Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | HUM-2010-VO05 - Seminar in Educational Inquiry

Online Class

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

Faculty

Janice Mitchell-Love
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 uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Fall 2024 textbook details will be available on 2024-05-20. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

HUM-2010-VO05 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

The primary focus of this class is the development of the SEI Portfolio. The portfolio is the product of the semester-long work students engage in to produce the following three items: an argumentative research paper consisting of a minimum of six pages, an online presentation of some topic related to that paper, and a student reflection essay. Students must earn a C- (70) on all portfolio components in order to earn a passing grade for SEI.

There will be weekly discussion forums with different post types. Some posts will relate to the individual writing projects; other posts will be whole-class and small group discussions of readings.

Because much of the student work will be individual and self-directed, there will be required weekly online check-ins with the instructor. These will give the student the opportunity to pose any questions that have arisen or just to touch base with the instructor.

Evaluation Criteria

The SEI final grade will come from the following activities: participation in weekly discussion forums; several short writings; a series of research tasks (assignments that are direct preparation for the Semester Research Paper); a six-page (minimum) researched argument titled the Semester Research Paper; an online presentation on some aspect of the Semester Research Paper; and a Portfolio Reflection Essay.

The weighting of the semester's final grade will be as follows:

10% Short Writings

5% Research Tasks (10)

25% Discussion Forums

Plus the Following Final Portfolio Components:

40% Semester Research Paper (must earn a minimum final grade of C- or higher)

10% Portfolio Reflection Essay (must earn a minimum final grade of C- or higher)

10% Online Presentation (must earn a minimum final grade of C- or higher)

Grading for Discussion Board

A = Outstanding Quality: Postings demonstrate a solid understanding of the concepts, topics and ideas as evidenced by thoughtful responses and questions that show a clear connection with and/or are integrated with the course material at hand. Postings show depth and include many supporting details. A posting of outstanding quality might demonstrate, for example, a critical analysis of an existing posted idea or introduce a different interpretation to an existing concept or idea. When discussing literature, quotes from the reading, when appropriate, are included. Outstanding postings demonstrate the following characteristics: they are thoroughly developed; they are completely free of major grammatical or mechanical errors; they demonstrate a reasonable attempt to be free of minor grammatical or mechanical errors; they are well argued with many supportive examples and illustrations from readings and discussion; and they show strong evidence of original thinking. In outstanding postings, the tone is clear and respectful Postings are submitted on-time and are distributed throughout the week. All directions, such as required number of sentences per post, are followed. (Note: underlining is simply to emphasize points often overlooked by past students.)

B = Good quality: Postings demonstrate an adequate understanding of the concepts, topics, and ideas as evidenced by posting more general statements in the forum. A good quality posting might, for example, indicate agreement or disagreement with an existing discussion including a limited explanation or justification but would not offer depth of critical analysis or a different interpretation to an existing concept or idea as an outstanding post might. When discussing literature, quotes from the reading, when appropriate, are included. Postings are thoroughly developed, largely free of major and minor grammatical or mechanical errors, are reasonably argued with some supportive example and illustrations from readings and discussions, and show evidence of original thinking. In good postings, the tone is clear and respectful. Postings are submitted on-time and are distributed throughout the week. Directions, such as required number of sentences per post, are generally followed. (Note: underlining is simply to emphasize points often overlooked by past students.)

C = Fair quality: Postings demonstrate a restricted understanding of the concepts, topics, and ideas as evidenced by posting information that could be derived from prior posts and/or including highly general comments. When discussing literature, quotes from the reading, when appropriate, are not included. Postings show average development, contain consistent major and minor grammatical or mechanical errors, incorporate few supportive examples and illustrations from readings and discussion, and/or show marginal evidence of original thinking. In fair postings, the tone is clear and respectful. Postings are submitted on-time but are not distributed throughout the week. Directions, such as required number of sentences per post, are not followed. (Note: underlining is simply to emphasize points often overlooked by past students.)

D = Poor quality: Postings do not contribute materially to discussion. There is insignificant interaction with peers and little development of thought or technique. Demonstration of acceptable grammar and mechanics usage is poor. In poor postings, the tone is respectful. Postings may not be submitted on-time and may not be distributed throughout the week.

F= Unsatisfactory quality: Postings are not submitted on-time or postings are not submitted at all. Student work could be plagiarized. Student work is so insubstantial that credit cannot be awarded. Posting could be so unintelligible that a determination of tone cannot be rendered.

0 = Zero: no postings submitted for the week.

Grading for Other Assignments:

Grading details and/or rubrics will accompany other course assignments.

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.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Attendance Policy:

Late Work:

Unless you have an emergency situation, have talked to me before the assignment is due, and have gotten permission from me to be late, no late assignments are accepted. Note: simply notifying me does not give you permission to be late; I have to answer you and give you that permission.

Attendance Policy:

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential components of a student's success in this class. Please be aware that missing more than three (3) classes may result in a non-satisfactory grade. Students on financial aid (grants and/or loans) should be aware that they could lose their financial aid by missing multiple classes.

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