St. Johns River Community College Course Syllabus

SLS 1101 College Success Skills (3 credit hours)

St. Augustine Campus

Fall 2007

 

Instructor:  Victoria L. Basnett, M.Ed.

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

Class Dates/Time:                  Tuesday 6:00 – 8:45 pm  Section:   10546                             Room:   C112

Office Hours:  I will be available in the classroom 30 minutes prior to class.

 

Text:  Becoming a Master Student, 11th 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                             160 possible points (10 points per class)

Participation                            160 possible points (10 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                       275 possible points (6 total)

Class Experience Report         100 possible points

  and Presentation

 

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 (160 points):

 

It is imperative that you attend class!  Each class is worth 10 points.  If you leave class early, you will not receive your attendance points for that session.

 

Participation (160 points):

 

We will be doing many activities in class.  To benefit from these activities you must participate.  Students who participate fully will receive 10 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 begin each class with a quiz that will be taken from the assigned reading in the test Becoming a Master Student.  If you are late to class or miss a class, you will not be allowed to make up the quiz. 

 

Midterm 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 (275 points):

 

Discovery Wheel and JE 4:  (5 points) Due August 28

Learning Style Inventory and JE 5:  (5 points) Due August 28

Time Management:  (100 points) Due September 18

Resource Project:  (70 points) Due October 23

Library Project:  (25 points) Due November 20

Career Project:  (70 points) Due November 27

 

Class Experience Project and Presentation (100 points):

 

The project requirements will be due on December 4, 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

St. Augustine Campus

Fall 2007

 

Date

Class Content

Homework

August 21

Welcome to College Success!

Discuss Intro

JE 1

Read Introduction  

Read Ch. 1

JE 3

Complete the “Discovery Wheel” (includes JE 4)

Complete the “Learning Styles Inventory” (includes JE5)

August 28

Quiz 1

Discuss Ch. 1 First Steps

Discovery Wheel Due

Learning Styles Inventory Due

Read Ch. 2

JE 6

September 4

Quiz 2

Discuss Ch. 2 Planning

Assign Time Mgt Project

Goal Setting

Begin Time Mgt Project

Read Ch. 3

JE 8

 

September 11

 

Quiz 3

Discuss Ch. 3 Memory

Memory Techniques

Cont. Time Mgt Project

Read Ch. 4

JE 10

September 18

 

Quiz 4

Discuss Ch. 4 Reading

Time Mgt Project Due

Reading Techniques

Read Ch. 5

JE 12

 

September 25

 

Quiz 5

Discuss Ch. 5 Notes

Note-taking Strategies

Read Ch. 6

JE 15

October 2

 

Quiz 6

Discuss Ch. 6 Tests

Test taking exercise

Review Intro and Chapters 1-6

Study for mid-term exam

October 9

 

Quiz 7

In-class review for mid-term

Guest Speaker

Assign Resource Project

Study for mid-term exam

Read Ch. 7

JE 20

Work on Resource Project

October 16

 

Midterm Exam

Discuss Ch. 7 Thinking

Critical Thinking Activity

Read Ch. 8

JE 22

October 23

 

Quiz 8

Discuss Ch. 8 Communication

Resource Project Due

Communication Exercise

Read Ch. 9

JE 25

October 30

 

Quiz 9

Discuss Ch. 9 Diversity

Read Ch. 10

JE 28

November 6

 

Quiz 10

Discuss Ch. 10 Technology

Guest Speaker

Assign Library Project

Read Ch. 11

JE 29

Work on Library Project

November 13

 

Quiz 11

Discuss Ch. 11 Health

Guest Speaker

Library Project Due

Assign Career Project

Read Ch. 12

JE 34

Work on Career Project

November 20

 

Quiz 12

Discuss Ch. 12 What’s Next

Assign Class Experience Report

Work on Career Project

Work on Class Experience Report

November 27

 

Quiz 13

Career Project Due

In-class Review for Final Exam

Work on Class Experience Report

Review for Final Exam

December 4

Final Exam

Class Experience Report Due

Presentations

Good luck next semester!

 

 

SLS 1101 College Success Skills

Journal Entry Sheet

St. Augustine 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

Complete in class

Chapter 1

Journal Entry #3

8/28

Chapter 2

Journal Entry #6

9/4

Chapter 3

Journal Entry #8

9/11

Chapter 4

Journal Entry #10

9/18

Chapter 5

Journal Entry #12

9/25

Chapter 6

Journal Entry #15

10/2

Chapter 7

Journal Entry #20

10/16

Chapter 8

Journal Entry #22

10/25

Chapter 9

Journal Entry #25

10/30

Chapter 10

Journal Entry #28

11/6

Chapter 11

Journal Entry #29

11/13

Chapter 12

Journal Entry #34

11/20