Course Syllabus

Summer 2024 | HUM-2010-VO01 - Seminar in Educational Inquiry

Online Class

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

Faculty

Fern Fryer
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
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

Our course will focus on both group interaction and individual writing projects. We will use a variety of readings, short videos, and forum discussions to improve critical thinking and communication skills.

EVALUATION & GRADING CRITERIA

Discussion Forums 25%

Short writing assignments 20%

Rough draft 5%

Portfolio: 50%

Portfolio includes:

• Research Paper 100 pts
• Reflection on educational experience 50 pts
• Presentation of research 25 pts

Rhythm for the week:

Readings:

• The semester syllabus is posted in the Course Resources module to allow you to see the reading assignments for all the weeks and to plan accordingly based on your schedule. Thus, you may read ahead; however, the discussion forum for each set of readings will not become available until Tuesday at midnight.
• Video clips may also be assigned. If you do not have a reliable high-speed internet connection, please plan accordingly so you may watch the video some place else where you do have access.

Discussion:

• Weekly Discussion forum will open Tuesday at midnight. Post your initial response and pose a question by Saturday at 9 am. Respond to at least two other people by Monday at noon. A grading rubric is in the Course Resources module.
• Occasionally there will be small group forums where you need to collaborate to accomplish a task. Plan to get into forums early in the week for these small group activities.

Research Paper:

• Research Corner readings and instructions pertain to the research paper and will become available each Tuesday at midnight. It is essential that you read them. In addition, the due dates for the stages of the research paper are posted on the syllabus.

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

Weekly Workload & Expectations

You will need to set aside approximately 6-9 hours each week to complete the work in this course. Each week, you will be expected to:

• • read a selection of articles
  • watch TED Talks/videos (not every week)
  • participate in Discussion Forums by:
    • answering discussion questions with well-considered ideas supported with evidence from the readings/videos
    • asking a thought-provoking question (not every week)
    • responding to classmates
  • write short essays and paragraphs
  • complete activities in the Research Corner; these will be steps in writing a research paper on a topic of your choice
  • proofread your work

You will need regular access to a laptop or desktop computer with an Internet connection to optimally access the materials since there is no required textbook.

Missing & Late Work Policy

IMPORTANT COURSE POLICIES FOR ALL STUDENTS

1. All students must complete the final research paper and document all sources used- whether directly quoted or paraphrased. Any information that is not common knowledge must be cited in the body and on the reference or works cited page. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the final project and course. It is assumed all students have adequate familiarity with the VSCS Libraries system, standard college research methods, and the MLA/APA documentation process.

2. All students need to submit the steps for the final project as outlined on the handout.

3. This course is one that can attest to a student’s skill as an exiting sophomore- a student who has shown the academic skills required at this level. Your performance in this class will demonstrate your ability to comprehend and critically review and discuss various types of writing across the curriculum. It is assumed that all students have adequate college-level reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. That means being able to handle 60-100 pages of reading a week; to write original essays, summaries, and responses that are organized, grammatically correct, and thoughtful; to participate in open discussions and express ideas in a clear and considerate manner; to listen to others’ ideas and opinions with an open mind and respectful attitude.

Late Work Policy

Discussion Forum original posts must be completed by Saturday 9 am each week and comments, questions or responses must be completed by Monday at noon to get full credit. Initial posts made after Saturday 9 am will be accepted with the loss of 2 points for lateness. No credit is given for any posts made after Monday of any given week.

Other work will be accepted up to one week after the due date; after that it becomes a 0. If you know that you will be unable to complete modules in any given week, contact me as soon as possible (evelyn.fryer@ccv.edu) so that I can either give you early access to the modules or grant you an extension to avoid a penalty in grading.

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