Test 5 Results

May8

On the test, as usual, I gave plus and minus grades (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc) which translate into a 100 point scale in my gradebook (100, 96, 92, 88, 85, 82, etc., down to 55 for F). The high score in the class was 57 out of a possible 59 (I ditched one question as too poorly worded to have a right answer), not counting extra credit: I used 55 as the top again, for simplicity, and the same slightly extended scale for grades. The median score was B+, meaning that about as many people got above a B+ or above as a B or below; the average score was B. The extra credit was worth up to 5 points: Half of the people who attempted extra credit went up one grade level, and most of the rest were not close enough to the next grade to get a benefit. Here’s how the grade scale worked out:

Grade	minimum points	distribution
A+	55
A	51	40%
A-	47.5
B+	45
B	42.5	25%
B-	40
C+	37.5
C	35	20%
C-	32.5
D+	30
D	27.5	10%
D-	25
F	Below 25	5%

In related news, I’m going to be making a slight adjustment to the test and document assignment grades, in order to de-emphasize your lowest grade on each assignment.

If you want to pick up your test before the Final, I’ll be in my office Monday 10-12:30 and about 2-4. Tuesday I’ll be in 1-3.

Good luck on the Final!

Final Essay Questions Posted

Apr25

You can find the questions for the final essays, on The Sunflower and the Document Assignments, here, or linked through the course schedule. I will distribute copies in class as well. Feel free to ask questions in comments here, or in class.

Extra Credit: Jazz Ensembles

Apr23

The PSU Jazz Ensembles 1 and 2 will be performing their final concert of the 2010-2011 season on Tuesday April 26th at 7:30 in Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine. The concert is free and will feature a great variety of jazz music with pieces from the Les Hooper Band, Marie Schneider Jazz Ensemble, Maynard Ferguson Band, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Don Ellis, Duke Ellington and more. There will be something for everyone. Jazz 2 , under the direction of Dr. Todd Hastings and student assistant Aaron Shockley, will play the standards I Left My Heart in San Francisco, In a Sentimental Mood and Dizzy Gillespie’s Manteca plus a new work by Wynton Marsalis titled Sanctified Blues as well as other great jazz works. Jazz 1, directed by Mr. Robert Kehle, will play several works including Wyrgly by New York composer Marie Schneider. They will take you musically to Turkey with Don Ellis’ In a Turkish Bath and then close with the standard Mack the Knife from Kurt Weill’s Three Penny Opera. We hope you will attend this great concert.

Test 4 Grades

Apr18

On the test, as usual, I gave plus and minus grades (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc) which translate into a 100 point scale in my gradebook (100, 96, 92, 88, 85, 82, etc., down to 58, 55, 50 for F-level). The high score in the class was 56 out of a possible 58, not counting extra credit: I used 55 as the top, for simplicity, and a slightly extended scale for grades. The median score was B-, meaning that about as many people got above a B- or above as a B- or below; the average score was right between B- and C+. The extra credit was worth up to 5 points: Being Africa, fewer people attempted the extra credit, and the scores were, on the whole, not as helpful. Next time, I guess. Here’s how the grade scale worked out:

Grade	minimum points	distribution
A+	55
A	51	20%
A-	47.5
B+	45
B	42.5	30%
B-	40
C+	37.5
C	35	20%
C-	32.5
D+	30
D	27.5	25%
D-	25
F	Below 25	5%

Not only did the average and median scores go up on this test, but most of you either equalled or exceeded your average score, which means that your overall grade either held steady or went up, in all but a few cases. Good work!

Unrelated Note: I’m already running a little behind on lectures for this section. I’ll be trying to catch up, but just in case, I’ve pushed the last document assignment due date back to Friday the 29th. This ensures that we’ve covered the relevant history before you have to turn it in.

Doc Assignment 4 Grades

Apr8

On the Meiji Constitution assignment, I gave grades and plus grades (A+, A, B+, B, etc.) Here’s how the grade scale worked out, approximately:

Grade Level	distribution
A	10%
B	15%
C	30%
D	20%
F	25%
Did not Attempt	50%

I know that adds up to 150%. The DNA ratio is for the whole class. The grade distributions include only students who turned in the assignment. DNA is a grade of zero.

Extra Credit: Opera Workshop

Apr7

The PSU Opera Workshop will present scenes from famous operas in free performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 10, in McCray Recital Hall. Included will be scenes from “The Merry Widow,” “Into the Woods,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Tosca,” “West Side Story,” “The Man of La Mancha,” “Candide” and other opera favorites. The performance is under the direction of Patrick Howle, instructor in the Department of Music. For information, call 235-4466.

Extra Credit: Tastes, Sounds and Sights of Africa

Mar31

The African Student Association presents:

Event: Tastes, Sounds and Sights of Africa
Place: Crimson & Gold Ballroom, PSU Student Center
Time: 4:00 PM, Saturday, April 2nd

Tickets are $5.00 and are available at the PSU Ticket Office and will also be available at the door.

Please come and enjoy an evening where all your senses will be satisfied with Africa’s diverse culture.

For more information contact Charles Ibe – 620-875-9429 or pitt.africanassociation@gmail.com

As always, extra credit requires writing a short summary and reaction paper (max 2 pages).

Extra Credit: Gender-Based Violence

Mar31

THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PRESENT:

MAGGIE FLEMING (PSU BA Comm ’01, MSc U Edinburgh ’06)

AFRICA ADVOCACY OFFICER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

SPEAKING ON THE SUBJECT OF “GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE”

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2-3PM IN THE GOVERNOR’S ROOM OF THE STUDENT CENTER

LIGHT RECEPTION TO FOLLOW IN THE HERITAGE ROOM, 3-4PM

Ms. Fleming, Former aide to Sen. (now Gov.) Sam Brownback of Kansas, has served three tours in Africa, including DR Congo, Tanzania, and Togo

Extra Credit: Women’s History Month Poetry Reading

Mar29

This coming Thursday, March 31st, two kindred poets will read together in honor of Womens History Month and as part of the PSU Distinguished Visiting Writers series. Jeanne E. Clark and Laura Lee Washburn will read at 8:00 p.m. in the Governors Room, Overman Student Center. The reading is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the reading in the Heritage Room.

Washburn and Clark are longtime friends and colleagues. Clark is a Midwesterner who spent several years in the Southwest before joining the creative writing faculty at California State University, Chico. Her first book, Ohio Blue Tips, won the Akron Poetry Prize in 1997. Clark is interested in community-based education and taught for many years in prisons, nursing homes, homeless shelters, and public schools as an Artist in Education. Washburn began teaching at Pittsburg State University in 1997. She is the Director of Creative Writing and a Professor of English with a specialty in poetry. She serves at the Director of the Distinguished Visiting Writers Series and as Vice-Director of Women’s Studies. Her books are This Good Warm Place: 10th Anniversary Expanded Edition and Watching the Contortionists, winner of the Palanquin Chapbook Prize. She has also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Clark says that voice in Washburns work is like the voice of a beloved, yet sometimes cantankerous aunt standing next to you at the kitchen sink, telling you what to do as the two of you peel onions and how to clean up afterwards the mess that you will have made. Washburn says of Clarks work: Jeanne’s work is wild and strange. There is an unease in her work that balances against a deep sympathy for the people and animals she writes about.

Extra Credit: Mathematical Napoleon