Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | HUM-2010-VM01 - Seminar in Educational Inquiry

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Donald De Voil
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jennifer Gundy

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

A variety of teaching methods will be used in this course including class discussion, small group work, interactive lecturers, as well as student research, writing and presentation. As a seminar based course, particular emphasis will be places on student led inquiry and group discussion.

Evaluation Criteria

Course grades will be calculated as follows:

• 20% Participation - This grade will be generated from attendance and the completion of regular homework assignments.

• 20% Group Work - Two group assignments, each worth 10% of the final course grade. See group work guidelines for further details.

• 60% Portfolio - Consists of three components: a reflection paper (15%), thesis research paper (30%) and thesis presentation (15%). See guidelines for each individual portfolio assignment for further details.

Please Note: Since the portfolio produced in this capstone degree course is used to demonstrate proficiency in graduation standards, students must obtain a minimum portfolio grade of at least C-, in order to pass the course.

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

Participation grade: A student who attends every class, participates in every class and completes all homework assignments, will receive 100% for their participation grade. When a student misses a class, they will lose 5% on their participation grade. They will lose another 5% if they are unable to complete homework that was due the missed week of class. A pattern of late arrival or early departure from class, may constitute an absence for attendance grading purposes, at the instructor's discretion.

AI Policy: CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many writing and creative applications. Generative AI is used around the world for writing, images, animated videos, and realistic video creation. For example, Grammarly, ChatGPT, auto-complete, Jasper, and online translators are common online AI writing tools and content generators.

All written work submitted in this course should be in a student’s ‘own voice’, using their own words, other than in instances where specific quotation from outside sources is being used and is clearly indicated as such by citation. For this reason,the use of generative AI is not allowed in this course,with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Late Work: Evaluated course work that is handed in late may still be accepted, but will be marked down unless special circumstances result in a student being unable to complete work on time. Late work will be accessed an initial 5% penalty, which will increase by a further 1% for each subsequent day that the assignment is overdue. This late penalty will be capped at a 25%.

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