis or Dissertation, University, Location.

  • Manuscripts with Authors: Author Last Name, First and other Initials (then secondary authors as First and other Initials Last Name). Year of production (if known) or "n.d." for No Date. Title of Manuscript (if known) or A Brief Manuscript Description. Location of Manuscript.

  • Manuscripts without Authors: Title of Manuscript or a Brief Manuscript Description. Year of production (if known) or "n.d." for No Date. Title of Manuscript (if known) or A Brief Manuscript Description. Location of Manuscript.

  • Internet Sites with Authors: Author Last Name, First and other Initials (then secondary authors as First and other Initials, Last Name). Publication year or Upload year if no publication year is listed. Site Title or Page Title as appropriate. Site address (URL; without the leading  http://).

  • Internet Sites without Authors: Title of Site or a Brief Site Description. Publication year or Upload year if no publication year is listed. Site Title or Page Title as appropriate. Site address (URL; without the leading  http://).

  • Personal Communications: Source Last Name, First and other Initials. Year of communication. Brief Description of Communication (e.g., "Telephone interview about useful trees of the Kalahari"). Location of deposited recordings, interview transcripts, or other records of the communication. ("with the author" is not sufficient. Only permanently deposited records of communications should be cited.)

  • Spell out all Journal Titles: Do not use abbreviations. In lists of Authors use "&" rather than "and". Use only single spaces following periods.

  • In the text cite as: (Pukui 1986). Do not list page numbers. Et al. should be used in the text (Jones et al. 1999) but NOT in the list of references cited.

6. Can I hand in my assignment late?

• No. 

7. What can I do if I am sick and miss an in-class discussion?

• There is no mechanism for making up an in-class discussion because they are designed for active groups with instructor interaction. If a group of students missed an in-class discussion, arrangements can be made to repeat the exercise depending on the instructor's availability.