Course Syllabus COURSE TITLE Preparing for College Success COURSE NUMBER SLS 1101 PREREQUISITES None CREDIT HOURS 3 CONTACT HOURS 45 CLASS MEETING TIMES CLASS METHOD Tuesdays & Thursdays from 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm, Room C-233 This course is designed to meet face to face and online. A student may access the online portion of the courses here: http://online.fkcc.edu. If the student has difficulty in logging in to the course or the student does not see the course listed, contact the Office of Distance Learning helpline at 305-809-3245 or e-mail to D2lhelp@fkcc.edu for assistance. Synchronous Office Hours-Check the Announcement section of the course for synchronous office hour times. Announcements-Weekly Announcements from the instructor will be posted on the announcements page. To access click on "Announcements" under Course Tools. INSTRUCTOR OFFICE HOURS COURSE DESCRIPTION Nicole Gerrard Prior to class Tuesday/Thursday 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm. Room C-233 or by appointment. Telephone-305-809-3262 E-mail: nicole.gerrard@fkcc.edu Cell phone: 305-766-4979 This course helps students to be successful in school and life by empowering them to make wise choices. It assists students in developing greater confidence and motivation, focusing on self-esteem, self-awareness, self-management, interpersonal communication, and emotional intelligence. Students assess interests, learning styles, and career aspirations while learning college customs, reviewing study skills, and exploring their own definitions of a rich, fulfilling life. This course is strongly recommended for all students, especially first year and is required for students who place into Rea 0017, ENC 0025, or MAT 0028.
COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to demonstrate knowledge by successfully answering questions on an objective examination of the following topics: 1. Displays improved self-esteem. A. Defines self-esteem. B. Self-assesses self-esteem. C. Sets goals to improve self-esteem. D. Celebrates successes. 2. Demonstrates Self-awareness A. Realizes current state of self. B. Creates self-improvement plan. C. Practices reflective listening. D. Identifies with other's situations. E. Recognizes learning styles. practices self-disclosure. 3. Core ability: Communicate Effectively A. Practices self-management strategies. B. Defines components of self-management. C. Creates goals, formulates priorities. D. Practices /uses time management techniques 4. Core ability: Think critically and solve problems A. Evaluates decision making. B. Analyzes decision-making processes. C. Identifies possible choices. D. Examines decision making process of self, peers, and others. E. Participates in decision making processes with peers. 5. Core ability: Think critically and solve problems. A. Demonstrates personal responsibility. B. Analyzes the characteristics of personal responsibility. C. Performs self-assessment of personal responsibility. D. Recognizes current level of personal responsibility. E. Selects behaviors that will produce positive outcomes. 6. Core ability: Displays personal motivation. A. Analyzes characteristics of personal motivation. B. Identifies personal dreams. C. Explores motivational techniques. D. Implements intrinsic and/or extrinsic motivational strategies. 7. Demonstrates transformational learning. A. Recognizes learning styles. B. Assesses personal learning processes. C. Compares learning strategies. D. Integrates learning strategies 8. Core ability: Think critically and solve problems. A. Practices interpersonal skills. B. Identifies characteristics of group dynamics. C. Recognizes diversity. D. Respects diversity. E. Demonstrates effective communication skills. F. Demonstrates ability to work cooperatively. 9. Core ability: Works cooperatively; Communicate effectively integrates study methodologies. A. Identifies personal study habits. B. Compares alternative study strategies. C. Adopts effective study strategies. 10. Core ability: Think critically and solve problems A. Utilizes college resources. B. Identifies wide variety of college resources.
c. Seeks appropriate resources 11. Explores career opportunities A. Performs career self assessment B. Determines personal characteristics to career fields C. Explores career options REQUIRED MATERIALS: ON COURSE PUBLISHER Wadsworth/Cengage 7th edition AUTHORS Skip Downing ISBN 978-1-133-30973-4 Calendar/organizer, Composition book-to be brought to each class meeting.
Please note: PROPOSED COURSE SCHEDULE The course schedule is subject to change to meet the needs of the course and its students. If you miss a class, it is YOUR responsibility to stay current. Important Dates Textbook Chapters--Topics Assignments-- Points First week of class-introductions, review course syllabus. Chapter 1-Getting on Read Chapter 1, begin Course to your success Journals 1 and 2 Week 1 August 27 Monday August 31st Week 2- September 1st, September 3rd Week 3-Sept. 8th, Sept. 10th Last Day to add/drop class with 100% refund -------------- Chapter 1 Continued- Becoming an Active Learner Believing in Yourself- Develop Self- Acceptance Chapter 2 Accepting Personal Responsibility Adopting a Creator Mindset Mastering Creator Language Making Wise Decisions Chapter 2 continued-believing in Yourself-Change your inner conversation, Accepting Responsibility Quiz on Chapter 1-Journals 3, 4 Visit LSU website as a guest and take learning style quizzes-see link in D2L Read Chapter 2, and begin Journals 5, 6, 7 Week 4 Sept. 15, Sept. 17 Chapter 3-Discovering self motivation, Designing a Compelling Life Plan Committing to Your Goals and Dreams Believing in Yourself- Write a Personal Affirmation Quiz chapter 2, Complete work for chapter 2, Read Chapter 3 Journal 8, Journal 9 Chapter 3 continued Week 5 Sept. 22, Sept. 24 Week 6 Sept 29., Oct. 1 Designing a Compelling Life Plan Committing to Your Goals and Dreams Believing in Yourself- Write a Personal Affirmation Chapter 3 continued Read Wise Choices in College: Taking Notes Chapter 4 Mastering Self- Management Acting on Purpose Creating a Self-Management System Journals, 10, 11, 12 Quiz Chapter 3 Begin Chapter 4 Journals 13, 14
Week 7 Oct 6, Oct. 8 Week 8 Oct. 13, Oct. 15 Week 9 Oct. 20, Oct. 22 Week 10 Oct 27, Oct. 29 Week 11 Nov. 3, Nov. 5 Week 12 Nov. 10, Nov. 12 The 12th is the last day to withdraw from a class Chapter 4 continued Developing a Self-Discipline Believing in Yourself- Develop Self- Confidence Chapter 5 Employing Interdependence Creating a Support System Chapter 5 continued Strengthening Relationships with Active Listening Respecting Cultural Differences Chapter 5 continued Believing in Yourself- Be Assertive Chapter 6 Gaining Self-Awareness Recognizing When You Are Off Course Identifying Your Scripts Chapter 6 continued Rewriting your Outdated Scripts Believing in Yourself-Write Your Own Rules Chapter 7 Adopting Lifelong Learning Developing a Learning Orientation to Life Discovering Your preferred Ways of Learning Employing Critical thinking Chapter 7 continued Believing in Yourself- Develop Selfrespect Chapter 8 Developing Emotional Intelligence Understanding Emotional Intelligence Chapter 8 continued Journals 15, 16 Quiz Chapter 4 Journal 17 Read Chapter 5 Journals 18, 19 Finish Chapter 5 Journal 20 Quiz Chapter 5 Begin reading Chapter 6 Journals 21, 22 Journals 23, 24 Quiz Chapter 6 Begin reading Chapter 7 Journals 25, 26, 27 Finish Chapter 7, Begin reading Chapter 8 Quiz Chapter 7 Journals 28, 29 Finish Chapter 8 Week 13 Nov. 17, Nov.19 Reducing Stress, Creating Flow Journals 30, 31 Begin reading Chapter 9 Chapter 8 continued, Chapter 9 Believing in Yourself- Develop Self-Love Week 14 Chapter 9 Staying on Course to Your Nov 24th only Success Journals 32, 33 Week 15 Dec. 1, Dec. 3 Finish Chapter 9 Quiz chapter 9
Week 16 Dec. 8, Dec. 10 Dec. 15 Last meeting SLS of class Work on final draft of self reflection essay, submit by December 10 Reflections of the semester, accomplishments, challenges, plans for the next semester Complete self assessment again STUDENT EVALUATION AND COURSE POLICIES STUDENT GRADE DETERMINATION FKCC GRADING SCALE 310 Participation in class, completing assigned work in class 330 Success Journals-33 journals total 90% or above 747 to 830 160 Quizzes-8 quizzes total 80%-89% 664 to 739 10 College and/or community participation 70%-79% 581 to 656 20 Final Reflection essay 60%-69% 498 to 572.79 A B C D Possible Points: 830 Go for 830 points! Below 60% Below 498 F Quiz Policy Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class or on D2L. Quizzes will evaluate your knowledge of assigned chapters. All quizzes are closed books, closed notes. Makeup quizzes may be offered to students with emergencies, but only if they can provide acceptable documentation of the emergency (e.g., hospital admits slip, etc.). The instructor reserves the right to change the format of any makeup quizzes (e.g., to essay questions). If DISCUSSION FORUMS ARE USED: Most weeks under the discussion tab, there will be a question to which the students are to post a response during the week. The student must click on the respond button immediately after the question. The student is to make appropriate comments; for maximum credit the student is to respond to at least one other student s response that week. The student should also check to see who has responded to their comments and respond to this person if it is appropriate to do so. These responses are also to be thought revealing they are more than I agree or I disagree. The student is expected to provide quality insight citing and documenting references, in order to demonstrate an understanding of the weekly topic and provide original thought in the posts. Cutting and pasting from the text, websites, or providing a response with limited substance will receive a significantly reduced grade. As with all activities in this class, quality counts and the postings need to add value to the discussion. Occasionally, time-sensitive announcements will be posted in the Announcements section. The student should log on to D2L 3-4 times each week to check for time-sensitive messages. Before the student posts a question, look through the Discussion Board. That same question may have already been asked and answered.
EMAIL: The email utility within D2L should not be used for personal items that are not appropriate to share with the entire class. This e-mail uses the student s FKCC e-mail account. Use your FKCC student e-mail to communicate with the professor. D2L e-mail is not delivered to the instructor. What can the student expect from your instructor? The instructor will log into D2L and check for messages at least once per day, including weekends and holidays. If the student has an urgent message for the instructor, do not post the same message both on a Discussion Forum and in an email. Doing both will waste the students time and will not result in the instructor getting the message any faster. If the instructor expects to be out of contact for more than a couple of days, he/she will inform the class via the class home page. Important Note: If the instructor has not responded to a student email or voicemail message by the end of the day after the student left the message, the student should assume that the instructor did not receive it and leave another message. Logging Off From D2L In order to better serve our faculty and students, all D2L users should click the Logout link when completing online course work. By logging off instead of just closing the internet browser window, D2L server space is freed and system performance is optimized. Copyright Notice The materials and content provided in this course is intended only for registered Florida Keys Community College students who have paid their tuition and fees to attend this course. Materials that are affected include, but are not limited to, text, still images, audio recordings, video recordings, simulations, animations, diagrams, charts, and graphs. Every effort has been made to insure these materials are not disseminated to anyone beyond those who have legally registered for this course. Download, revision, or distribution of course material with anyone other than registered classmates and the instructor is strictly prohibited. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with FKCC Policies These can be found in the current Student Handbook. Class Contract The Class Contract assignment is my method of ensuring you know what you should expect from me, and what I expect from you. By returning the Class Contract to me, you are acknowledging that you: a. Understand the policies detailed in this Syllabus. b. Understand the expectations and due dates listed in the Course Calendar and Assessment Measures. c. Understand that you will be held accountable to the standards published in this document. d. The Class Contract must be submitted via the drop-box by the date published in the Course Calendar and Assessment Measures. By signing my name I acknowledge the above. Print Name: Date: Signature:
Reading Assignments and Homework Your success in this course is dependent on your attendance in class, participation and completion of reading assignments and journals. Be sure to complete all assignments each week as it will be difficult to catch up and remain current with course requirements. Attendance There will be at least one assignment in this course that is due every week of the semester, unless the College is officially closed for the entire week. These may include discussion forum posts for class participation, exams and quizzes, homework, projects, or a combination of these. I will take attendance each week based on your submission of the assignments that are due that week, so it is important that you submit every assignment on time. If you submit all of the week s assignments late, you will be marked as absent from class for that week. If at least one assignment is submitted on time each week, you will be marked as present. Students who do not regularly participate in class by submitting the assignments that are due each week are considered absent from the class. An instructor may withdraw a student from courses for excessive absences and/or non-attendance up to the 70% point in the semester. Class Participation Class participation is a combination of live class activities/discussions. Copying and pasting from any source, even if you cite the source, is not acceptable. You should study the source document and paraphrase what you learned when typing a message. Academic Honesty & Plagiarism Students are expected to respect and uphold the standards of honesty in submitting written work to instructors. Though occurring in many forms, plagiarism in essence involves the presentation of another person s work as if it were the work of the presenter. Any cheating or plagiarism will result in disciplinary action to be determined by the instructor based on the severity and nature of the offense. It is the student s responsibility to review the College s policy on Academic Honesty. Special Needs If you have any special needs or requirements pertaining to this course, please discuss them with the instructor early in the term. If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and need assistance, please notify the Office for Students with Disabilities at 305-809-3269 or via email at: suzy.park@fkcc.edu or through the course instructor immediately. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate your special needs. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with FKCC Policies, which can be found in the current Student Handbook on www.fkcc.edu