LL 103 Syllabus

1. Course Description

In this seminar, you will use a variety of strategies to surface and articulate knowledge you have gained from independent learning – that is the learning outside of formal learning environments like school. Being able to name and claim this learning will help you be successful at the School for New Learning, in your career, and in your life.

Because the School for New Learning (SNL) recognizes that adults have had many opportunities to learn from experiences outside of school, the curriculum is designed so that learning (no matter where or when it has been acquired) can be applied toward your degree if you can demonstrate that this learning a) is college level, and b) satisfies one of the fifty competencies required to graduate from the School for New Learning. The competence framework, which you have or will learn more about in Foundations of Adult Learning, allows adults the flexibility to demonstrate their learning through transfer courses, proficiencies, SNL courses and through Independent Learning Projects (ILPs). ILPs are significantly less expensive and can take less time to complete than taking a standard course. They also allow you to make meaning from your life experiences.

By the end of this seminar, you will know what is required for an ILPs, understand the variety of ways that once can do an ILP, have ideas for ILPs you might complete, and have a plan for doing ILPs if you choose to do so. In addition, you will have identified capacities that you may not realize you have developed and that will help you be successful at SNL and beyond.

Together we will engage in a learning-by-doing introduction to competence-based education that is at the heart of the SNL curriculum. We will apply strategies for analyzing and reflecting upon experiences that will prepare you to be a more effective and confident learner.

2. Learning Outcomes, Competencies, and/or Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

Use several strategies (including inductive and deductive reasoning, collaboration and generative interviewing) to identify tacit knowledge that you have gained from independent learning.
Describe your experiences, articulate the skills, knowledge and capacities you gaine from them and show the impact of this learning for you and/or others.
Apply strategies for organizing and presenting independent learning.
Identify learning experiences that you can use to meet degree/competence requirements.
Prepare a learning showcase in which you identify core strengths and plan for future development of your learning.

Course Competence

In this course, you will develop the following competence:

Competence	Competence Statement and Criteria
L-1	Can use independent learning skills and strategies to organize, initiate, and document prior, current, and future college-level learning. Describe strategies for independent and experiential learning. Use strategies to surface prior experiential learning in personal, professional, and academic settings and integrate these experiences with new learning. Demonstrate skills in planning, organizing, assessing, and documenting competence-based learning.

Competence

Competence Statement and Criteria

L-1

Can use independent learning skills and strategies to organize, initiate, and document prior, current, and future college-level learning.

Describe strategies for independent and experiential learning.
Use strategies to surface prior experiential learning in personal, professional, and academic settings and integrate these experiences with new learning.
Demonstrate skills in planning, organizing, assessing, and documenting competence-based learning.

3. Learning Strategies and Resources

Discussion, collaborative learning (including generative knowledge interviewing and peer feedback), and completion of course modules. At the end of this class, you will have a Learning Showcase portfolio that you will share with others through Digitation.No textbooks are required for this course.

Required Reading:

A guide to giving and receiving feeback (n.d.). NASA. Retrieved from http://ohcm.gsfc.nasa.gov/performance/ShortGuidetoGiving&ReceivingFeedback.doc

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2000). Habits of Mind. Retrieved from http://www.mindwerx.com/files/insert/Habits_of_Mind_Summary_Outline.jpg

Casserly, Meghan. (2012). The 10 Skills That Will Get You Hired in 2013. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/12/10/the-10-skills-that-will-get-you-a-job-in-2013/

Generative Knowledge Interview with Melissa Peet (2014). Video available on course D2L site.

Hart Research Associates. (2013). Key Findings from 2013 Survey of Employers. It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success. Retrieved from AAC&U website http://www.aacu.org/leap/presidentstrust/compact/documents/KeyFindingsfrom2013SurveyofEmployers.pdf

Independent Learning Pursuits (ILPs). (n.d.). Writing Guide for SNL Students. Retrieved from http://snl.depaul.edu/student-resources/writing/Pages/default.aspx and http://snl.depaul.edu/student-resources/undergraduate-resources/Pages/ilps.aspx

Lamott, Anne. (1994). "Shitty First Drafts." Bird by Bird. (pp. 21-27). New York, NY: Pantheon Books (D2L)

Rury, J. (n.d.). Experience, learning and knowledge. In School for New Learning. Foundations of Adult Learning Resource Book (chapter 10, 16-24). Retrieved from http://snl.depaul.edu/student-resources/undergraduate-resources/Documents/UGradForms/FALbook.pdf

School for New Learning. (2012). Chapter 7: The independent learning pursuit (ILP) & learning from experience. Foundations of Adult Learning Resource Book. Retrieved from http://snl.depaul.edu/student-resources/undergraduate-resources/Documents/UGradForms/FALbook.pdf

6. Grading Criteria and Scale

Grading Category:	% of Final Grade:
Discussion Forums (6 @ 10 pts each)	30%
Module Assignments (7 @ 10 pts each)	40%
Learning Showcase (1 @ 100 pts)	30%
Total	100%

Grading Policies and Practices

To complete the course, you must complete each of the assignments as described in the course and submit them to your instructor by the assigned deadline. In addition, you must participate in the course discussion forum by responding to all instructor requests and by interacting with fellow classmates as required.

Points are deducted for late work.

Course Grading Scale:
Independent Learning Seminar is designed as a Pass/Fail course. It may not be taken for a letter grade assessment. To pass this course, you must earn at least a C- according to the percentages listed below.

A = 95 to 100	A- = 91 to 94	B+ = 88 to 90
B = 85 to 87	B- = 81 to 84	C+ = 77 to 80
C = 73 to 76	C- = 69 to 72	D+ = 65 to 68
D = 61 to 64	F = 60 or below	INC

Grading Policies

To complete the course, you must participate actively in class and complete each of the assignments as described in the course and submit them to your instructor by the assigned deadline. Points are deducted for late work.

There are nine undergraduate courses at SNL in which grades are assessed, by default, on the PA/F grading scale, but students may request, instead, assessment on the A/F grading scale. These courses are:Independent Learning Seminar (course number LL 103; competency L-1); Writing for Competence (course number LL 260; competency L-4), Critical Thinking (course number LL 270; competency L-5), Research Seminar (course number LL 300; competencies L-8 and L-9), Externship (course number LL 302; competencies L-10 and L-11), Writing Workshop (course number LL 140; competency H-3-J), Professional Portfolio Development (course number DCM 320), Capstone Planning (course number DCM 321), and Capstone Project (course number DCM 322).

A student who wants to request a change in grading scale, either to or from the Pass/Fail option, must make the request to the instructor in writing by the beginning of the third week of the quarter or, for courses fewer than ten weeks long in duration, by the beginning of the second week of the course. The grading basis may not be changed after these deadlines, with no exceptions.

http://www.depaul.edu/university-catalog/colleges-and-schools/snl/academics/unde

7. Course Schedule

This course consists of 5 modules. The estimated time to complete each module is one week. Pay close attention to assignment due dates. The following table outlines the course:

Week, Module # and Title	Readings	Assignments
Week 1, Module 1: What is Independent Learning and Why Should You Care?	"Habits of Mind" Casserly, Meghan, "The 10 Skills that Will Get You Hired" "Key Findings from 2013 Survey of Employers"	Introductions Identifying and Organizing Key Learning Experiences Worksheet SNL Scavenger Hunt
Week 2, Module 2: Making Meaning from Experience	Anne Lamott, "Shitty First Drafts" from Bird by Bird pgs. 21-27 Optional- A Guide to Giving and Receiving Feedback	Knowledge Snapshot Page 1 Giving Peer Feedback Knowledge Snapshot Page 2
Week 3, Module 3: Deduction, Meaning Making and SNL Competencies	Rury, John, "Experience, Learning and Knowledge" Mary Erl Interview ILP Section in Foundations of Adult Learning (FAL) Handbook	Brainstorming Using Deduction and the SNL Competence Statements Knowledge Snapshot Page 3 ILP Discussion
Week 4, Module 4: Collaboration & Meaning Making through Generative Knowledge Interviewing	Generative Knowledge Interview Videos with Melissa Peet	Generative Knowledge Interviewing Discussion Doing a Generative Knowledge Interview Knowledge Snapshot Page 4
Week 5, Module 5: Your Learning Showcase	DePaul University Career Center Information on Career Portfolios Electronic Portfolios at DePaul University	Presenting Your Learning Showcase Showcasing Your Learning Discussion

To see course due dates, check the course Calendar. This page contains due dates for the work due in the course.

Discussion Forum Etiquette and Evaluation

Discussion Forums are an important component of your online experience. This course contains discussion forums related to the topics you are studying each week. For requirements on your participation in the Discussion Forums, please see “Course Expectations” in the syllabus.

A Course Q & A discussion forum has also been established to manage necessary, ongoing social and administrative activities. This is where the management and administrative tasks of the course are conducted, and where you can ask ‘process’ questions and receive answers throughout the course. Please feel free to answer any question if you feel you know the answer; this sharing of information is valuable to other students.

Discussion Forum postings will be assessed based on Timeliness, Relevance, Integration of Content, and Contribution to Learning Community (see the Discussion Forum Rubric). Here are some specific ways you can effectively contribute to learning in discussions:

1. Offering ideas or resources and inviting a critique of them

2. Asking challenging questions

3. Articulating, explaining and supporting positions on ideas

4. Exploring and supporting issues by adding explanations and examples

5. Reflecting on and re-evaluating personal opinions, applying information from the course

6. Offering a critique, challenging, discussing and expanding ideas of others

7. Negotiating interpretations, definitions and meanings

8. Summarizing previous contributions and asking the next question

9. Proposing actions based on ideas that have been developed

You will not get credit for posts that use simple phrases like, "Great ideas!" or "I like that."

When you support someone’s opinion, describe or analyze why; refer to the 9 points above; and use words like, "But," "Additionally," "I agree and," "However," "What about," etc

This course includes and adheres to the college and university policies described in the links below:
Academic Integrity Policy
Incomplete Policy
Course Withdrawal Timelines and Grade/Fee Consequences
Accommodations Based on the Impact of a Disability
Protection of Human Research Participants

Course Drop Date – Exception: Because this course is a late-starting course, students will have one week from the course start date to request an administrative withdrawal and a possible tuition credit.

Incomplete Grades: In order for a student to have an incomplete (IN) grade granted in this course, there must be a significant extenuating circumstance evidenced by the student (e.g., medical and/or significant personal issues) and the student must have regularly attended class, and must have completed three-fourths of assignments. Students file an SNL Incomplete grade contract before the final session of the course to receive an incomplete grade. Students are strongly advised to review the university deadlines for withdrawal without tuition refund and the implications for financial aid and grades.

DePaul University Academic Integrity Policy
DePaul University is a learning community that fosters the pursuit of knowledge and the transmission of ideas within a context that emphasizes a sense of responsibility for oneself, for others and for society at large. Violations of academic integrity, in any of their forms, are, therefore, detrimental to the values of DePaul, to the students’ own development as responsible members of society, and to the pursuit of knowledge and the transmission of ideas. Violations include but are not limited to the following categories: cheating; plagiarism; fabrication; falsification or sabotage of research data; destruction or misuse of the university’s academic resources; alteration or falsification of academic records; and academic misconduct. Conduct that is punishable under the Academic Integrity Policy could result in additional disciplinary actions by other university officials and possible civil or criminal prosecution. Please refer to your Student Handbook or visit http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/homehandbook.html for further details.

The DePaul Student Handbook defines plagiarism as follows: “Plagiarism includes but is not limited to the following: (a) The direct copying of any source, such as written and verbal material, computer files, audio disks, video programs or musical scores, whether published or unpublished, in whole or in part, without proper acknowledgement that it is someone else’s. (b) Copying of any source in whole or in part with only minor changes in wording or syntax even with acknowledgement. (c) Submitting as one’s own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report or other assignment which has been prepared by someone else. This includes research papers purchased from any other person or agency. (d) The paraphrasing of another’s work or ideas without proper acknowledgment.” Plagiarism will result in a failure of the assignment or possibly of the course. If you are unsure of how to cite a source, ask your professor, someone from the writing center, or a librarian!

DePaul University Incomplete Policy
Undergraduate and graduate students will have up to two quarters to complete an incomplete. At the end of the second quarter (excluding summer) following the term in which the incomplete grade was assigned, remaining incompletes will automatically convert to "F" grades. In the case of the Law School incompletes must be completed by the end of the semester following the one in which the incomplete was assigned. Ordinarily, no incomplete grade may be completed after the grace period has expired. Instructors may not change incomplete grades after the end of the grace period without the permission of a college-based Exceptions Committee. This policy applies to undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. NOTE: In the case of a student who has applied for graduation and who has been approved for an Incomplete in his or her final term, the incomplete must be resolved within the four week grace period before final degree certification.

The SNL student who wishes to receive the grade of IN must formally request in writing that the instructor issue this grade. This request must be made before the end of the quarter in which the student is enrolled in a course.

For Students Who Need Accommodations Based on the Impact of a Disability
Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. Please contact your instructor as early as possible in the quarter, preferably within the first week or two of the course. All discussion will remain confidential. Please be sure to contact the following office for additional information:
Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD)
Lincoln Park Campus: Student Center 370. (773) 325-1677
Loop Campus: Lewis Center 1420. (312) 362-8002 csd@depaul.edu

9. Course Resources
University Center for Writing-based Learning
SNL Writing Guide
Dean of Students Office

10. Instructor Biographies
See https://snl.depaul.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty-a-z/Pages/default.aspx