St. Petersburg College (ECampus)
SYG 2010 Social Problems (on-line)
Dr. L. McDonnell
Fall 2017 (12 week)
Office: LI205B Seminole Campus
Office Hours: Sunday 8-10 PM Virtual, Monday 1-2 Virtual and 7-8 PM, Tuesday 10-11 and 12:15-3:15 and 8-9 PM Virtual, Wednesday 12:30-2:30 and 9-10 Virtual, Thursday 10-11 and 12:15-2:15.
*Email or call for an appointment as I may be in a meeting
Phone: 727-394-6039
Fax: 727-444-6505
E-mail:
Website: http://it.spcollege.edu/course_info/inquiry.cfm?number=985
***An e-mail in class is always the quickest way to reach me. E-mails during the week will be returned within 24 hrs.***
Academic Department: Social Sciences
Course Description:
Prerequisite: ENC 0020 or EAP 1695 or appropriate score on the SPC placement test. This course is an analysis of major social problems in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the causes of social problems, approaches to the analysis of problems and the interrelationships of problems. Course topics include: crime, poverty and inequality with respect to ethnic minorities, and men and women. Other topics include family and marital problems, problems in education, the old and the young, population and the environment. This course partially satisfies the writing requirements outlined in the General Education Requirements. 47 contact hours.
Major Learning Outcomes:
- The student will understand the sociological approach to social problems.
- The student will demonstrate knowledge of data and basic research methods in the analysis of social problems.
- The student will demonstrate knowledge of the social and behavioral aspects of deviant the problematic behavior.
- The student will demonstrate knowledge on the stratification and structure of society, and how they contribute to inequality and discrimination.
- The student will understand the principle problems in the major institutional areas of the United States.
- The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and the effects of increases in population growth.
- The student will demonstrate increased ability in writing.
Course Objectives Stated in Performance Terms:
1. The student will understand the sociological approach to social problems by:
a. defining sociology and recognizing its relationship to other behavioral sciences, and to social problems.
b. explaining the value-conflict, the deviant, and the social disorganization approaches to the study of social problems.
2. The student will demonstrate knowledge of data and basic research methods in the analysis of social problems by:
a. recognizing the use of social statistics.
b. identifying the methods of interviewing, participant observation, and the survey research.
3. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the social and behavioral aspects of deviant and problematic behavior by:
a. recognizing the relationship between social group involvement and deviant behavior.
b. defining the principle approaches used in sociology to explain social deviance.
4. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the major institutional problems of the United States by:
a. identifying the major problems of the modern family.
b. recognizing the major problems of political institutions.
c. defining the major problems of the economy.
d. identifying the key problems of American education.
e. recalling the major problem areas of modern religion.
5. The student will understand the stratification and resulting structure of society and how they contribute to inequality and discrimination by:
a. interpreting the structural-functional approach to the study of stratification.
b. interpreting the conflict-approach to the study of stratification.
c. summarizing the sociological usage and meaning of majority and minority groups in society.
6. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and the effects of increases in population growth by:
a. recognizing changes brought about by the industrial revolution.
b. identifying basic demographic and ecological processes in population growth.
c. distinguishing key problems associated with the physical environment as a result of material technology and population increase.
7. The student will demonstrate increased ability in writing by planning and writing one or more of the following (all of which are evaluated):
a. research, analysis, outline, evaluation or other types of papers completed outside of the direct classroom experience.
b. research, analysis, outline, journal, evaluation or other types of essays completed during the direct classroom experience.
c. any type of expository, evaluative, persuasive or personal response writing as described in the college publication entitled " A Resource Manual for Writing Across the Curriculum."
D. Criteria Performance Standard:
Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.
Required Texts:
By the online text with Connect. If you choose to have a printed copy, the charge is $15.00 from the publisher.
Lauer & Lauer, Social Problems and the Quality of Life. ISBN: 9781259439704
Course Policies:
GENERAL
Our semester begins on 9/11/17. Our course is all online. You will be able to access your on-line assignments 7 days per week. There are 4 Modules that will be completed throughout the term. Each Module will have its own deadline. We will use the McGraw-Hill digital textbook and their online program called Connect. Discussions and Essays will be located in MyCourses, however, other assignments and quizzes will be located in Connect. You can click on the Connect site in MyCourses and log in. This is NOT a correspondence class hence you will NOT be able to work ahead through the 4 modules. There is NO midterm or final exam in this class. All quizzes are taken online and can only be taken ONE time.
How do these modules work? Module 1 , 2 and 3 will contain weeks 3 of work. Module 4 has 2 weeks of work. You will need to complete the work in the Module by the deadline. You will have a Discussion with several questions for the entire module that is due at the end of the Module. It will contain all questions for all chapters assigned in the Module. A peer post will also be due at the end of the module. You MUST post all discussion answers in ONE POSTING. Do NOT post in multiple posts or I will count off! In order to be counted as present for the week, you MUST complete the Quiz for the week. Completing other work will not count you as present for the week. Attendance is taken by completing a quiz. If more than one quiz is assigned for the week, I will take attendance from the 1st quiz assigned. All other work in the module will be due the last Sunday before the Module closes. Modules 2 and 3 will be open for 3 weeks and Module 4 will be open for 2 weeks due to Thanksgiving Week. More detailed information on this is posted in the threads.
There is an Announcement page inside our on-line classroom. Please check it frequently for changes, etc.
ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES
When are assignments due? MyCourses runs on Eastern Standard Time. Our weeks run from Monday to Sunday, 11:55 pm, EST. For example, during each week, you will have on-line Quiz/quizzes due by Sunday, 11: 55 pm EST of the week assigned. All other assignments are due the last Sunday before the Module closes. If you turn in a late assignment (with a documented valid excuse), you will not be able to earn higher than a 70% on it. No late participation peer postings are accepted.
Where are assignments posted? Assignments must be posted in the correct area. All Discussions and peer posts MUST be posted in the correct Discussion Thread. Other assignments MUST be posted to the Dropbox provided. No assignments will be accepted via email. If you email me your work, you will earn a ZERO.
Late Policy:
Late work will earn no higher than a 70% Once a module closes, you can make up that Module’s Discussion by posting it to the LATE FOLDER. No peer postings can be made up if not posted in the Module due. You must label your work in the late folder or it will not be graded. Late work is graded at the end of the term.
What is late? 11:56 pm, EST is late. Be sure you do not wait until the last minute and try to argue that your clock said you had time but MyCourses was ahead of your clock. This tells me you waited until the last minute to post and I will not be sympathetic. Do NOT wait until the last minute to post your assignments.
As an online student, you have the responsibility to make sure you have access to a computer with online services at all times during the semester. As your online instructor, I bear the same responsibility. If my computer breaks, or I lose internet, I must remedy the situation immediately as not to interrupt your online class. If your computer breaks, or you lose internet, I expect the SAME FROM YOU. There is free computer and internet usage at the local library, and at St. Petersburg College. I will NOT give extra time to anyone if your computer breaks or your online service is interrupted. This is NOT a valid excuse for an online class. Students who sign up for internet classes must have computer and internet access.
Be sure to back up all on-line work in the event that it gets lost in cyber space. Always double check to make sure your work posts. This is your responsibility. In the event that there is a grade discrepancy, YOU bear the burden of proof. Also, do NOT wait until the last minute to submit your work and then expect extra time if you have computer trouble or MyCourses is slow since many students are on late Sunday night trying to turn your work in. This is NOT a valid excuse.
COMMUNICATION
All students are required to use their SPC e-mail. I will NOT answer any e-mails that are not from SPC addresses. (No yahoo, hotmail, etc.). All e-mails must contain your first and last name, which class you are in, what section the course is, the title of the assignment and week it is due. I teach several on-line courses so you must ALWAYS tell me which class and section you are in. E-mails that are not correctly labeled will be sent back unanswered. It is MANDATORY that you use our class email located under the COMMUNICATE TAB in MyCourses.
Instructor Response: I will respond to your e-mails within 24 hours Monday-Friday. If you e-mail me over the weekend or on Friday after I check my email, I may not get back to you until Monday.
GRADING:
All grades will be posted to the online grade book by SUNDAY of the following week after the ENTIRE Module is completed unless otherwise specified. Learn Smart and quizzes are auto graded. You will be able to see your grades for these after you finish in Connect. I will merge the gradebooks so it will transfer to MyCourses every week. If your work is late, I will not merge work again until the end of the term. If you turn in an assignment and did not understand it, you will not be given a 2nd chance. It is your responsibility to ask before you submit your assignment, if you do not understand. Everyone gets ONE chance to turn in an assignment and ONE chance to take a quiz.
You are expected to examine your grades every week after they have been entered. If there is an error, you need to notify me within a day or two to get it corrected. For instance, Discussions are worth 3 points. Sometimes you may earn a 2.5/3. Because I grade so many Discussions per week, your grade may have been mistakenly entered as a 25 instead of 2.5. If this is the case, you are expected to report this. At the end of the term, I review all grades and catch these errors. If you don't report this error, your average will seem much higher than it should be all term until it is corrected. If at the end of the term, you find out you are really failing the class due to this typo, the responsibility will fall on you for not letting me know this when the grades were posted since you have a duty to check your own grades. This syllabus will serve as notification to you.
MyCourses gradebook will be updated every week so you can check your scores and current grade in the class. However, it you post late, your work will not be graded until the end of the term.
A note on Incompletes: Incompletes are rarely granted and if granted are only done so under the most exceptional circumstances. You will NOT be given an Incomplete to save your grade from being an F in the class.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance will be taken every week by the instructor. I will take attendance on-line via your weekly quizzes.
How does on-line attendance work? In order to be counted as present, you MUST take the quiz assigned each week. It does not matter if you complete any other work in the on-line classroom. If you do NOT take the quiz by Sunday night of the assigned week, you will be counted absent for the week. Excessive absences will lead to an administrative drop. Note: if there is more than 1 quiz assigned for the week, attendance will be taken on the first quiz assigned.
On-line Postings:
Remember that anything you post in our on-line classroom will be viewed by me, other students and administrators. Be mindful of what you write as it may someday be used in a court of law. Students who copy another student’s work in the Discussion will earn a zero on that assignment. A second infraction will be grounds for an F in the course and possible expulsion from the college. What you write also reflects your level of professionalism as a college student. Please visit the following site on NETIQUETTE.
HYPERLINK
LIBRARY SERVICES
There are libraries at various SPC sites. You may choose the one that is most convenient for you. You also can access library services online at HYPERLINK http://www.spcollege.edu/libraries/
There are online librarians that can also help you.
Technical Support:
If you are experiencing technical challenges in the course, first review the information, resources and FAQ at HYPERLINK http://www.spcollege.edu/ecampus/help/index.shtml
If you need personal technical support, call Technical Support at 727-341-HELP (4357).
Dropping the Course:
It is your responsibility, as a student to withdraw from this course if you choose to do so. If so, you must do it by the withdrawal date which is 10/30. This is the last day to drop with a W. To find out the last day to drop with a refund, please see your online student catalogue. Any student wishing to withdraw from the course must do so his or herself online in MY SPC registration found at HYPERLINK "http://www.spcollege.edu/" http://www.spcollege.edu as well as contact the instructor. All students registered in the course after the withdrawal date will receive a grade as outlined in this syllabus. Students who abandon the course or do not withdraw themselves by the withdrawal date are subject to receive an F grade in the course. By SPC policy (enacted Feb. 2005), students cannot withdraw from a course after the withdrawal deadline. (If this is your 3rd time taking the course, you cannot withdraw from the course – State of Florida regulation).
MyCourses Log Off:
In order to better serve our faculty and students, we are asking that you use the log off button when completing online course work. By logging off, MyCourses server space is freed, thereby optimizing the system.
Grading Policy:
100%-90% = A
89%-80% = B
79%-70% = C
69%-60% = D
59% or below = F
No extra credit is available so you are expected to do well on all assignments and quizzes.
Assignments:
Work / PercentageLearn Smart Chapter Readings / 5%
4 Module Discussions and Peer Responses to classmates on-line / 30%
2 Formal Frontline Essay due in the Dropbox / 40%
15 Quizzes online / 25%
Total / 100%
GRADING RUBRICS
4 Module Discussions and 4 Peer Responses
Discussion Questions are due at the end of every MODULE. Please answer the discussion questions and post them in the thread provided. You MUST POST ALL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN ONE POST at the end of the Module. DO NOT RETYPE MY QUESTIONS. ONLY INCLUDE YOUR ANSWERS AND NUMBER THEM. If you do not respond to another classmate, the highest you can earn is a C. Responses such as “Good point” or, “I agree”, etc…. will NOT earn any credit. Your responses to your classmates need to be thoughtful. Remember, participation cannot be made up if you do not post during the Module due. Read the grading rubric for the word count. Your Discussion post must be at least 800 words and the peer post (only one required) must be at least 100 words. If you choose to comment on more than one peer, at least one post must meet the 100 word count. Do NOT attach your discussion.
1 Peer Post- provides valuable and thoughtful feedback to classmate (100 word minimum) Due by Sunday of the end of the Module 11:55 pm EST. If you choose to respond to more than one peer, at least one of your peer posts must meet the 100 word count. Late peer postings do NOT earn any credit. / POINTS.9 point
Weekly post presents original ideas or personal examples that apply to the concepts being discussed. (800 word minimum) Due by Sunday, the end of the module by 11:55 pm, EST. / 2.1 points
TOTAL (30% of grade) / 3 points
Note: The instructor will not participate much in the online discussion as this intended to be student centered and I do NOT want to take over as the voice of authority here as you can learn from each other as well as myself.