• Arrive on time. If you do have to arrive late, please enter with as minimal disruption as possible. Full credit for that meeting is based on the expectation you are there for the full session
• Do not leave before the session ends. Expect to use the full class time; that said, some may actually end early.
• Stow away all laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc. Using them during section meetings will result in a grade penalty for that meeting. EXCEPTIONS: there may be some activities when their use is encouraged (for calculations, to look up key information, etc.). Also, there may be occasions where you or the TAs may want to verify some information relevant to the discussion at hand; with the TAs permission, you can use your devices to look up information. But refrain from checking social media, doing homework for other classes, and the like!
• Be prepared to participate. That is, when there are assigned readings/videos, make sure you have read/screened and understood them. Make sure you have already completed and posted your student-generated questions for that week. If there is some other project due, make sure you have them completed. And always be prepared to discuss the previous week's lectures! You will called upon to discuss your assignment, and you should be ready to add additional information/observations to the class if you think it is relevant.
• Be courteous. Obviously this includes general courtesy: don't insult each other; be respectful of each other; etc. But specifically, express academic courtesy:
  • Make sure each person is allowed to express their thoughts. In other words, don't monopolize the discussion and don't interrupt each other.
  • Be respectful of other people's right to hold beliefs different than your own.
  • Similarly, remember that it IS okay to confront a belief if you have actual evidence, but confront the belief itself, not the person or people who hold it.
  • Everyone makes mistakes. If you yourself states something incorrect, it isn't the end of the world. If someone else states something incorrect, that doesn't mean that they are incompetent. Be prepared to learn from your own mistakes, and the errors of others. That is a big part of the learning process (uncomfortable as it might be at the time...)
• Everyone is expected to participate. Ideally you will do so willingly and graciously. But if you are sitting their passively trying to be invisible (we've all been there at some point...) you still might be asked to give your response/answer/whatever. Please do so.
• Help each other out, so long as it isn't an academic honesty violation! A big part of the role of discussion sections is to generate and promote collective learning: by interacting as a group, you help reinforce learning you have already done, and get a chance to learn new ideas, concepts, and approaches.
• Stay engaged. Please eliminate or reduce as much as feasible other distractions. For instance, please stay away from social media, non-emergency texting, emailing, and phone messages, doing homework for other classes, etc., during the time in our session. You may sometimes need to have access to online materials (papers, ELMS, etc.) during class, of course: that is part of the meeting itself.

By the way, if you feel like there are additions or modification to this list, bring them up with Dr. Holtz and I'll see about such changes.

Last modified: 19 January 2023