These tasks must be completed in the first week or two of the semester.
When you look at the syllabi from recent semesters you see that they start to take on a common look. We like to take the first 2 weeks to train students about the project as a whole to make sure that they understand our scope and they can make smart decisions about which teams to join. Make sure to pass around a sign-in sheet in every lecture for the first two weeks because we get a lot of people wandering in and out of the class, which makes it difficult to try to organize teams.
You will want to keep emphasizing to the new team how although they are coming to class, 95% of their time in AguaClara will be spent with their teams so it is important to make an educated decision as to where they might be able to fit in and learn well.
After the students have been introduced to the project and potential teams, the team leader will send out a planning survey. Remember that all surveys we use are GoogleDocs on the aguaclaraadmin account. Double check that the survey has been updated for this year before sending it out! All surveys need to be updated every year.
Take into account the following points when forming teams
As soon as you and Monroe finalize teams send each team an email and encourage everyone on that team to start reviewing their wiki space. If you can schedule it into the syllabus, immediately host a Team Meeting lecture, which is where you tell everyone its required class as usual, except you only talk for five minutes and then have everyone split into their teams and start introducing themselves. Tell them to pick a weekly meeting time right then and there, and make sure they know that every team is required to meet in person at least once per week and turn in detailed meeting minutes of their weekly activities. Have the team members exchange phone numbers.
When forming teams, it is important to look at continuity between semesters and information transfer. There is a list of subteam leader expectations that should be gone over with the subteam leaders at a meeting (not an email) once the teams are established (at most a week later). It is important to establish an open communication between them and make it clear that while expectations are laid out, they change over time and suggestions are welcomed. It is very important to layout their deadlines and make sure they understand it us their responsibility to be checking them. While we may not expect that from the average student, a subteam leader is expected to do so.
Give all new team members wiki access. To do this follow the instructions given below
Email Cameron Willkens with a class roster (first and last name and netid) asking to give them access to the server.
It is very hard for teams to digest their task and start working immediately. You will want to encourage them to really take the time to understand their challenges and form them into semester goals. Also encourage the teams to talk with you and/or Monroe about the theoretical points they don't totally understand. This really sets the tone for the rest of the semester.
Establish a list for students who are enrolled in the class. During class throughout the first several weeks ask students to let you know if they are not on this list. Students have differing opinions on how often emails should be sent, so feel free to ask them their opinions during the midterm survey. A summary email of events once a week usually works well with reminder emails for more important things such as assignment deadlines. Include links to anything you want them to read, such as assignments.
The AguaClara listserv can be used for general announcements that are not for class. The list has hundreds of students who have been interested in the project at some point but are not necessarily enrolled in the class. It can be used, for example, for events such as the benefit concert or lectures that might be of interest. You can also send emails to announce the speakers for class since students not enrolled might want to attend.