SOC1001: Sociology 1 CRN Winter, 2016: 6 week term Online Course 4/11/16 5/21/16

Transcription

1 1 SOC1001: Sociology 1 CRN Winter, 2016: 6 week term Online Course 4/11/16 5/21/16 Instructor: Brendan Keenan, Ed.D., MSW b.keenan@neu.edu This 3 Q. H. online class runs from April 11, 2016 through May 21, Since this is an online class, all of our work will be carried out in our online classroom (Blackboard). Please note: Courses you are enrolled in with not show up in CPS Blackboard until the start date of the term. You can access the course at by clicking the link under the "My Courses" tab. Please note: Courses you are enrolled in will not show up in CPS Blackboard until the start date of the term. For computer access, the NEU library can be used 7 days a week: Required Textbook(s)/Materials (a) Macionis, J. (2012). Sociology. 15 th Edition Additional readings/articles may be made available within course materials on Blackboard. Software (optional): A headset (headphones plus microphone) will allow you access BB Classroom functionality on NU Online. The Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB Headset, or the Plantronics Audio 470 or 500, or comparable brands/models, are recommended. If you have a Mac, this may not be necessary. Course Prerequisites: a) Courses: None b) Student competencies: Microsoft Word and Power Point are used. Students can access Lynda.com through Nuonline.neu.edu and watch tutorial videos. Course Description: Examines the basic theoretical perspectives, research methods, and concepts of sociology, including society, status and role, socialization, and social groups. Learning Outcomes: Based on satisfactory participation in this course, a student will have the opportunity to: Identify the sociological imagination and think about society in critical and complex ways Write cohesive arguments about sociological issues Apply basic social theories to contemporary social issues Identify key concepts and arguments relating to the sociology of deviance, inequity, gender, and sexuality. Course Methodology: Each week, you will be expected to: 1. Review the week s learning objectives. 1

2 2 2. Complete all assigned readings. 3. Review/Participate in lectures/discussions for the week. 4. Attend and actively participate in all in-person and online activities. 5. Complete and submit all assignments and tests by the due dates. You should expect to spend approximately 6-9 hours (average) weekly completing course requirements. SOC1001 is a Sociology course presented in an interactive online format that relies on your willingness to participate in all activities. The principle of what you give is what you get certainly applies in this and all courses, meaning that you will get out of it what you put into it. The online course format especially allows for all of you to participate and engage with the material in a variety of modalities, so there are opportunities for everyone to participate in a variety of ways. The syllabus lays out an initial plan for our work and may be revised during the course to meet students needs and interests. It is my hope as your instructor to facilitate your learning within a supportive and collaborative learning environment. Those who have taken online courses in the past are probably aware of the potential that these courses hold for creating an enriching experience for the student, and an opportunity to apply course material to the real world, using ourselves as the vehicle to do so. Grading/Evaluation Standards: Assignment descriptions and rubrics are listed in the syllabus section of Blackboard. The grade will be derived from four main categories of coursework, weighted as follows: Category Discussion Board/In-Class Participation Weight 40% Film Analysis 20% Sociology Portfolio 40% 93-above=A Outstanding B D A C D Poor B Satisfactory D B Good C- Below 60 F Late Submission of Work: Each assignment is due at 11:59 pm EST of the date indicated. There are no makeup dates or extensions for the assignments except for documented personal emergencies or special permission granted by the instructor in writing, which must be requested at least two days prior to the due date. No late submissions are permitted during the last week of the class. Late Discussion Board posts will receive no credit. 2

3 3 Discussion Board/ Participation (40% of total grade): **Attendance is required for all online activities. More than one unexcused absence is grounds for failing the course.** The online discussions will provide students the opportunity to link course material to real-life situations. Each student is expected to post a primary response to each discussion question and two secondary responses to other students responses each week. In addition, students are required to respond to any questions or comments posed by the instructor, their colleagues and student facilitators. Starting in week two, primary responses are due midnight (EST) on Monday, and secondary by midnight Wednesday. All additional, followup responses must be posted by midnight Thursday. The DB is closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays of each week to allow students the opportunity to read the course material for the upcoming week s discussion. Further instructions for discussion will be provided in class and on BB. As your total discussion performance contributes significantly to your participation grade for the course, good participation is crucial to a good grade. To help students perform well in discussion, I will require that each student for each discussion make a primary post that is words long. Secondary posts will be between words, and will be responses to primary posts made by other students or the instructor. The discussion board posts will have the following features: a. For your primary post (1 required most weeks, see Class Schedule/Topical Outline) At least one post must use a direct quotation from the reading covered in that thread (either from the textbook or article) identified by the author, the article or book, and the page number. You must put your primary post on Blackboard by Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST in order to give your classmates enough time to respond with their secondary posts. b. Each quotation must be new to the discussion, meaning that it cannot have shown up in a previous post by any other student. This will decrease redundancy in posts and expand the diversity of responses. To ensure you meet this requirement, you will need to read the posts of others to ensure you are not repeating a point. You will not receive credit for your post if it is very similar to a previous post by another student. c. Secondary posts (2 required weekly, see Class Schedule/Topical Outline) can be words in length, and should be responses to the posts of other students. Be sure to indicate the student you are responding to by name, and to be sure to respond in a specific way to the post. You could respond to part of a previous post and either support and or not support the assertions of other students. It is expected that these interactions are mutually respectful, and that either a real world example is shared or an example from course readings to help illuminate your point. It would not be considered adequate to state the following, for example: Joe, I really like what you posted. It made a lot of sense what you wrote. I agree with most of it, but do not agree with some of it This example does not make specific reference to any part of the post, and could be written without reading Joe s post. 3

4 4 An example of a quality secondary post excerpt would be something like the following: Joe, I want to make reference to your assertion that groupthink is not a phenomenon that that applies to children. In my experience, I have seen children be influenced by the groupthink phenomenon. I remember once when.. Although I understand your point where you say.i have found in my experience. This post shows thoughtfulness and an attempt to tease out aspects of Joe s post by applying examples from the poster s experience, relate it to a relevant point in that week s readings. Another approach for a quality secondary post would be to apply relevant literature not included in the course material to the topic of the post. * Please note that it is not a requirement to agree with one another, but it is a requirement to be respectful to one another at all times on the discussion board and all other interactions with your classmates. The online discussions will provide students the opportunity to link course material to real-life situations. Each student is expected to post a primary response to each discussion question and two secondary responses to other students responses each week. In addition, students are required to respond to any questions or comments posed by the instructor. Film Analysis Paper (20% of total grade): This paper is an opportunity for you to integrate concepts we will cover in the course by using scenes and characters from popular movies. This midterm paper is also an opportunity to demonstrate what you will have learned so far in the course and to focus on concepts that have resonated with you particularly. I will be looking for you to write about at least 2 concepts covered in the textbook and/or articles and to apply these concepts to the film you choose. The paper will be 4-6 pages. Please do not include a title page. Sociology Portfolio (40% of total grade): Your Sociology Portfolio will be a collection of current news events that relate to a topic we have covered in class. It will contain 5 short (2-3 page) sociological analyses of each topic you choose. Each week, I will post a reminder about finding your article for that topic. During the last week of class, you will compile each of your analyses into a portfolio that will be submitted via Blackboard. There is no intention to penalize students for writing skills but to help foster improvement and full participation in the curriculum. If students need help to improve writing skills, the following free resources are available: 4

5 5 Smarthinking (available in Tool section of Blackboard) this allows students to submit personal written material in any subject and have it reviewed by an e-instructor within a 24-hour window (in most cases). Students are strongly urged to take advantage of this resource. Writing Center on Northeastern Campus contact the center to schedule an appointment. The Purdue Online Writing Lab ( is a valuable source of information about grammar, sentence structure, and general writing skills Grammarly.com is a website offering on the spot grammar checks. Assignments: *See the syllabus section of Blackboard for detailed rubrics/assignment descriptions. Assignment Due Date & Time % of Final Grade Discussion Board/In- Class Participation Film Analysis Sociology Portfolio Primary Posts (minimum 1 weekly) due by 11:59PM (EST) on the Tuesday of academic week Secondary Posts (minimum two weekly) due by 11:59PM (EST) on the Wednesday of academic week. All additional follow-up responses posted by 11:59PM (EST) Thursday 5/7/16 by 11:59PM (EST) (Submitted via BlackBoard) 5/19/16 by 11:59PM (EST) (Submitted via BlackBoard) Average of all primary/secondary posts, 40% of final grade 20% of final grade 40% of final grade *See the grading standards in the CPS Student Handbook, available at As is the case with all instructors, I expect that students written work be clear, comprehensible, and competentlyproduced. Detailed grading rubrics will be provided for you via Blackboard for the midterm paper in order to guide your writing to create an interesting paper. Written assignments, including the midterm paper and discussion board posts, are an opportunity for you as a student to integrate what you are learning in the course and apply course concepts to relevant examples. Communications/Submission of Work: In the Assignments folder, click on the View/Complete Assignment link. Attach your completed assignments and click Submit. Once your assignment has been graded, you will be able to view the feedback provided by clicking on Tools, View Grades from the NU Online Campus Tab. 5

6 6 Class Schedule / Topical Outline: For details about readings, lectures, and assignments, students should regularly review the weekly Course Material folder on NU Online. Be sure to check course announcements and instructor s regularly. Week Dates Topic Reading for the Week Assignment(s) Due - Introduce yourself on the 4/11/16 Conceptualizing Discussion Board 1 - Chapter 1 (Macionis) 4/16/16 Sociology 2 4/17/16 4/23/16 Sociological Investigation - Chapter 2 (Macionis) 3 4/24/16 4/30/16 Culture and Society - Chapter 3 (Macionis) - Chapter 4 (Macionis) 4 5/1/16 5/7/16 Socialization and Social Interactions in Everyday Life - Chapter 5 (Macionis) - Chapter 6 (Macionis) - Film Analysis paper due via BlackBoard 5/7/16 by 11:59PM (EST) 5 5/8/16 5/14/16 Groups and Organizations - Chapter 7 (Macionis) 6 5/15/16 5/20/16 Wrapping Things Up - Sociology Portfolio due via BlackBoard 5/19/16 by 11:59PM (EST) Academic Honesty and Integrity Statement: The University views academic dishonesty as one of the most serious offenses that a student can commit while in college and imposes appropriate punitive sanctions on violators. Here are some examples of academic dishonesty. While this is not an all-inclusive list, we hope this will help you to understand some of the things instructors look for. The following is excerpted from the University s policy on academic integrity; the complete policy is available in the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook is available on the CPS Student Resources page > Policies and Forms. Cheating intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in an academic exercise. Fabrication intentional and unauthorized falsification, misrepresentation, or invention of any data, or citation in an academic exercise. 6

7 7 Plagiarism intentionally representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one s own in any academic exercise without providing proper citation. Unauthorized collaboration instances when students submit individual academic works that are substantially similar to one another; while several students may have the same source material, the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the data must be each individual s independent work. Participation in academically dishonest activities any action taken by a student with the intent of gaining an unfair advantage. Facilitating academic dishonesty intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to violate any provision of this policy. For more information on Academic Integrity, including examples, please refer to the Student Handbook, pages Disability Accommodation If you have a disability that will require accommodations in class, register with NEU s Learning Disabilities Program and inform the instructor. Please allow a reasonable length of time for the necessary accommodations to be arranged. For additional information, please refer to: Northeastern University Online Policies and Procedures For comprehensive information please go to 24/7 NU Online Technical Support: Get immediate 24/7 technical support for NU Online by calling or NUOnline@neu.edu For answers to common questions you may also visit the NU Online support portal at MyNEU Technical Support: Please contact the University help desk by calling HELP (4357) or help@neu.edu College of Professional Studies Policies and Procedures For comprehensive information please see the download the Student Handbook also available on the Student Resources page of the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies website. End-of-Course Evaluation Surveys Your feedback regarding your educational experience in this class is very important to the College of Professional Studies. Your comments will make a difference in the future planning and presentation of our curriculum. 7

8 8 At the end of this course, please take the time to complete the evaluation survey at Your survey responses are completely anonymous and confidential. For courses 6 weeks in length or shorter, surveys will be open one week prior to the end of the courses; for courses greater than 6 weeks in length, surveys will be open for two weeks. An will be sent to your HuskyMail account notifying you when surveys are available. Northeastern University Online Copyright Statement Northeastern University Online is a registered trademark of Northeastern University. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. This course material is copyrighted and Northeastern University Online reserves all rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the express prior written permission of Northeastern University Online. Copyright 2016 by Northeastern University Online All Rights Reserved 8