Levels of Participation and Corresponding Grades

Silent - No response. Of the various reasons for this behavior, two need to be considered for our purposes: lack of trust in the group and therefore the unwillingness to take a risk and share, or lack of confidence in one's own critical abilities - a sense of being so overpowered by the material that it is hard to see the forest for the trees. Grade: no credit.

Silencing the Text - Personal opinions, experiences and/or memories dominate, without much consideration for the text. This behavior indicates an inability to engage and is often accompanied by complacency or boredom. Possibilities for learning are greatly reduced. Often the participant is judgmental or dismisses the text altogether. Grade:5 pts.

Testing the Water - Some two or three general comments about the text to let people know he/she has read it. The participant is beginning to get his/her toes wet. Most comments are on the surface level only. Grade: 10 pts

Collecting - Listing many observations and quotes from the text without analyzing them. The participant is still struggling a bit with being overpowered by the material, but what is important is that he/she is struggling with it. Grade: 12 pts

Engaging - This signals real reading. In seminar it is usually accompanied by an emotional as well as an intellectual response to the material. At this level, participants are generally enthusiastic. Among the various responses possible: discussing the position and biases of the author; seeking to define terms (both the author's and other participants'); seeking to make meaning out of quotes; asking questions, answering questions about the text posed by the group; clarifying each other's positions. The level indicates a strategy for learning. Grade: 15 pts

Understanding - At this level, participants are structuring and integrating the material through association with personal experience (here personal experience illuminates rather than dominates the text) and with other literature. "Understanding" is not a question of categories, which can rob the subject of its uniqueness. Rather, it has to do with making meaningful connections. Grade: 18 pts.

Discriminating - This level is the level of "critical" appreciation and respect. The participant has understood the material from most all perspectives available and now makes a conscious evaluation or judgment about it, acknowledging difference and inability to understand where appropriate. Grade: 20 pts