St. Johns River Community College Course Syllabus

SLS 1101 College Success Skills (3 credit hours)

Palatka Campus

Fall 2007

Instructor: Victoria L. Basnett, M.Ed.

Phone: (904) 522-1255 E-mail: victoriabasnett@sjrcc.edu

Class Dates/Time: Monday and Wednesday 9:25 am – 10:40 am Section 10573 Room B054

Monday and Wednesday 12:15 pm – 1:30 pm Section 10572 Room B055

Office Hours: Personal help from the instructor is available. Please ask! I will be available 30 minutes prior to each class. You are encouraged to make an appointment.

Text: Becoming a Master Student, 11^th ed.; Ellis Houghton-Mifflin; ISBN: 0-618-49326-3

Course Description: A course designed to teach students the behaviors consistent with success in academic settings. Opportunity is provided via lecture, individual and group activities, and test for learning and practicing effective ways of coping with the demands of college life. Topics include note and test-taking strategies, active listening skills, reading strategies, mnemonics, proper management of time and money, goal setting, awareness of resources, and positive attitude development. This course may not be used for social science credit.

Expectations:

· To experience and enjoy the benefits of this course, you will need to invest time and effort.

· Class attendance and participation are MANDATORY. If you cannot attend a class, due to mitigating circumstances, please let me know. You can’t receive participation points if you are not in class! Please refer to the college catalog for the attendance policy. I will enforce this policy!

· It is expected that you will arrive on time and stay until class is over.

· Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date stated. Ten points will be deducted each day from any late assignment; after one week no credit will be given for the assignment.

· All “Formal” assignments must be typed. If you do not have access to a computer at home, you can use the computer lab to type your assignments. If extraordinary circumstances (e.g., physical disability) prevent you from typing your assignments, please let me know ahead of time.

· Syllabus may be adjusted as needed by the instructor.

· You have until November 2, 2007 to withdraw from this course with a grade of “W”. You are responsible for initiating the withdrawal process.

· I hope that this class will be an enjoyable experience for all of my students. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are having difficulty with the above expectations. I will be happy to assist you!

Academic Integrity

Students in this class must know, observe, and not compromise the principles of academic integrity. It is not permissible to cheat, to fabricate or falsify information, to submit the same academic work in more than one course without prior permission, to plagiarize, to receive unfair advantage, or to otherwise abuse accepted practices for handling and documenting information. The grade for this course includes the judgment that the student’s work is free from academic dishonesty of any type. Violations or infractions will be reported to the Vice President for Student Affairs and may lead to failure of the course and other sanctions imposed by the college.

Absences:

As stated in the student handbook, you may receive an instructor warning when you have missed the equivalent of three 50-minute class periods regardless of the reason and may be withdrawn from the course by the instructor after the fourth 50-minute absence. It is the students’ responsibility to withdraw from class. Do not assume that the instructor will withdraw you. Do not stop coming to class without withdrawing officially – protect your GPA. Withdrawal forms are available from the Records Office on the Palatka Campus and from the Administration area of other campuses.

Criteria for Evaluation:

Attendance 150 possible points (5 points per class)

Participation 150 possible points (5 points per class)

Journal Entries 65 possible points (13 entries)

Quizzes 130 possible points (13 total)

Midterm Exam 55 possible points

Final Exam 55 possible points

Special Projects 295 possible points (6 total)

Class Experience Report

and Presentation 100 possible points

Total Possible Points: 1000

Grading:

A: 900-1000

B: 800-899

C: 700-799

D: 600-699

F: 599 and below

Description of Evaluation Criteria:

Attendance (150 points):

It is imperative that you attend class! Each class is worth 5 points. If you leave class early, you will not receive your attendance points for that session.

Participation (150 points):

We will be doing many activities in class. To benefit from these activities you must participate. Students who participate fully will receive 5 points each class. Tardiness will result in points being taken from this area.

Journal Entries (65 points):

You will be required to maintain a journal for this class. Your journal must be a separate folder or notebook that can be turned in to the instructor when requested. Refer to your Journal Assignment sheet for specific requirements. Each entry is worth 5 points.

Quizzes (130 points):

We will end each class with a quiz that will be taken from the assigned reading in the text, Becoming a Master Student. If you are arrive late, leave early or miss a class, you will not be allowed to make up the quiz.

Mid- Exam (55 points) Final Exam (55 points)

The mid-term exam will cover the Introduction and Chapters 1-6 in the text. The final will cover Chapters 7 -12 in the text. Both exams will consist of multiple choice, true-false, and essay questions. We will have a review session for each exam during class.

Special Projects (295 points):

Discovery Wheel & JE 4: (10 points) Due August 27

Learning Style Inventory & JE 5: (10 points) Due August 29

Time Management: (100 points) Due September 19

Resource Project: (75 points) Due October 29

Library Project: (25 points) Due November 21

Career Project: (75 points) Due December 3

Class Experience Report and Presentation (100 points):

The project requirements will be due on December 10, 2007. This paper will need to be typed to receive credit. Students will be required to give a brief (five minute) presentation to the class.

SLS 1101 College Success Skills

Course Outline

Palatka Campus

Fall 2007

Date	Class Content	Homework
August 20	Welcome to College Success!	Read Introduction JE 1
August 22	Discuss Introduction	Study for Quiz 1 Read Ch. 1 JE 3 Complete the “Discovery Wheel” (includes JE 4)
August 27	Quiz 1 Discuss Ch. 1 First Steps Discovery Wheel Due	Complete the “Learning Styles Inventory” (includes JE5)
August 29	Learning Styles Inventory Due	Study for Quiz 2 Read Ch. 2 JE 6
September 3	Labor Day – No Class
September 5	Quiz 2 Discuss Ch. 2 Planning	Begin Time Mgt Project
September 10	Goal Setting	Study for Quiz 3 Read Ch. 3 JE 8 Cont. Time Mgt Project
September 12	Quiz 3 Discuss Ch. 3 Memory	Cont. Time Mgt Project
September 17	Memory Techniques	Study for Quiz 4 Read Ch. 4 JE 10 Cont. Time Mgt Project
September 19	Quiz 4 Discuss Ch. 4 Reading Time Mgt Project Due
September 24	Reading Techniques	Study for Quiz 5 Read Ch. 5 JE 12
September 26	Quiz 5 Discuss Ch. 5 Notes
October 1	Note-taking Strategies	Study for Quiz 6 Read Ch. 6 JE 15
October 3	Quiz 6 Discuss Ch. 6 Tests
October 8	Test taking exercise	Study for Quiz 7/Review
October 10	Quiz 7 In-class review	Study for mid-term exam
October 15	Midterm Exam Guest Speaker Assign Resource Project	Read Ch. 7 JE 20 Work on Resource Project
October 17	Discuss Ch. 7 Thinking	Work on Resource Project
October 22	Critical Thinking Activity	Study for Quiz 8 Read Ch. 8 JE 22 Work on Resource Project
October 24	Quiz 8 Discuss Ch. 8 Communication	Work on Resource Project
October 29	Resource Project Due Communication Exercise	Read Ch. 9 JE 25
October 31	Discuss Ch. 9 Diversity	Study Quiz 9
November 5	Quiz 9 Diversity Activity	Read Ch. 10 JE 28
November 7	Discuss Ch. 10 Technology	Study Quiz 10
November 12	Veteran’s Day – No Class
November 14	Quiz 10 Guest Speaker Assign Library Project	Work on Library Project Read Ch. 11 JE 29
November 19	Discuss Ch. 11 Health	Work on Library Project Study Quiz 11
November 21	Library Project Due Quiz 11 Guest Speaker
November 26	Guest Speaker Assign Career Project	Work Career Project Read Ch. 12 JE 34
November 28	Discuss Ch. 12 What’s Next	Work on Career Project
December 3	Career Project Due Assign Class Experience Report Review for Final Exam	Study Quiz 12 Work on Class Experience Report Study for Final Exam
December 5	Quiz 12 Final Exam	Work on Class Experience Report
December 10	Class Exp. Report Due Presentations	Good luck next semester!

SLS 1101 College Success Skills

Journal Entry Sheet

Palatka Campus

Fall 2007

Please respond to the following questions from your textbook. Each entry is worth 5 points. Your journal should be a notebook or folder that is separate from your notes and course syllabus. I will be collecting these journals at the beginning of the class meeting which they are due.

Chapter	Assignment	Journal Entry should be completed prior to class on:
Introduction	Journal Entry #1	August 22
Chapter 1	Journal Entry #3	August 27
Chapter 2	Journal Entry #6	September 5
Chapter 3	Journal Entry #8	September 12
Chapter 4	Journal Entry #10	September 19
Chapter 5	Journal Entry #12	September 26
Chapter 6	Journal Entry #15	October 3
Chapter 7	Journal Entry #20	October 17
Chapter 8	Journal Entry #22	October 24
Chapter 9	Journal Entry #25	October 31
Chapter 10	Journal Entry #28	November 7
Chapter 11	Journal Entry #29	November 19
Chapter 12	Journal Entry #34	November 28