Syllabus “Create the Class” Learning Community Counseling 224 – College Preparedness
Welcome to “Create the Class” Learning Community
“To succeed, you must at any moment be ready to sacrifice who you are now for what you want to become.” Eric Thomas, the Hip Hop Preacher.
About the “Create the Class” Learning Community
The values in this class are
- Respect – for ourselves and for each other, so that we can build….
- Community – to give each of us a place to be heard and to be valued, so we can experiment in…
- Power-sharing – and also share the responsibility for giving our time together value.
In the Create the Class Learning Community, students (that’s you) and the instructor (that’s me) will together decide how the class takes shape. First, we will learn how to make decisions as a group so that all of our voices and ideas are heard and considered. (Don’t worry! It will NOT turn into “those who talk the loudest push their opinions through”!) Then, we will decide together our expectations of each other, the sequence of material, and even what our final will be. Who knows? Maybe we will create something none of us have even thought of yet.
Class: / Counseling 224 - College Preparedness. Section number:43656This course is linked to English 269A/B - Foundations in Reading and Writing, sections 43657 and 43658. Enrollment in the linked English course is required.
We meet Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30 pm – 2:45 pm, Room A-200
Course Info: / 3 units - These units are degree applicable, which means you can count them toward the 60 units you need for a Peralta Associate degree. If you are currently registered for two units, you MUST change your registration to 3 units. You can do this in Passport by choosing the ‘edit’ link when you log into the StudentCenter.
You may take this class for a letter grade or Pass/No Pass.
Instructor: / Mary Shaughnessy. You can call me Mary, Ms. Mary, Queen Mary (I especially like that one) Teach, Ms. Teach or Ms. Shaughnessy, but please don’t call me late for dinner.
My Contact info: / 510-748-2210 (work) – Email is the BEST way to reach me!
Website: / Yes! Our class has its very own website! It is alameda.peralta.edu/coun224. The syllabus, class announcements, and all assignments and handouts will be posted here for you to download. As we create the class, we may decide we want to use the website for other things as well.
Office: / EOPS Office A101
Office hour: / Tuesday 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
If you are not available to come to my office hour, we can schedule an appointment at another time that fits your schedule. I want to support you!! Please, please, please reach out to me if you have questions or need help.
Required Skills,Books, and Materials:
- Above all else, you must be willing to come to class every day, to be truthful with yourself, to treat yourself and others with respect and openness, to be kind, and to be willing to lean into discomfort as we all take on the messy work of learning how to change from the person we are into the student we want to be.
- Required book: College of Alameda Course Catalog, 2011-2013. You can download it for free from College of Alameda website
- You should have basic computer skills, access to the internet, an email address, and know how(or be willing to learn how) to download and print materials.
- You will need to purchase a 3 ring binder, five section dividers, three hole punch paper, and a portablethree hole puncher.
Student Learning Objectives for this course:
By the conclusion of the course you should be able to:
- Explain your role and responsibility in the college experience.
- Identify your own academic strengths and weaknesses.
- Use academic success skills including:
a)time management
b)goal setting
c)note taking
d)educational planning
e)study and test taking skills
- Identify and use campus resources.
- Formulate personal and educational goals into a realistic plan.
Attendance/Participation/Late Policy
Attendance and participation are mandatory.Our “Create the Class” Learning Community is designed to bring out the perspective of each and every person in the class. If you are not in the class, or if you show up to class but are checked out, the rest of the class will not benefit from your expertise and insights, and you will not benefit from ours. You need to be on time for class, you need to be prepared for class, and you need to participate in class. Because attendance in class is a key element to your college success, attendance, punctuality, and participation will be graded as follows:
- First and second absence – no deduction
- Each subsequent absence – 5 pointsdeduction
Students with more than four absences are required to have a mandatory meeting with me in order to continue with the course, and may be dropped from the course. In the event of an emergency, exceptions to this policy will only be made if you contact me BEFORE you are late or absent.
Being on time for class and staying through the entire class is an important success skill. Late students and students leaving early are disrespectful to our community, and disrupt the learning that is happening in the class. Lateness will be counted as a half absence.
Assignments/Grading
Assignment dates are subject to change depending on the needs of the class. Any change will be announced in class.
Assignment / Due Date / PointsAttendance, Punctuality, Participation, In class assignments / Ongoing / 30
Ten (10) Journal Entries / Ongoing / 20
Time Management Project / To be decided / 20
Student Services Scavenger Hunt Group Project / To be decided / 10
Education Plan Assignment (an appointment with a counselor will be required for this assignment) / To be decided / 10
Final Assignment
(We will decide together what this assignment will be) / To be decided / 10
Total Points / 100 points
This course is graded on the following scale:
A = 100 - 90 points or 90%
B = 89 - 80 points or 80-89%;
C = 79 - 70 points or 70-79%;
D = 69 - 60 points or 60-69%
F= 59 - 0 or 59% or lower
Late Work Policy
Handing assignments in on time is an important success skill. Our class will decide together what the Late Work policy will be.
Special Needs/Accommodations
If you have a physical, psychiatric/emotional, medical, or learning disability that may impact your ability to carry out assigned course work, I urge you to contact the staff in Disabled Student Programs and Services, in Location D117, or 510-748-2328 or 510-748-2330 (TDD). DSP&S will review your concerns and determine, with you, what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.
Cheating/Plagiarism
Successful students always make sure that their work is original. Therefore, copying the work of another person is considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of cheating. Any time a student uses someone else's work and does not give that person credit, it is plagiarism. Anyone who plagiarizes will receive an “F” on the assignment. If this is repeated, the student will fail the course and be reported to the Vice President of Student Services. Please note that College of Alameda has resources available to check work to see if it has been copied from the internet.
Class Content and Timeline
Part / Topics / Readings and AssignmentsWeek 1 and 2 / Learning from Each Other - Our Class Community
- Review of Course
- Creating Group Agreements
- Appreciating diversity of perspective (WYSIWYG - What You See is What You Get exercise)
Week 3 and 4 / Accepting Personal Responsibility
- Victim/Creator Thinking
- The Culture of College (and it’s Hidden Rules)
Journal 2
Journal 3
In the weeks to come / Here are the skills we will cover in this class.
- Creating and maintaining motivation
- Identifying and committing to goals
- Note taking
- Time management and overcoming procrastination
- Study skills and test taking
- Identifying and using campus resources
- Educational planning (knowing what the certificate and degree choices are and knowing what classes to take to get there)
“Fall seven times, Stand up eight.” Japanese proverb
Fall 2011, Mary ShaughnessyPage 1