ACADEMIC PREPARATION: SPECIAL TOPICS: BRIDGE

Summer Quarter 2011

Instructor:            Shannon King

Email:                   sking@bellevuecollege.edu

Class:                    Monday-Friday; 1:00-3:40   

Text:                     Raise the Issues, 3^rd edition

Office Phone:      (425) 564-3403    Office hours: by appointment, C227

Course Overview

The goal of this class is to help you develop the skills you will need to succeed in academic classes. We will focus on active listening, note taking, summarizing and giving reactions both in speech and writing, reading, speaking, critical thinking, and study skills. In addition, students will be expected to attend and observe 5 different credit classes beginning the third week of the quarter. You will ask and get permission from the instructors of the classes you choose to visit. After the observation, you will get a signature from the instructor and write a report about what you observed.

Our textbook provides a good source of reading, listening and discussion topics and activities, and we will extend those topics with information from other sources including videos, magazine articles, and the Internet. Topic extension homework will also be assigned and may include summary/response reports, vocabulary study, and short oral reports.  

It is important to be active in all class activities by reading the assigned texts, attending class regularly, and asking and answering questions.

You will be required to create a BC email account if you don’t already have one. You will be expected to communicate with many BC faculty members when you set up your observation classes and will need to use only your BC email account.

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Listening and Speaking
    Listen for specific information in an academic lecture in a variety of content areas
    Summarize lectures through discussion
    Participate appropriately in small and large group discussions
    Plan, organize, and deliver effective presentations: individual and group
Reading
    Take reading notes in a variety of content areas
   Make an outline of a reading passage
    Recognize the organization of a passage
   Distinguish fact from opinion
   Use skimming and scanning to quickly find information
   Use the index and appendix of a text effectively
   Identify points of view and audience
   Infer meaning through tone, voice, vocabulary, etc.

Critical Thinking
   Respond critically in both oral and written responses to a reading and/or lecture
   Formulate logical questions to a reading and/or lecture
   Make and evaluate inferences
    Understand the difference and application of inductive and deductive reasoning
    Use self evaluation as a tool increase learning and academic success
Writing
   Learn and apply the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing
   Decide which parts of source material are important for both summarizing and paraphrasing
   Paraphrase using different grammar and vocabulary
   Use verbs which indicate they are summarizing: suggest, report, argue, question, conclude
    Synthesize by grouping connected ideas from various sources
    Organize sentences into logical paragraphs and combine them into one continuous piece of writing 
   Include original ideas
   Use MLA format for quoting, footnoting
   Recognize what constitutes plagiarism  

Study Skills
   Recognize and explain teacher expectations through syllabi analysis
    Understand how to organize and review material prior to an exam
   Understand how to employ test taking strategies: objective, subjective
   Use time management skills
   Reduce test anxiety
    Learn from their exams: evaluate their preparation, learn from their mistakes, and get help for the next exam

Grading

The following grading scale will be used:
Summaries	25%
Written Assignments	25%
Class Observations	25%
Presentations, participation* and homework	25%

*Participation means actively speaking out in class without being called on, asking questions and joining group discussions.

All written assignments unless otherwise stated should be typed, double-spaced and in size 12 font. All written work should have your full name/date/assignment listed in the upper right corner.

For non-typed assignments, the paper used in this class must be college-ruled, 8 ½ x 11, and white. I will not accept any assignments on paper of a different size or color.

Values Conflicts

Essential to a liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of expression that might conflict with one’s personal values.  By being exposed to such ideas or expressions, students are not expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to understand that they are part of the free flow of information upon which higher education depends.

To this end, you may find that class requirements may include engaging certain materials, such as books, films, and art work, which may, in whole or in part, offend you.  These materials are equivalent to required texts and are essential to the course content.  If you decline to engage the required material by not reading, viewing, or performing material you consider offensive, you will still be required to meet class requirements in order to earn credit.  This may require responding to the content of the material, and you may not be able to fully participate in required class discussions, exams, or assignments

Affirmation of Inclusion

Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from harassment and discrimination.

We value our different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect. http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/goals/inclusion.asp

Attendance 

• Attendance and participation are critical for success in this class. Any hour that a student is not in class will be counted as an absence. Students who miss class 10 times will receive a grade of “F.” Students who miss 8 or 9 times will receive a grade of “D”. Three (3) late arrivals of 5 minutes or more will equal 1/2 absence.
• When you are absent from class, it is your job to find out what you missed.  You should check MyBC and ask a fellow student for notes on the day you missed.  Please note: The speaking and listening components of the class cannot be made up.
• In the event that you are absent, I will accept an e-mail with your work attached as a word document. All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the assigned day. Assignments that are not handed in at the time they are collected are considered late. Late assignments will lose 10% for each day they are late up to 2 days. I will not accept any assignments more than two days after the due date.

There are no make-ups for tests. Make-up tests will only be available to students with medical or advisor’s written excuse.  

Plagiarism and cheating

Students are in ELI classes to learn English and ELI teachers are here to help them. Cheating makes that harder for both the students and the teachers. There are different kinds of cheating: plagiarism, “borrowing” a classmate’s homework (partially or wholly), using an essay or a presentation from a previous quarter, using “cheat notes”, and copying answers from classmates’ papers during tests.

Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas as your own in both writing and oral presentations. It is cheating and is not acceptable in American classes.

Examples of plagiarism are:

• Copying from a Web page, book or article
• Buying papers
• Copying from another student
• Using a friend’s paper from a previous quarter

If you plagiarize:

• First time: your teacher will work with you so that you understand what not to do
• Second time: Fail the assignment
• Third time: Fail the class and be reported to the Associate Dean of Student Services. Possibly be asked to leave the school.

Classroom Conduct:

• Use only English in the classroom.
• Use college appropriate behavior at all times and be respectful of your classmates and your teacher.
• Keep cell phones off.
• No eating during class; bottled/covered drinks only please!
• Come to class with the materials you need (paper, pencil, dictionary, etc.)

Important Dates:

No Classes                   July 4th                      

Repeating Bridge:

Students who receive a quarterly GPA of below 2.0 or receive an “F” have two options:

• Repeat the Bridge Quarter once
• Drop down to Level 5 courses

Students who fall below 2.0 for a second time must leave the program.

Students cannot enroll in Bridge for a third time under any circumstances.

Special Needs                        

If you require accommodation based on a documented disability, have emergency information to share, or need special arrangements in case of emergency evacuation; please make an appointment with DRC (Disability Resource Center.) If you would like to inquire about becoming a DRC student, you may call 425-564-2498 or go in person to the DRC program office in B132.

Other:

Please refer to the Arts and Humanities Student Procedures and Expectations www.bellevuecollege.edu/artsum/studentinfo.asp for all other information.