Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | HUM-2010-VO09 - Seminar in Educational Inquiry

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Arik Mortenson
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Collin Lee

General Education Requirements

CCV Seminar in Education Inquiry

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

Inquiry is the foundation for this interdisciplinary capstone course. It provides a forum for critical thinking about substantive issues, problems, and themes that affect the world, our society, our communities, and our selves. Throughout the semester, students will be challenged to ask critical questions, evaluate evidence, create connections, and present ideas in discussions and writing. This process prepares students for developing and presenting a culminating portfolio through which they demonstrate proficiency in the graduation standards of writing and information literacy, as well as make connections to prior learning. Because the final portfolio is essential in demonstrating these proficiencies, students must complete the portfolio with a grade of C- or better in order to pass the course. This course is required for students planning to graduate and should be taken within the year prior to graduation once all competency area requirements have been satisfied. Prerequisite: English Composition and a Research & Writing Intensive course or equivalent skills.

Essential Objectives

1. Explain how questions are framed and knowledge is gained in various disciplines, such as the sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
2. Investigate the philosophical and ethical questions arising from issues pertaining to identity, community, knowledge, truth, change, and responsibility.
3. Demonstrate advanced skills of reading, writing, and critical thinking in both group and individual work.
4. Locate, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate scholarly and professional sources, including primary and secondary evidence as needed, to address an academic research question.
5. Complete a culminating portfolio that includes:
a. A research paper with an arguable thesis that integrates five or more scholarly and professional sources to address an academic research question and demonstrates proficiency in the graduation standards of writing and information literacy according to the SEI research paper rubric.
b. A reflective essay that articulates how the student’s educational experience has influenced their understanding of themselves and the world.
c. A presentation related to the content of the paper.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Methods

Course Requirements:

This primary focus of this course will be to support students in the development of the SEI Portfolio. The SEI Final Portfolio refers to the semester-long process students undertake in developing their final research topic, presentation, and reflection on learning.

Students will complete weekly discussions that aim to develop their skills in inquiry through the exploration of topics from a variety of disciplines. Other assignments will be described below. The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus as needed, with advanced notice to students, in order to better achieve course goals.

Course Structure:

Each week, the course will be focused on a theme that will guide our inquiry. You will be asked to read articles or chapters and watch videos that will provide you with a basis for the weekly inquiry. Your task will be to focus on developing questions that will guide your inquiry for the week as part of your initial discussion post. These questions will be based on something that interested you in the week’s reading or video(s). You will then develop a response to a question of your choosing in your short response paper.

This inquiry practice will serve as a tool to help you with the development of your final portfolio, guiding the development of your research project, presentation, and final reflection. You will have opportunities to receive feedback on components of these assignments throughout the course as you develop your work.

Assignments:

The Portfolio: The primary assignment for this class is the portfolio which consists of a student reflection, a research paper, and a presentation. The portfolio will be developed in a semester-long process focused on independent reflection, topic development, research, editing, and the presentation of results. Students must score a C- (70%) in order to pass the class.

Weekly discussions: Each week, all students will participate in class-wide discussions that are based on the week’s reading and/or assigned videos. Students must post an initial post in each discussion by Thursday of each week. Students must also respond to at least two classmates in each strand. Initial responses should be substantial, referencing the reading material for the week. Discussions are the only assignments, other than the final submission, that cannot be made up in the event of an absence.

Short Writing Assignments: During several weeks of the term, students will submit short response papers in response to the weekly theme.

There will be interim components of the portfolio that will need to be completed such as an annotated bibliography and the submission of drafts. These submissions will be scored - and will be included as a component the Short Writing Assignments score.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluations:

• Weekly Discussions and Participation: 30%

• Short Writing Assignments and Interim Portfolio Pieces: 20%

• Final Portfolio: 50%

• The research paper will be worth 60% of the portfolio grade

• The reflection will be worth 30% of the portfolio grade

• The presentation will be with 10% of the portfolio grade

Academic Honesty:

Your work must be your own. Plagiarism may result in a failing assignment or course grade depending on the severity of the offense. Consult the College’s Policy on Academic Honesty for more information.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Attendance Policy:

Attendance is required for all classes. Not participating for three weeks for the term may result in failing the course. Any absences will affect a student’s participation grade in the course. If you are struggling with keeping up with the class, please reach out to me to develop a plan.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity