PAF 101

Competitions

Competition Director:

Kelsie Bouchard

klboucha@syr.edu

This semester, you will be participating in several competition exercises. Your group will compete as a team against the other groups to earn extra credit points. The goals of the competition groups are:

�        To help you understand the modules and learn how to do the exercises
�        To give you experience working as part of a team
�        To give you practice speaking in public

Competition Workshops

For each competition exercise, your group will meet in your designated meeting place for the workshop. If you do not have the assigned homework exercise, you will lose five points off your next module (as with any homework assignment). In the workshop, your group will complete several practice exercises as a team. The exercises will be turned in and graded. Each group that completes all of the exercises on time will receive 3 points. The group that submits the best exercises will receive 5 points.

Preparation

�        Read the assigned chapters before the workshop.
�        Complete the assigned homework exercise, type it, and bring it in.
�        Bring your white book.

Competition Debriefings

On the class day following the workshop, the teams will meet in Maxwell Auditorium for the competition debriefing. Your team will compete against other teams in critiquing or defending sample exercises. One member of your team will be called at random to give a response for your group. The entire group may be awarded additional points based on the response. Therefore, it is important that all members of your group understand the exercises that were completed in the workshop.

Scoring

You will not automatically receive all of the points that your group has been awarded. You must:
�        Attend both the workshop and the debriefing
�        Complete the homework exercise
�        Actively participate in the workshop and debriefing as determined by your TA.

The points that you earn in each competition exercise will be added to your next module score. Although Professor Coplin may deduct competition points from your group for poor performance, competitions will never lower your paper grade.