UWG
1101: The First Year University Experience, Fall 2010 Updated 9/30/10
Dr.
Maria Doyle
MW
12-12:50, HUM 228
Office and Phone: TLC 2-248,
678-839-4853
Email: mdoyle@westga.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 5-6 pm
and Thursday 10 am-noon, 1-3 pm and by appt.
Virtual Office Hours: T 9
am-noon (log in to CourseDen and use the chat function)
Website:
http://www.westga.edu/~mdoyle
Course description: UWG 1101 is designed to help
students succeed at West Georgia: succeed academically as well as personally
and socially. The fundamental focus of the class is to provide an understanding
of the basic structure of critical thinking and of academic disciplines in
order to increase learning in the university classroom. In addition, the course
will provide an overview of resources, which will help to ensure student
success in the university classroom. Furthermore, UWG 1101 provides students
with essential information about the University as a whole, its rules,
procedures, and resources. UWG 1101 classes include subjects that cut across the
academic and nonacademic lines of school; these subjects include time
management, college student skills, and computer and portal skills. This year
the course will also incorporate the discussion and practice of journaling as a
personal motivator and a path to self-discovery, fulfillment, and success.
Students are required to attend class and to interact with their instructors
and classmates. While students must take responsibility for their own learning,
the course attempts to support and enhance that responsibility by making the
class a learning community within the University.
Course
objectives:
·
To promote for first-year
students a positive adjustment and assimilation into the University
·
To help students learn to
balance their freedom with a sense of responsibility as part of the process of
enhancing self knowledge and self-confidence
·
To develop a network of
colleagues
·
To involve students in the
total life of the University
·
To reduce student anxiety about
written and oral communication
·
To enhance college-level and
analytical reading and provide supplemental practice in applying the knowledge
students gain in other first-year courses
·
To provide students additional
training, practice, experience, and knowledge in the following skill areas:
decision-making, goal setting, planning, time management, and group/teamwork
Learning
Outcomes
·
Students will
identify and utilize a set of adaptive study, coping, critical thinking,
logical problem solving, and other academic/personal/social success skills;
·
Students will
demonstrate an understanding of some of the most typical pedagogical strategies
of their professors' teaching and presentation styles;
·
Students will
identify and understand their own personal learning style and how to best adapt
to different instructional strategies in the classroom;
·
Students will
demonstrate their understanding of the function of a mentor and how to go about
finding one;
·
Students will
summarize basic information about UWG: its purposes, organization, rules and
regulations, people, services, resources, and opportunities for student
development;
·
Students will
utilize the following resources available to them at UWG: the Library, the
EXCEL Center, and the Health Center; students will also identify the location
and function of other important offices on campus, such as the Student
Development Center, the Writing Center, the Mathematics Tutoring Center, and
the Career Services Office;
·
Students will
identify some of the major health and wellness issues for students;
·
Students will
document their personal goals for careers and academic majors and their plans
for achieving these goals;
·
Students will
demonstrate basic skills in computer literacy through activities involving the
use of e-mail and the Internet;
·
Students will
demonstrate personal responsibility and self-direction regarding their
education;
·
Students will
identify the benefits of a college degree;
·
Students will
identify and demonstrate an appreciation of the value of diversity and of a
liberal arts perspective in their education;
·
Students will
identify elements of democratic structures within which they will be civically
engaged on the UWG campus, in the larger community and in the State of Georgia;
·
Students will
examine and discuss ways in which UWG students, faculty, and staff identify,
prioritize and debate issues in ways that allow and support the principles of
civic engagement and democracy.
Materials:
University
of West Georgia: Cornerstone
Erin Gruwell. Freedom Writers Diary
UWG Journal
Requirements:
Preparation,
Attendance, and Participation (25%): Class participation – your preparation
for class meetings and your willingness to contribute to our discussions – is
an important component of your grade. After all, this class is designed
to help you make the most of your
college education, and you can't succeed at that by being only a passive
participant in the classroom. Consistent, punctual attendance is thus the minimum expected of all
students, and after four absences, you will lose half a letter grade in this
category for each additional class missed. You do not need to explain your
absences to me – I understand that sometimes illness, childcare issues,
uncooperative automobiles or unforeseen emergencies prevent you from coming to
class – but use those allowed days for real emergencies, as I will not
differentiate between “excused” and “unexcused” absences. Doing well in
class participation, however, means more than just coming to class: students
who come to class regularly but don't participate can earn no better than a
"C" in this area (and other factors like lateness, lack of
preparation, repeatedly failing to bring books or other required materials or
exceeding the allowed number of absences will bring that grade down). So
how can you do better than that? Read the material carefully before class. Participate actively, thoughtfully and
respectfully in discussions of it. Engage actively and thoughtfully in in-class
group projects.
Journal
(30%): Students will complete weekly journal
entries based on prompts given in class. Students should bring their journals
to ALL class meetings, as I may collect them at any time. Complete guidelines
for regular journal entries are posted on CourseDen.
Final
Project (20%): Students will work on a group project
at the end of the semester. Students will present their projects to the class
in the last several weeks of the semester and will then participate in a
discussion with the larger group about their presentations. Each group will
also submit a portfolio of work that went into the project including an
overview of each participant's contributions, a listing of your research
sources and a 2-3 page write-up of the project. Further details about the
project will be provided later in the semester.
Quizzes
and Daily Class Assignments
(10%): Students will periodically take in-class quizzes or have in-class
writing assignments. Students will also periodically receive brief daily
assignments designed to prepare students for future class discussions.
Campus
Events (15%):
Students will attend at least three
out-of-class campus events during the semester and write a short response to
them (250-300 words each). Students must attend one academic event (such as a panel discussion on current events
or a speaker sponsored by an academic department), one cultural event (an on-campus film screening, a student
performance at the Townsend Center, a music recital or art exhibit) and one service or social event (this
may include a campus service project, an athletic event, or an event sponsored
by Student Activities). In your written response for each event, you should
address the following issues:
·
Why
did you choose the event, and what were your expectations of it?
·
What
did you learn from the experience – about the topic, about the campus, about
the participants, about yourself or your interest in the subject or type of
event? You may certainly describe your reaction or emotional response to the
event, but go beyond that: consider why or how you reacted to the event as you
did. Use your critical thinking skills – they're not just for your textbooks!
Additional
Information and Policies:
Grading: When I grade your work, I'll
be looking for several things. At a basic level, you need to complete the
requirements of the assignment: if I ask for a two page paper, and you
write me one page (or a page and a line), you haven't done the assignment. But
I'm not just interested in seeing you fill space; that's a waste of everybody's
time. Rather, I want to see that you've given serious thought to the
assignment, that you're using the task at hand to push yourself, to
strengthen your thinking and writing skills and to give serious consideration
to how best to engage yourself in your college career. Finally, you need to communicate
clearly: grammar and spelling are for life, not just English class, because
they help you get your message across to your audience. Thus, proofread your
work to ensure that what you mean to say is what you're actually saying.
I do
not give 'makeup' assignments, and I don't offer 'extra credit' opportunities
here or in other classes: you will all be assessed by the same methods on the
same assignments.
Academic
Honesty Policy: Academic dishonesty involves any
attempt on your part to claim ideas and/or specific phrasing that you have
gotten from elsewhere – including, but not limited to, Wikipedia, the dictionary, The
New York Times, Sparknotes, an
article you found that just sounds "better" than you think you could
say it or your Aunt Sally – as your own or to fabricate sources or evidence so
as to make your argument sound stronger. Plagiarism thus includes actions such
as copying papers or online responses from the internet or other sources
(including word-for-word copying and paraphrasing without citation), cheating
on exams, turning in work written by someone else or turning in work that you
previously submitted for another course.
Special
Needs: If you have a registered disability
that will require accommodation, please see me at the beginning of the
semester; I will be happy to discuss your situation. If you have a disability
that you have not yet registered through the Disabled Student Services Office,
please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in Student Development (678-839-6428).
Classroom Etiquette: When
you’re in class, that is the thing that you’re doing – the only thing. Thus,
talking on your cell phone, texting, listening to headphones, getting up to
leave in the middle of class, sleeping, doing work for other classes, writing
out your bills, knitting or otherwise engaging in activities not related to the
discussion for this class will not be tolerated. Multitasking is not your
friend during class sessions – it disrupts your focus and means that you’re
missing material, not to mention losing points from your grade. Moreover, it’s
rude to those around you, both the professor and your fellow students. I expect
you to conduct yourself professionally: come prepared, pay attention, turn off
and stow cell phones and other electronic devices. Stay awake – I do notice and
take note, whether or not I take time away from other students’ learning to
wake you up. All students are expected to participate in classroom activities
and discussions, and in doing so, each student is expected to show respect for
others and their contributions; mutual civility creates an atmosphere in which
everyone can explore a variety of positions and ideas.
Late Policy: Late assignments will be assessed a
penalty of one half of a letter grade for each day that the assignment is late.
Assignments that are more than four days late (including weekend days and
holidays) will receive an automatic "F." Extensions will be granted
only if you have a verifiable medical or other sufficiently serious
("seriousness" will be determined at the instructor's discretion)
excuse and you request an extension (in person, via email or phone) before the
paper deadline. Regardless of your situation, no extensions will be granted
beyond the four-day late period. Having papers or exams for other classes, a
schedule conflict with work or other responsibilities, or simply being
"swamped" are not sufficiently serious excuses and will not result in
your being granted an extension. Late penalties for papers turned in outside of
class will be assessed based on when I receive the paper, since if you do not
hand it to me directly, I cannot verify when you turned it in.
For the final project portfolios, NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Schedule of Readings and Assignments:
Students should have completed all
reading assignments and Cornerstone
written questions by the date they are listed on the syllabus. This schedule
represents my current plan for the course; circumstances throughout the
semester may necessitate some revisions, which will be announced in class and
posted to the CourseDen page.
M 8/16 Introduction:
Making the Most of Your University Experience
W 8/18 Cornerstone, Ch. 3 (CHANGE): Available
on CourseDen
M 8/23 The Liberal
Arts Core and Academic Resources
W 8/25 Continue
discussion of Ch. 3
M 8/30 Cornerstone, Ch. 4 (PERSIST)
W 9/1 Cornerstone,Ch. 7 (LEARN)
M 9/6 LABOR DAY
(no class meeting)
W 9/8 MAP-Works
Survey, Pt. 1 (meet in Adamson 126)
M 9/13 Cornerstone, Ch. 8 (READ)
W 9/15 Continue
discussion of Ch. 8
M 9/20 Freedom Writers Diary, Freshman and Sophomore Years
W 9/22 Cornerstone, Ch. 9 (RECORD)
M 9/27 Continue discussion of Ch. 9
Library Assignment
First Campus Event Response due in class.
W 9/29 Guest
Speaker: Dr. Bill Schaniel, International Programs
M 10/4 Collegiate Learning Assessment (meet in Coliseum 2102)
W 10/6 Discuss Cornerstone,Chapter 6 (THINK)
Last day to withdraw with a W
M 10/11 Freedom Writers Diary, Junior and Senior Years and continue discussion of Ch. 6
W 10/13 Guest Speaker:
Lt. Ned Watson, Public Safety
Th-F 10/14-15 FALL
BREAK
M 10/18 Assessing Information: Online and Print
W 10/20 No class meeting: work on journals and events response.
M 10/25 Cornerstone, Ch. 5 (COMMUNICATE) and 12 (RELATE)
W 10/27 Freedom Writers Diary, Epilogue and
Additional Diary Entries
Second Campus Event Response due in class.
M 11/1 Cornerstone, Ch. 11 (INFORM)
W 11/3 Continue
discussion of Ch. 11
Project proposals due in class
M 11/8 Research and analysis workshop
W 11/10 Guest Speaker: Debra Dugan, Health Services
M 11/15 MAP-Works
Survey, Pt. 2 (Meet in Adamson 126)
W 11/17 Group
Presentations
M 11/22 Group
Presentations
W 11/24 THANKSGIVING
BREAK
M 11/29 Group
Presentations
Third Campus Event Response due in class.
W 12/1 Final lecture
and discussion
Presentation Portfolios due:
Dec. 8 by 11 am