Second Semester (S108)
SYLLABUS
IDS 100-U1 Foundations Seminar
(Traditional First-Time Freshmen Only)
Instructor: Michael R. Klabunde, Ph.D. Classroom: CL 113 Time: MWF 9:00-9:50
Office: ADM 25 Phone/Voicemail: 513-244-4241 Fax: 513-244-4211
Email: michael_klabunde@mail.msj.edu Office Hours: MWF 10:00-11:00, TR 10:00-11:30, or by appointment
Peer Leaders: Ms. Eucabeth Mose Office: AEP Lounge Appointment Hours: TR Email: eucabeth_mose@mail.msj.edu
Mr. Alex Shields AEP Lounge MWF alex_shields@mail.msj.edu
MSJ Undergraduate Learning Outcomes and Performance Indicators (LO/PIs):
The purpose of the undergraduate Core Curriculum at the Mount is to provide you with a broad range of learning experiences while on campus in addition to studies specific to your academic major, the point being to create in you a habit of mind conducive to a lifetime of informed learning in a diverse society. IDS 100 Foundations Seminar is the first step in that process. By the time you graduate, you will have completed a variety of studies allowing you to demonstrate your learning in all the areas below. These areas also correspond to the categories in your e-portfolio into which you will put examples of your work.
Communication
Write and speak effectively
- Speak using language appropriate to the audience
- Write using language appropriate to the audience
- Document sources properly
- Construct a message that is relevant to its purpose
Critical Thinking
Develop an appropriate response to a problem or question
- Describe the ambiguous nature of an issue
- Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information
- Utilize data to evaluate a problem or question
- Support a position with appropriate evidence
Sociocultural
Relationships
Understand the nature of human cultures
- Describe the influence of cultural diversity within a society
- Identify bias within a culture
- Explain how religious values influence a society
- Describe causes of cultural change
Ethics
Understand ethical responsibility from the perspective of duty, consequences, or virtue
- Define your personal ethical responsibilities
- Describe your professional ethical responsibilities
- Explain how Catholic teaching emphasizes social justice and social responsibility
- Illustrate how values inform your ethical decisions
Interdisciplinarity
Solve a problem by integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines
- State the views of multiple disciplines on an issue
- Compare views from multiple disciplines
- Create a solution to a problem by integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines
Citizenship
Recognize your responsibility to the community and the world
- Define your responsibilities as a citizen of the local community
- Define your responsibilities as a citizen of the global community
- Describe the relationship between community and world issues
- Evaluate your own involvement as a citizen
IDS 100 Course Objectives – with their connection to MSJ undergraduate LOPIs:
What does social responsibility mean, and how does an educated person act in a socially responsible manner?
In this course, we will begin seeking answers to this complex question by looking at the diversity of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the college level. We will discuss how these disciplines vary in their viewpoints on the world and their approaches to this and other problems, with special attention given to the value of interdisciplinarity when confronting such issues.
We will also devote our attention to the nature of college-level study. In particular, we will include the college’s expectations for good writing and appropriate referencing, strategies for successful collaborative learning, evaluation and effective use of electronic and print media, and services available on campus to aid you in your studies.
We will focus our effort in such a way so that when you finish this course:
- You can demonstrate how current issues have a direct relationship on you, other people, and the environment. (LOPI Citizenship 3)
- You can describe your ethical or moral responsibilities related to these current issues. (LOPI Ethics 2)
- You can identify your concerns and dilemmas when making a decision about these ethical or moral responsibilities. (LOPI Interdisciplinarity 1)
- You can demonstrate how your viewpoints and those of others are influenced by social, cultural, religious and spiritual experiences. (LOPIs Sociocultural Relationships 1, 2, 3)
- You can adapt your communication skills to a specific audience, and responsibly use standard college-level written, oral and visual conventions to do so. (LOPIs Communication 1, 2, 3)
- You can distinguish among categories of information and support your thinking with appropriate evidence. (LOPIs Critical Thinking 2, 4)
Textbooks:
1. Beah,
2. Macdonald, C., Matters of Consequence: Creating a Meaningful Life and a World That Works, Big Ideas Press 2004
In addition to the above texts, there will other short readings—both on-line and hardcopy—throughout the duration of the course which will be supplied by the instructor. You should regard your laptop as a resource, too, and always bring it with you to class unless told otherwise by your instructor.
Class Journal:
You will keep a written journal for this course on WebCT
using the Private Mail, or “p-mail,” function so that you can record your
thoughts about our class meetings and the topics discussed in them as they
happen. Since the very word “journal”
implies daily writing, each entry will be due by
Grading System/Course Format:
Your grade will be determined according to the following criteria:
35% Homework (summer pre-assignment, reading/writing assignments, journal, etc.)
10% Quizzes and Tests (number and frequency according to class need)
35% Class Discussion (presentation, group/pair work, full class, etc.)
20% Attendance (see below)
100% Total
As you can see, there is no one class format which will predominate during our meetings. Sometimes a traditional lecture format will be used; sometimes it will be a class or group discussion; sometimes we will do a video presentation or even a short trip outside the classroom or off campus. Most of the time, you can probably expect some combination of all these. But a lot of the time, you and your classmates will actually be the ones leading the class, and that means coming prepared to class and being actively engaged in all class matters. Now you see why attendance is so important!
If you need special accommodation due to a documented learning disability or physical impairment, please see the instructor.
Grading Scale:
90% A
80% B
70% C
60% D
Below F
Written assignments are expected to be college level and formal with respect to spelling/grammar/punctuation and organization/support/content, and printed in standard 12-point font with 1.25-inch margins if in hardcopy. Late assignments will not be accepted. Any regular or extra work to be made up due to absence, or availability of extra credit, will be at the discretion of the instructor.
Be on the lookout for course assignments to be put into your e-portfolio. Your instructor will ask you to choose at least one from this course to place in your portfolio, and is willing to discuss other potential portfolio items with you.
Guide for Improving Writing
Focus
Purpose/audience
Effective: Paper stays focused on its purpose and
shows awareness of audience.
Adequate: Paper has firm purpose but may not affect audience as
planned.
Needs work: Only in a few places does the paper find its purpose
and audience.
Assignment
Effective: Paper demonstrates mastery of the assigned form of the
piece of writing (e.g., genre, length, use of appropriate sources).
Adequate: Paper demonstrates partial understanding of the
demands of the form of the assigned piece of writing.
Needs work: Only in a few instances does the paper meet the
requirements of the form of the assigned piece of writing.
Planning/invention/revision
Effective: Final paper shows strong evidence of planning in early stages of the
writing process (e.g., prewriting such as notes, lists, brainstorming, drafts)
and revision throughout.
Adequate: Final
paper shows some evidence of planning in early stages of the writing process
(e.g., prewriting such as notes, lists, brainstorming, drafts) and some
revision.
Needs work: Final
paper shows little or no evidence of planning in early stages of the writing
process (e.g., prewriting such as notes, lists, brainstorming, drafts) and no
revision.
Thesis
Effective: Student’s thesis takes a creative and critical stance
toward an arguable and supportable position.
Adequate: Student’s thesis is factual but is
limited in its potential for support.
Needs work: Student’s thesis is vague or not arguable.
Organization
and development
Development
Effective: Main points are clearly and fully developed. The piece includes
appropriate supporting details, such as
examples, illustrations, statistics, testimony. Paragraph length and
development are appropriate to the purpose of the writing.
Adequate: Main
points are clear but developed in a limited manner. Supporting details are
vague or weak. Some paragraphs are underdeveloped or padded.
Needs work: Main
points are underdeveloped, often a series of generalizations with few or
inappropriate supporting details. Paragraphs are frequently underdeveloped or
padded.
Internal logic/coherence
Effective: The order of and connection between ideas are clear to the reader.
Students structure paragraphs and sentences that are appropriate to the aim of
the writing and provide cues to the reader through transitions.
Adequate: The paper has an obvious structure, but connections
between ideas are not fully developed.
Needs work: There is no clear structure to the piece, and
connections between ideas are hard to follow.
Style/Voice
Clarity
Effective: Word choice reflects familiarity with the language of
the discipline. Writer chooses words for precise denotation and connotation.
Writer’s creative and
independent voice comes through within the context of the assignment.
Adequate: Writer
shows some familiarity with the language of the discipline. Word choices are
sometimes imprecise and inaccurate. Writer’s independent voice occasionally
surfaces.
Needs work: Writer
shows little or no familiarity with the language of the discipline. Word
choices are frequently imprecise or inaccurate. Tone and style are indistinct
from other pieces of writing.
Conciseness
Effective: Writer uses words and sentence constructions that
convey his/her message.
Adequate: Writer uses more words than needed to convey the
meaning. Sentence constructions are often repetitive and blur the writer’s
meaning.
Needs work: Writer
has little control over sentence variety. The writer doesn’t realize that he or
she is using unnecessary words; writer uses too many clichés and colloquialisms
for the particular occasion of writing.
Sentence structure
Effective: Writer arranges words effectively. Sentence structure is clear, and
varied in length and structure according to the writer’s purpose and emphasis.
Adequate: Writer
generally uses words precisely. The range of words is limited, and diction is
sometimes monotonous. Sentence structure is clear, but not varied in length and
structure according to the writer’s purpose and emphasis.
Needs work: Writer
often misuses or confuses words. Writer does not yet demonstrate a full
understanding of the basic grammar of the sentence.
Editing and proofreading
Spelling, punctuation, and
mechanics
Effective: The paper is mechanically correct except for minor
errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
Adequate: The paper shows some consistency in applying conventions
of spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
Needs work: The
paper includes frequent misspellings that could have been avoided by use of a
computer spell check, followed by the writer’s proofing. Frequent punctuation errors blur the writer’s
intent and meaning.
Attendance:
Because about 65% of your grade depends on your regular attendance and participation in discussions in class, it is absolutely necessary for you to be physically present and active. Therefore, every three absences from class (i.e., one week of class time) will lower your final grade by one letter. Being tardy two times will count as one absence.
Out of respect for your fellow students, all cell phones must remain off while class is in session except in case of emergency with prior notification of the instructor. Other than for specific in-class assignments designated by the instructor, laptops must remain off. At no time is instant messaging, texting, listening to ipods, etc. acceptable in class.
Academic Honesty:
Please refer to the relevant section on this subject in the current undergraduate catalog. Suffice it to say that you already know plagiarism, cheating, or dishonesty are all unacceptable in any class. If anything of the sort occurs in this class, the student(s) involved will be dealt with to the full extent of college policy. All assignments are subject to review by anti-plagiarism software.
Class Activities
and
Please regularly return to this section of the syllabus web page to check for updates on readings, assignments and class activities. Any or all of these items may change to reflect particular student interests and issues arising out of discussion in class. Any such changes will be posted in the timeliest manner possible.
Aug 27 Introduction and Discussion of Pre-Assignment
Due:
2-page pre-assignment paper
Aug 29 MSJ undergraduate Learning Outcomes and Performance Indicators:
Read: IDS 100 syllabus and MSJ Core Curriculum at: http://www.msj.edu/academics/courses/coursecat/undg0708/core/
Aug 31 Defining Social Responsibility
Sep 03 LABOR DAY
Sep 05 Meet at home of MSJ President S. Francis Marie Thrailkill
Sep 07 Ways of Knowing
Read: Macdonald pp. xx-xxxii
Sep 10 Putting Academic Honesty into Practice:
Read: MSJ Academic Honesty policy at http://www.msj.edu/academics/courses/coursecat/undg0708/acad_policies/responsibility/
Paul Jenkins – Copyright/Plagiarism Issues
and Policies
Sep 12 Karl Zuelke – Writing at the Mount
Sep 14 Macdonald # 1
Sep 17 Susan Brogden – Academic Support Services
Sep 19 Macdonald # 1
Sep 21 Tillie Bell – Campus Activities and
Leadership
Sep 24 Macdonald # 2
Sep 26 Macdonald # 3
Sep 28 Irene Richardson & Mary Mazuk – Owning
your Advising and Scheduling
Oct 01 Macdonald # 3
Oct 03 Ed Brown – Cultural Diversity Presentation
Oct 05 Macdonald
# 4
Oct 08 Macdonald # 4
Oct 10 Joe O’Neill – Classroom Technology Etiquette
Oct 12 MID-SEMESTER
Oct 15 Macdonald # 5
Oct 17 Linda Pruss RN – Healthy Life Choices (In preparation, please go to the Mount’s Health Services web page and complete/submit the Study Well health assessment survey: http://inside.msj.edu/campus/wellness/health/assessment/index.asp )
Oct 19 Macdonald # 5
Oct 22 Trisha Bacon – What to do with Liberal Arts & Sciences Degrees
Oct 24 Macdonald # 6
Oct 26 Macdonald # 6
Oct 29 Rick Sacksteder – Wellness, your Personality
Inventory, and Study/Learning Styles
Oct 30 AUTHOR ISHMAEL BEAH’S CAMPUS VISIT – 10:00 AM in COLLEGE THEATER
Oct 31 Macdonald # 7
Nov 02 Macdonald # 8
Nov 05 S. Judy Metz – Sisters of Charity Tradition
(Meet at Motherhouse gates just before class.)
Nov 07 Macdonald # 9
Nov 09 Macdonald # 10
Nov 12 Joe O’Neill – E-portfolio and
Nov 14 Macdonald # 10
Nov 16 S. Mary Bookser – Service Learning & Meditation Techniques
Nov 19 Macdonald # 11
Nov 21 THANKSGIVING RECESS
Nov 23 THANKSGIVING RECESS
Nov 26 Macdonald # 12
Nov 28 Jan Hirst – Cooperative Education
Nov 30 Macdonald # 13
Dec 03 Macdonald # 14
Dec 05 Macdonald # 14
Dec 07 Macdonald # 15
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 12 at 10:30 am
