Tues./Thurs. 2:00-3:15pm
Course Instructors:
Office Location: Tomás Rivera Center, MS 1.02 UC 1.216
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10-11am; Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm
E-mail Address:
Phone:
This three credit hour seminar will include topics that focus on “society and self.” This course will be structured around shared learning, through critical thinking and discussion of two themes-- community and self. Self will be explored through StrengthsQuest and other inventories, with the application of each person’s strengths in academics, relationships, and careers. Community will be explored through the common reading, A Hope in the Unseen, and a community service-learning project. By exploring community on its many levels and having a greater understanding of oneself each student will lay a foundation for a successful journey through college and life.
1. You will acquaint yourself with your unique strengths and learn how to create and take responsibility for your life through your strengths. Additionally, you will learn about others and obtain a broader concept of others and diversity.
2. You will become familiar with San Antonio and one or more social issues through community service, service-learning, and research.
3. You will realize the importance of critical thinking skills and be able to analyze information and question knowledge as your create it independently and collaboratively.
4. You will improve your communication skills by constructing written work that is formatively assessed and through frequent smaller opportunities to practice writing, plus collaborate successfully in groups and present to the class on a number of smaller informal occasions.
5. You will exemplify a strong sense of campus community be attending three or more on campus events.
6. You will acquire information about the sources of academic and non-academic assistance that are made available to UTSA students and be able to articulate what type of assistance you might need.
7. You will help manage a complex group project through the giving of service and an informative group oral presentation on the virtue of service and how it played into your individual strengths.
1) "How to Graduate from College the Easy Way", by Sidney Pogatchnik and Mark Kroh
2) "A Hope in the Unseen", by Ron Suskind.
*You are also required to have a daily planner and folder.
It is your responsibility to attend class. Because the majority of learning takes place as a result of class discussions, attendance and participation in this course are REQUIRED, and are a significant part of your grade (over 25%). Part of attendance is being prepared- please read the assigned readings and work through the assigned activities. There will be daily quizzes.
¨If you are unable to attend a particular class meeting, please inform one of your professors before missing class, so that we can help you to catch up with what needs to be done for the following class period. But realize that there is not such thing as an “excused” or “unexcused” absence. If you miss class, you lose points.
¨Avoid being tardy because it is disruptive to both your fellow classmates and the instructors. Attendance is taken with the pop quiz. You are considered “tardy” if you enter the classroom after the quiz has been taken. Each tardy is worth 3 points off your attendance total, as is leaving class early, being disruptive, or unprepared.
Students are expected to maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Inappropriate behavior in the classroom shall result, minimally, in a request to leave the class. All cell phones, pagers, or other electronic devices must be set to silent or vibrate and placed in your bag/purse AND out of sight. No laptops will be allowed in this classroom. We are facilitating a collaborative learning environment in a seminar setting, so laptops are not necessary. On the first day of class we will establish some additional classroom norms.
According to the Student Code of Conduct, Section 203(B):
"Scholastic dishonesty" includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records and any act designed to give unfair advantage to the student (such as, but not limited to, submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor, providing false or misleading information in an effort to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment), or the attempt to commit such an act.
We expect students to take pride in academic integrity and therefore not participate in scholastic dishonesty. Any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to university discipline.
Disability Services (MS 2.03.18) provides academic accommodations to students registered with their office. Academic accommodations are services that provide equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities. They are provided on an individual basis and determined by documented need. Disability Services will work with students to identify needed services, accommodations, and equipment.
Guidelines for Paper Submission:
All papers will be submitted in typed format, with 12 point font, 1 inch margins, double-spaced, and APA citation style. Purdue’s OWL has a quick reference sheet for APA at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
In order for new skills to be learned, they must be applied. Assignments will involve the application and practice of skills you are learning in class, and must be completed in a timely manner to be useful. Late assignments will NOT be accepted. No exceptions.
**Don’t forget to save all of your returned assignments/handouts for future reference and TESTS.
1) E-mail: You MUST have an e-mail account. As a UTSA student, you have a University issued e-mail address. You can access this e-mail address using Banner ASAP. You must email both professors from your UTSA account to get credit for this assignment, by September 2nd.
2) Seven Inventories: Learning Styles Inventory, Locus of Control, LASSI, DISC, Financial Awareness, PLSI, and Job Work Profile
3) Literature Circle: You will be responsible for one literature circle. Groups will be assigned later in the semester.
4) Professor Visit: You are to visit one of your other professors this semester. You may visit by yourself or with a partner. This assignment is due October 27th. You will receive credit for this visit once you turn in a written assignment (one typed page, double spaced) about your visit that details these strengths questions:
a. How often they get to play to their strengths,
b. How did they make this happen- where they get to spend a lot of time doing activities they love, and
c. How do they get back on their strengths path if they stray; how do they remind themselves of what motivates them?
5) Strengths Certificate: Please turn in your Strengths certificate that you have printed from the website book by November 5th.
6) THREE Campus Events: You are required to attend three events on campus (at least two must be Learning Community events and all are worth 10 points each.) Please turn in the attached Reaction paper, fully filled out, for each event you attend (attach the red slip that Learning Communities will give you for attending their events, if applicable.)
You will meet with us once per month (September, October, & November) to ensure that the appropriate skills are being applied to other courses you are taking. This is an excellent time to ask questions and to discuss any concerns you may be having about the COR class or any of your other courses. Professor meetings are worth 15 points each and count as a large part of your grade.
Summer reading project is due September 8th. This is worth 30 points. A draft of your Common Reading Essay for the university wide contest will be due October 6th for 40 points. This draft is for you to understand the drafting process and to keep you on track in regards to the contest timeline. The final essay is due October 20th and is worth 100 points (or 10% of your grade.)
This 5-page research paper will examine a social issue that impacts the community on a local, national, or global scale. You are encouraged to write a paper that relates to your Service Learning Project, although it is not mandatory. For example, if you do your Service Learning Project at the San Antonio Food Bank, you could write a paper exploring hunger in San Antonio, the impact of the economy on donations to food banks, or examine the root causes of hunger in the U.S., to name a few. The paper must have sources referenced, including one online and one in print, and should reflect critical thinking & analysis.
1. The paper outline is due November 3rd. Worth 15 points.
2. The final 5 page paper is due November 19th. Worth 100 points.
More details will be handed out later in the semester.
You will be grouped together for a service learning project of your team’s choosing. You need to meet with Professor Lilly as a group to get confirmation of your selected activity BEFORE you do it. You will then make a 15 minute team presentation, with each person speaking for a few minutes about his/her component and/or walking us through the activity. Be sure to include how the project either fed into your strengths or did not. If it did not, then explain what activity you should have done that might have been a better fit.
Your presentation grade will be calculated two ways. The first, and major, portion of your grade will be an individual grade based on your individual presentation and cooperative effort- to ensure personal responsibility. A group grade also will be given, to ensure collective responsibility, for the overall quality of the project and presentation.
There will be two exams that will cover the entire common reading A Hope in the Unseen, How to Graduate From College the Easy Way, and all other course content, including StrengthsFinder and class activities. Exams will consist of fill in the blank, true/false, short answer, and essay questions. There will be no multiple choice questions, therefore students need only bring themselves and a pen/pencil to the exams. No scantrons. The final exam is on Thursday, December 10th from 10:30am-1:00pm, in our regular classroom.
| Task | Number of times due | Total Points | My Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance/Participation | 28 at 10 pts each | 280 | |
| Assignments | 14 at 10pts each | 140 | |
| COR Professor Meetings | 3 at 15pts each | 45 | |
| Mid-term Exam | 50 | ||
| Summer Reading Project | 30 | ||
| Common Reading Essay Draft | 40 | ||
| Common Reading Essay | 100 | ||
| Research Paper Outline & Final | 15, 100 | ||
| Service Learning Project & Presentation | 100 | ||
| Final Exam | 100 |
| Your grade will be calculated based upon your total points: | |
|---|---|
| 901-1000 | A |
| 801-900 | B |
| 701-800 | C |
| 601-700 | D |
| 0-600 | F |
*We reserve the right to grade on a curve, only if it benefits the whole class.
Late Assignments, as already stated, will NOT be accepted. If you are going to miss class when these items are due get them to one of the professors BEFORE class!
The Group Presentation cannot be done late. We have ONE designated class time for these presentations and your group must present on this day. No extensions.
Make-up exams will be allowed, but for each working day it is late 10%, or one letter grade, will be dropped.
Certain projects will be accepted late, but under the same policy as make-up exams. For each day they are late 10% will be deducted from the grade. Projects that fall under this guideline are:
Common Reading Essay Draft
Research Paper
| CLASS TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CLASS DATE | CHAPTER/TOPIC | ASSIGNMENT DUE | HOMEWORK |
| Thursday, Aug. 27th | Class Expectations Introductions -Icebreaker -Class expectations |
-Read Syllabus -Read GC Ch. 1 -Take Learning Styles Inventory |
|
| Tuesday, Sept. 1st | GC Ch. 1 - Transition -Scavenger Hunt -Syllabus Review |
EMAIL DUE Learning Styles Inventory |
Read GC Ch. 2 & take Locus of Control Inventory |
| Thursday, Sept. 3rd | GC Ch. 2 – Locus of Control -Guest speaker |
Locus of Control Inventory | |
| Tuesday, Sept. 8th | Service Learning -Presentation & Inventory |
Hope Assignment DUE | Read GC Ch. 5 |
| Thursday, Sept. 10th | GC Ch. 5 – Time Management | Reread Ch. 4 in Hope | |
| Tuesday, Sept. 15th | Hope Ch. 4 – Race & Identity -ICE Center visit |
Read GC Ch. 6 & take LASSI | |
| Thursday, Sept. 17th | GC Ch. 6 – Study Skills -TRC Guest Speaker |
LASSI inventory due | Do Lit Circle |
| Tuesday, Sept. 22nd | Hope Ch. 5 – Clarence Thomas Lit Circles |
Lit Circle due | Reread Ch. 7 in Hope |
| Thursday, Sept. 24th | Hope Ch. 7 – Transition Values Activity Guest Speaker on Facebook |
Start Book Essay; Reread Ch. 12 in Hope | |
| Tuesday, Sept. 29th | Hope Ch. 12 & Writing the Common Essay | Reread Ch. 8 in Hope | |
| Thursday, Oct. 1st | Hope Ch. 8 – Affirmative Action Class Debate |
Reread Hope Epilogue | |
| Tuesday, Oct. 6th | Hope Epilogue Midterm Review |
Book Essay Draft DUE | Study for midterm!! |
| Thursday, Oct. 8th | Midterm Exam | Read GC Ch. 7 & take DISC | |
| Tuesday, Oct. 13th | GC Ch. 7 - DISC | DISC inventory due | Read GC Ch. 9 & take financial inventory |
| Thursday, Oct. 15th | GC Ch. 9 – Money Matters (Guest Speaker) | Financial awareness inventory due | |
| Tuesday, Oct. 20th | Library Scavenger Hunt & Research paper review | Book Essay DUE | |
| Thursday, Oct. 22nd | COMP DAY for Service Learning Project | Absolute Deadline to have SL project selected | Read GC Ch. 3 |
| Tuesday, Oct. 27th | GC Ch. 3 – Motivation & Goals | Professor Visit DUE/ Topic for Research paper due | |
| Thursday, Oct. 29th | StrengthsQuest (SQ) 1: Bust the Myths | Love It/Loathe It handout | |
| Tuesday, Nov. 3rd | SQ 2: Get Clear | Research Paper outline DUE | Take SQ Inventory |
| Thursday, Nov. 5th | SQ 3: Free Your Strengths | Strengths Certificate DUE | |
| Tuesday, Nov. 10th | SQ 4: Stop Your Weaknesses | ||
| Thursday, Nov. 12th | SQ 5: Speak up | ||
| Tuesday, Nov. 17th | IDEA Survey & SQ 6: Build Strong Habits (Guest Speaker from Tesoro Corp.) |
Read GC Ch. 8 & take PLSI | |
| Thursday, Nov. 19th | GC Ch. 8 – Myers Briggs | PLSI Inventory due/ Research Paper DUE | Take Job/work profile inventory |
| Thursday, Nov. 19th | AUTHOR VISIT | ||
| Tuesday, Nov. 24th | Career Services | Job/work profile due | |
| Thursday, Nov. 26th | Thanksgiving Holiday-No Class |
||
| Tuesday, Dec. 1st | Group Presentations | ||
| Thursday, Dec. 3rd | Review for Final Exam & Class Party |
Last day to turn in event reflections (3 total) | |
| Thursday, Dec. 10th | Final Exam at 10:30am | ||
9/2 Rowdy Wing Fling 6:30 – 9:30 PM Roadrunner Café
9/3 Film: Inside the Actor’s Studio with Dave Chappelle
6:00 – 7:30 PM UC Retama
9/9 Film: Inside the Actor’s Studio with Dave Chappelle
7:00 – 8:30 PM Laurel Village
9/16 Welcome Bash 6:00 – 9:00 PM UC Ballroom
9/19 Leader Summit 8:30 – 4:30 PM University Center
9/24 Film: Glory Road 3:30 – 5:30 PM UC Retama
9/25 Babcock Road Clean-Up 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM VOICES Office
9/28 Film: Glory Road 7:00 – 9:00 PM Laurel Village
9/30 Road to Glory with Nevil Shed
6:30 – 7:30 PM UC Retama
10/1 Film: Glory Road 6:00 – 8:00 PM UC Retama
10/5 Essay Writing Workshop 4:00 – 5:15 PM UC Travis
10/10 Serving San Antonio 8:15 AM—12:30 PM VOICES Office
10/12 Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3:30 – 5:30 PM UC Retama
10/13 Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7:00 – 9:00 PM Laurel Village
11/11 Taste of Diversity 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM BV 1.338 (DT)
11/18 Celebrate UTSA Day 5:00 – 8:00 PM UC Paseo
11/19 Afternoon with Ron Suskind 3:30 – 4:30 PM UC III Ballroom
11/19 Ron Suskind Book Signing 4:30 – 5:30 PM UC III Galleria
Event Attended: _____________________________________________
Event Date: _________________________ Event Location: _________________________
After attending this LC Event, please respond to the following reflective questions. To receive full credit, answer all of the questions and submit this sheet within one week after the event was attended.
What did you think was the purpose or objective of this event/activity?
How did you react to the event? What (if anything) did you learn from it? Did it have an impact on you in any way?
Was the event well attended? How would you characterize the reaction of others who attended the event?
Would you recommend that this event or presentation be conducted on campus next year?
Additional comments? Insights? Recommendation?
Adapted and reprinted with permission from Dr. Joe Cuseo, Marymount College 2005
Event Attended: _____________________________________________
Event Date: _________________________ Event Location: _________________________
After attending this LC Event, please respond to the following reflective questions. To receive full credit, answer all of the questions and submit this sheet within one week after the event was attended.
What did you think was the purpose or objective of this event/activity?
How did you react to the event? What (if anything) did you learn from it? Did it have an impact on you in any way?
Was the event well attended? How would you characterize the reaction of others who attended the event?
Would you recommend that this event or presentation be conducted on campus next year?
Additional comments? Insights? Recommendation?
Adapted and reprinted with permission from Dr. Joe Cuseo, Marymount College 2005
Event Attended: _____________________________________________
Event Date: _________________________ Event Location: _________________________
After attending this LC Event, please respond to the following reflective questions. To receive full credit, answer all of the questions and submit this sheet within one week after the event was attended.
What did you think was the purpose or objective of this event/activity?
How did you react to the event? What (if anything) did you learn from it? Did it have an impact on you in any way?
Was the event well attended? How would you characterize the reaction of others who attended the event?
Would you recommend that this event or presentation be conducted on campus next year?
Additional comments? Insights? Recommendation?
Adapted and reprinted with permission from Dr. Joe Cuseo, Marymount College 2005
