InSync Learning
Community
Fall Quarter 2011
English 94 & English 97
Instructors
Mita Sen Jim Roth
Office: Main Building, 211-R Office: Main Building, 211-T
Phone: (509) 533-7367 Phone: (509) 533-7058
E-mail: msen@scc.spokane.edu E-mail: jroth@scc.spokane.edu
Web site: ol.scc.spokane.edu/jroth
Office Hours: 1:30-2:30 Mon-Thurs
Office
Hours: 8:30-9:30 Mon-Thurs
Other office appointment times
are available by arrangement.
Course Description
? InSync is a Learning Community that
provides you with the tools for academic success and supports your individual
goals in higher education.
? The term InSync reflects
this program’s purpose: to keep you in step with college life and learning.
?
This
course is designed for students with various backgrounds and needs. It
provides excellent help for:
·
Students
who have been out of school for a while
·
Students
who have just graduated from high school but need better skills to be
successful in college
·
Students
who have had a less than positive earlier school experience
·
Students
who want to maximize their time and success in college courses
·
Students
who will face a very demanding program of study
? This InSync Learning
Community combines two courses—English 94 and English 97—and is team taught by
two instructors and meets for two hours a day. InSync is similar to
other Learning Communities that are offered for 100-level and 200-level courses
and, therefore, gives you some of the same opportunities and experiences, such
as
·
Integrated
Learning
·
Lively
Discussions with opportunities to get to know your peers
·
Diverse
Learning Opportunities through guest lectures, workshops, and media
presentations
·
Continuous
Feedback from peers and instructors
·
Basic
Writing Skills such as strong paragraphs and clear sentences
·
Study
Skills Techniques such as time management, test taking, and reading
·
Portfolio
Submission with samples of your best work of the quarter for a final assessment
? This class is especially designed
to help you refresh skills necessary for your continued success in future
college classes by emphasizing reading, writing, and grammar skills
Required
Texts and Other Materials
?
InSync
Study Skills Packet
sold in our bookstore
?
Timed
Readings, Third
Edition, Book One
?
English
Brushup, Fifth Edition, by John Langan and Janet M.
Goldstein
?
Connections:
Readings for InSync Learning Communities
?
A
three-ring binder
for the Study Skills Packet (1
and ½ inches or wider) and other course handouts
?
A
set of inexpensive three-ring binder dividers
?
A
College-Level Dictionary (recommended)
?
A
USB Thumb Drive
Objectives/Outcomes
By
the end of the course, you can expect to do the following:
? Develop several study skills such
as
·
How to manage your time
·
How
to take good classroom notes
·
How
to read textbooks and other writing
·
How
to build up memory skills
·
How
to take tests
·
How
to improve your vocabulary
·
How
to do research in the library (quickly and correctly finding the information
you need)
·
How
to be a good student (appropriate classroom skills)
NOTE:
These skills cannot be taught but require an on-going commitment from you to
practice and master them and attain academic success.
? Write clear, grammatically
correct sentences in standard English
? Use a writing process that
includes prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading strategies
? Write clearly organized, well developed,
grammatically correct paragraphs/essays/papers which critically respond, in
writing, to reading selections
?
Submit
a portfolio with your best assignments for review and evaluation
?
Set
academic and career goals and apply strategies to achieve them
?
Familiarize
yourself with college life, SCC activities, and services
?
Develop
collaborative skills and experience positive learning through a sense of connectedness
that is unique to a learning community
Finally, you will start to accomplish the following
Student Learning Outcomes Abilities expected of all SCC graduates:
?
Responsibility: manage time effectively, fulfill
commitments, set priorities, work individually and in groups, and turn in
acceptable work
?
Communication: write and speak clearly and
correctly for effective communication
?
Problem
Solving:
synthesize necessary information (facts, evidences, and expert opinions), learn
to ask the right questions for clarification, and recognize the connections
between what you learn and life
?
Global
Awareness:
develop awareness of and respect for human diversity and tolerate differences
of opinion
Course Format
? Reading Assignments: Readings will be assigned from the
required textbooks of both courses as well as from supplemental sources.
?
Writing
Assignments:
Readings will generate interesting and fun writing assignments. In addition, a portfolio will be
submitted at the end of the quarter, which will include your best work from the
quarter, a self evaluation, and a final in-class assignment.
?
Tests:
Tests and
quizzes will be given periodically for evidence of understanding of study
skills concepts and college-level grammar.
?
Presentations:
Occasionally,
our InSync learning community will have special events. These can
include videos, guest speakers, or attendance at campus functions.
?
Though
pass/fail assignments receive no points, they are vitally important to your
mastery of the course. Each Pass/Fail Assignment must be submitted
complete on or before its due date for a student to be eligible for a quarter grade of above 1.9.
Attendance Policy
Because so much of what you learn
and receive credit for must be completed within the class period, your
attendance is absolutely essential.
?
Daily
attendance will be taken, and you may miss three class periods (total of
six hours) with no penalties.
?
You
are responsible for all information covered during the classes you missed. Choose
a classmate to help you with missed notes, assignments, and handouts.
? Being late for class or leaving
early is also disruptive,
so please be on time and in class for all scheduled classes. Arriving later
than 15 minutes into class time or leaving more than 15 minutes before class is
over will count as an hour’s absence.
?
As
a rule, you should expect to spend two hours of additional time on studying and
skill development for every hour you spend in class. This is a standard college
course expectation. This equals about four hours of “homework time” each day
just for this class or about 20 hours per week. Plan on more time if you have
additional classes.
?
If
you have a lengthy absence from school, please contact one or both instructors
so that we can arrange alternative options for you.
Late Assignments
?
We
do not accept late assignments for any reason unless you make arrangements in advance. However, you may make up one
assignment according to the Making Up Assignments Guidelines below.
?
Making
Up Assignments Guidelines: To
allow for the unexpected, you may make up one missing assignment without
penalty according to the following guidelines:
·
You
must attach your da Vinci Late Assignment
Certificate to your late assignment in order for it to be
accepted. Once you have used this one late assignment option, we will accept
no more late assignments from you no matter the reason unless you
made earlier, prior arrangements to submit the assignment late. No
excuses and no exceptions, so please don’t ask.
·
The
assignment must be made up within one calendar week of its due date.
·
Pop
Quizzes, Miscellaneous Points Awards, the oral report, the research summary,
and the Comprehensive Final cannot be made up in any way even if you have made
arrangements in advance.
? Please save all your assignments
until the end of the quarter
(in case there is any conflict or error in the final grade calculation).
Grading Policy
? Your final grade will be based on
the total points acquired and can be affected by your absences.
? Each assignment, test, or quiz
will be worth a certain number of points. Your course grade will be
determined by the percentage of the total points you've earned converted to a
decimal using the attached percent-to-decimal scale.
Spokane
Community College Grading Scale:
Grading Scale
|
Numeric
Grades
|
Letter Grade Equivalent
|
|
95-100
|
3.8-4.0
|
A
(Superior achievement)
|
|
89-94
|
3.5-3.7
|
A-
|
|
83-88
|
3.2-3.4
|
B+
|
|
79-82
|
2.9-3.1
|
B
(Above average achievement)
|
|
76-78
|
2.6-2.8
|
B-
|
|
73-75
|
2.3-2.5
|
|
|
70-72
|
2.0-2.2
|
C
(Average achievement)
|
|
66-69
|
1.6-1.9
|
C-
|
|
63-65
|
1.3-1.5
|
D+
|
|
60-62
|
1.0-1.2
|
D
(Minimum achievement)
|
|
|
0.7-0.9
|
D-
|
|
56 and
below
|
0.0-0.6
|
F
|
Keeping Track of Your Assignments &
Grades
We
will be using a system called ANGEL that you can access through the World Wide
Web either here at school or at home. We will be entering all grades into this
system as well as special announcements and specific assignments. You will
learn how to access this system and how to find out what is going on in class
as well as how to check on your grades throughout the quarter. It will be part of your student responsibility
to check ANGEL periodically.
Withdrawals and “Z” Grades
?
It
is recommended that you see your instructors and/or advisor if you consider
withdrawing from this class. Tuesday, November 8 is the last day for
official withdrawal from a class or from the college.
?
A
grade of “Z” or “I” (Incomplete) may be given, when requested by
the student, under justifiable circumstances and solely at the instructors’
discretion. The student must have been passing at the time when circumstances
prevented him or her from completing the course.
Other SCC Policies and Services
? Classroom Visitors: Washington Administration
Code (WAC) 131, 12.010 Section 3 specifies that children are not allowed in
classes with a parent. Because of this regulation, please make other
arrangements if school schedules or illnesses are a problem.
? Cheating:
WAC 132Q-04-060
·
Any
student who, for the purpose of fulfilling an assignment or task required by
the faculty as part of the student’s program of instruction, shall knowingly
tender any work product that the student fraudulently represents to the faculty
as the student’s work product, shall be deemed to have cheated. Cheating shall
be cause for disciplinary action.
·
Any
student who aids or abets the accomplishment of cheating as defined in the
above section shall also be subject to disciplinary action.
? To encourage academic excellence
and honesty, we use the following policy and penalties for deliberate
plagiarism or cheating:
·
First
Offense: Automatic failure of the paper
or test and possible failure of the course.
·
Second
Offense: Automatic failure of the course
and referral to the dean.
?
The
American with Disabilities Act is
designed to ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to
access academic programs and successfully complete their educational goals. Any
students with disabilities who have accommodation needs must contact Disability
Support Services located in the Learning Resources Center (Library) or call
533-8872 to make an appointment to complete the intake process. This information will remain strictly
confidential.
?
The
SCC Tutoring Center is
located in Old Main 1220. Here you will
find tutors who can help you with your classes—not only this class, but also
math and other courses that you will be taking in the future.
NOTE: WAC
132Q-05-033
states that instructors have the right to suspend a student who disrupts a
class for up to three days. Instructors can decide what is disruptive. A
disruption is anything which prevents an instructor from effectively getting
information to the class. As a student in this class, you need to understand
that if you do not follow acceptable classroom conduct, you may be subject to
disciplinary action, which may include dismissal from the class or the college;
therefore, you need to do the following:
·
refrain
from engaging in side conversations
·
ask
relevant questions that relate to the lesson being covered
·
engage
in college-level work with a positive attitude
·
talk
to the instructors after class if you are having problems with the class
·
work
on all homework and turn assignments in on time
·
turn
off any cell phone and never text message during class
·
encourage
and support each other with patience and the understanding that we are all
different but all involved in our learning community
A
Special Message to You by the Instructors:
Over the
years, we have found that successful students have two qualities.
- The first is readiness: These students
enroll at S.C.C. because they want to be here and are ready
for a change. New students who feel that they have to be here
or those who are here because they have no place better to be will likely
struggle.
- The second quality is perseverance, which is
the determination to keep attending and doing the work no matter
what. Perseverant students may not necessarily be the brightest ones,
nor are they the ones in a hurry to get a degree; rather these students
realize that college is a step-at-a-time experience, and that obstacles
and challenges will be a part of the experience.
In
short, the vast majority of students who eventually walk across the stage and
receive a degree are ready for this experience when they begin, and do not
quit, even in the face of hardship and sacrifice.
Some of
what we will cover this quarter may not apply immediately to your classroom
situation, but rest assured that you will need all of these skills throughout
you college experience. We assure you that the effort you put forth in this
course will directly affect how well you will do in future courses—mastering
key study skills and basic writing skills and then applying them to future
courses can mean at least a full grade point better in those courses.
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Welcome to SCC, to InSync, and
to the adventure of your lives!
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