LL 250 Syllabus

Course Description

In this required course, students use structured reflection and analysis to assess themselves as learners, write learning goals, do preliminary research in their focus area, meet with their mentor, establish an academic committee and plan the remainder of their undergraduate program. They master the notion of competence and identify ways of achieving it through prior and future learning. The course includes organizing a learning portfolio that will be an ongoing resource to support and document students’ accomplishment of their learning goals. Students should take this course early in their program so they have a clear pathway to graduation.

Course Learning Goals

After completing this course, you will be able to:

Articulate short and long-term personal, professional and educational goals and identify ways in which the SNL competence-based framework can help you achieve those goals.
Articulate the purpose and organization of the academic committee, choose a professional advisor and schedule a first committee meeting.
Assess your preferred learning style and its relevance for your choice of career or focus area using at least two learning styles instruments.
Identify your focus area, articulate a rationale for choosing it, research its essential components and identify its core competencies..
Summarize past and future learning by producing a learning portfolio consisting of the following elements: a program planning document; focus area title and rationale; research (including annotations) and competence statements; brief descriptions of externship and advanced project.
Create an electronic portfolio consisting of the following elements: the learning portfolio referred to above; a welcome page; a statement of personal, educational and professional goals; and a statement of personal philosophy.
Learn to use the full resources of the DePaul library to identify current trends and issues in your focus area.

Course Competencies

In this course, you will develop the following competencies:

Competence	Competence Statement and Criteria
L2	Can design learning strategies to attain goals for personal and educational development. Can articulate personal and educational goals and assess the gap between where one is and where one wants to be Can identify learning interests and competences to be developed and construct a plan for achieving personal and educational growth Can describe one's self as a learner using one or more models of adult and/or experiential learning
F1	Can design a plan for development in one’s Focus Area based on an analysis of elements that comprise the area. Can set goals to be developed in the Focus Area Can demonstrate an understanding of current issues and trends within the Focus Area through inquiry Can create a unified, well-articulated plan for achieving one's own Focus Area goals, based on research

Competence

Competence Statement and Criteria

Can design learning strategies to attain goals for personal and educational development.

Can articulate personal and educational goals and assess the gap between where one is and where one wants to be
Can identify learning interests and competences to be developed and construct a plan for achieving personal and educational growth
Can describe one's self as a learner using one or more models of adult and/or experiential learning

Can design a plan for development in one’s Focus Area based on an analysis of elements that comprise the area.

Can set goals to be developed in the Focus Area
Can demonstrate an understanding of current issues and trends within the Focus Area through inquiry
Can create a unified, well-articulated plan for achieving one's own Focus Area goals, based on research

Course Resources

To buy your books, go tohttp://depaul-loop.bncollege.com

Required Reading:

Simon, Linda. New Beginnings: A Reference Guide for Adult Learners. (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River: N.J.: Pearson, 2010. ISBN-13: 9780137152308

The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory. Boston, MA: Hay Group.

All other required readings and videos are embedded in the course:

Bridges, William. "Survey and Recycle Your D.A.T.A." JobShift: How To Prosper In A Workplace Without Jobs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994. 76-99. Print.

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic Monthly. Vol. 302. N.p.: Atlantic Monthly, 2008. 56-63. Print.

De Bono, Edward. "Vertical and Lateral Thinking." New Think; The Use Of Lateral Thinking In The Generation Of New Ideas. New York: Basic, 1968. 11-16. Print.

Drucker, Peter. "Managing Oneself." Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Publishing, Jan. 2005. Web. <http://hbr.org/>.

Pellegrino, Edmund. "Having A Degree and Being Educated." Orientation To College: A Reader On Becoming An Educated Person. By Elizabeth Steltenpohl, Sharon Villines, and Jane Shipton. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2004. 63-67. Print.

Stark, Joan S., Malcolm A. Lowther, Sharon Villines, and Jane Shipton. "Defining the Educated Professional." Orientation To College: A Reader On Becoming An Educated Person. By Elizabeth Steltenpohl. 1st ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 1995. 219-24. Print.

Strasser, Bruce. "Beyond the Machine:Liberal Learning For An Information Society." Orientation To College: A Reader On Becoming An Educated Person. By Elizabeth Steltenpohl, Jane Shipton, and Sharon Villines. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub., 2004. 59-62. Print.

Zachary, Lois. "Finding and Getting to Know Your Mentor." The Mentee's Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You. Ed. Lory Fischler. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. 39-54. Print.

Course Structure

This course consists of 10 modules. The estimated time to complete each module is 1 week.

The following table outlines the course:

Week, Module # and Title

Readings

Assignments

Week 1, Module 1: Getting to Know You

Student videos

“Finishing College at Sixty” by Shirley Paolinelli (Chapter 10 of FAL book),

“Narrative Scenarios” and

Chapter 1 and 4, New Beginnings by Linda Simon

“Managing Oneself” by Peter Drucker

“Survey and Recycle Your D.A.T.A.” Chapter Four, Job Shift, William Bridges.

How to Guide – Create an e-Portfolio

How to guide - Make an e-Portfolio viewable to an instructor

1.1 Introduction Discussion

1.2 Those Who Have Gone Before Discussion

1.3 Personal, Professional and Educational Goals Discussion

1.4 E-Portfolio Development

Week 2, Module 2: Competence and the Liberal Arts

“Competence in Liberal Arts Learning” by Betta LoSardo (LAS on-line course)

“On the Outcome of a Liberal Education” by Morry Fiddler and “Liberal Arts and Business” by Miriam Ben-Yoseph (both from Chapter 10, “Readings”, of the FAL book)

“Beyond the Machine: Liberal Learning for an Information Society” by Bruce Strasser

“Having A Degree and Being Educated” by Edmund Pellegrino

“Defining the Educated Professional” by Stark and Lowther

View Interactive presentation

“Assessing Learning Needs and Course Requirements,” Chapter 2, New Beginnings

The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory and Workbook.

Add Modules https://depaul.digication.com/gethelp/Adding_A_Module

Add Sections and Pages https://depaul.digication.com/gethelp/add_sections_pagess

Optional:

Create a banner in powerpoint;https://depaul.digication.com/gethelp/

Create_a_Banner Create a banner in pixlr https://depaul.digication.com/gethelp/create_a_banner_on_pixlr

2.1 Competence and the Liberal Arts

2.2 The SNL Program

2.3 Your Preferred Learning Style Discussion

2.4 Create and upload welcome page to Digication

Week 3, Module 3: My Focus Area: What I Know and What I Need to Learn

“Adult Education in the 21st Century” by Frederico Salas-Isnardi

Videos: “Are Droids Taking Our Jobs?”, “Assessing the Changing Nature of Work”

3.1 Defining My Focus Area

3.2 21st Century Trends Discussion

3.3 Library Workshop

Week 4, Module 4: My Focus Area: Making My Degree Personally Relevant

Chapter 4, Section E, pp.21-24 and Chapter 5, Section B, pp.12-15 in the Foundations of Adult Learning Resource Guide

4.1 Writing Bibliographical Entries

4.2 Writing X Competence Statements

4.3 E-Portfolio Development: Upload Statement of Goals and Focus Area Title and Rationale

Week 5, Module 5: The Mentoring Relationship

“How To Be A Successful Mentee”

“Mentee Skills Critical to Rapport Building”

5.1 Prepare for Mentoring Meeting

5.2 Peer Review of E-Portfolios Discussion

5.3 Writing Annotated Bibliographical Entries 3 and 4

Week 6, Module 6: The Academic Committee

“Finding and Getting to Know Your Mentor,” by Lois Zachary

6.1 Choosing a Professional Advisor Discussion

6.2 Bibliographical Entries 5 and 6

6.3 Professional Advisor Status Report

6.4. First Draft of Transfer Coursework Assessment Forms

6.5 Librarian Consultation

Week 7, Module 7: Lifelong Learning Milestones

Student videos on the SNL Writing Guide page

“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr

Sherry Turkle’s TED talk, “Connected But Alone” http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together.html Image

“It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers” by Margaret Atwood

7.1 Writing Challenges and Resources

7.2 Thinking Critically Discussion

7.3 Advanced Project Ideas

7.4 Annotations 7 and 8

Week 8, Module 8: More Lifelong Learning Milestones

Civil Rights March Image

“It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers” by Margaret Atwood

8.1 Civic Engagement Discussion

8.2 The Trends Essay

8.3 Externship Ideas

Week 9, Module 9: Who I Am and Where I Go From Here

'Vertical and Lateral Thinking' by Edward De Bono

Ted Talk: Tim Brown on Creativity

9.1 Creativity Discussion

9.2 Final Draft of Learning Portfolio

9.3 Statement of Personal Philosophy

9.4 Final Draft, Transfer Coursework Assessment

Week 10, Module 10: Eyes on the Prize: Project Graduation

“Strategies for Managing Time and Stress,” Chapter 4, “New Beginnings

10.1 Finalizing Your E-Portfolio

10.2 Peer Assessment of E-Portfolios Discussion

10.3 Nominating Your Professional Advisor and Proposing Dates for a First Committee Meeting

10.4 Final Thoughts and Reflections

To see course due dates, check the Calendar on the course home page.

Assessment of Learning

Percentage distribution of Assessments

Foundations of Adult Learning is a Pass-Fail course. Your final grades for the L2 and F1 competencies are based upon the successful and timely completion of all assigned readings, discussions and written work listed on the D2L site and is distributed as follows:

Grading Category:	% of Final Grade:
Discussions	15%
Written Assignments	45%
Learning Portfolio 5.1 Preparing for the Mentoring Meeting (10% of total grade) 9.2 Final Learning Portfolio (20% of total grade)	30%
E-Portfolio Development	10%
Total	100%

Please note: A passing grade is 70% or higher.

Grading Policies and Practices

Grades lower than a C- do not earn credit or competence at the School for New Learning. Students wishing to be graded on this letter grade scale must inform the course instructor of this preference before the end of the 2nd week of the quarter. After the 2nd week, requests for a change in the grading basis cannot be approved.

For SNL courses taken for Pass/Fail, a “Pass” represents a grade of “A” for purposes of financial aid and employer reimbursement.

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 necessary.

Points are deducted for late work.

General Assessment Criteria for All Writing Assignments

All writing assignments are expected to conform to basic college-level standards of mechanics and presentation.

In order to receive credit for writing assignments, your writing must demonstrate achievement of the following criteria:

Competence	Competence Statement and Facets
Reflection/Analysis	For assignments that specify reflection or analysis as a required activity, your writing should demonstrate to the reader that you have made in-depth, thoughtful connections between concepts, readings and, when appropriate, your personal experiences.
Detail	Writing is effective when an appropriate level of specificity is achieved. Your writing will demonstrate this when appropriate evidence is included to support ideas and opinions.
Grammar, Syntax, and Style	You should use standard English in all of your writing assignments. Your grammar, sentence structure, and style should direct your readers to an understanding of your ideas rather than serving as impediments to such understanding.
Organization	Make sure that each assignment is coherent from beginning to end.
Attention to Assignment Specifications	Your written work should adhere closely to the guidelines established in the description of each assignment.
Consult the Writing Guide for SNL Students for help in writing your assignments:	https://snlapps.depaul.edu/writing/SNLAssignments.html

Consider visiting the Writing Center to discuss your assignments for this course or any others. You may schedule appointments (30 or 50 minutes) on an as–needed or weekly basis, scheduling up to 3 hours worth of appointments per week. Online services include Feedback–by–Email and IM conferencing (with or without a webcam). All writing center services are free.

Writing Center tutors are specially selected and trained graduate and undergraduate students who can help you at almost any stage of your writing. They will not do your work for you, but they can help you focus and develop your ideas, review your drafts, and polish your writing. They can answer questions about grammar, mechanics, different kinds of writing styles, and documentation formats. They also can answer questions and provide feedback online, through IM/webcam chats and email.

Obviously, the tutors won’t necessarily be familiar with every class or subject, but they are able to provide valuable help from the perspective of an interested and careful reader as well as a serious and experienced student-writer.

Schedule your appointments with enough time to think about and use the feedback you’ll receive. To schedule a Face-to-Face, Written Feedback by Email, or Online Appointment, visit www.depaul.edu/writing.

Discussion Forums

Discussion Forums are an important component of your online experience. This course contains discussion forums related to the topics you are studying each week.

In order to receive credit for your participation in the online Discussion Board of the course it is important that:

You actively participate in informal online discussions with your classmates and the instructor, when they are required by the syllabus. "Active participation" means that you read and contribute to the online discussions.
You are able to contribute to the online discussions in a collegial fashion. You should begin your contributions by addressing your peers, maintain a kind and collegial tone, and close with your signature.
You regularly demonstrate good “listening” skills and active inquiry skills: you pay attention with openness to the commentary of others and you offer constructive and interested commentary, whether in the form of questions or statements.
You contribute your own original ideas to the online discussion in ways that facilitate learning for others.
You follow accepted standards of English spelling, grammar, and usage, although you will not be assessed for these particular characteristics when you are on the discussion board. Avoid text-messaging lingo.
You may be asked by the instructor to take leadership in a particular group for a certain time of the course. If this happens, you will receive further instructions from the instructor.
Consult Writing Guide for SNL Students to view faculty observations about best practices when posting to discussion boards: https://snlapps.depaul.edu/writing/SNLAssignments.html
If your participation is unacceptable at any time during the course, your instructor will alert you to this. If you must be away and are unable to access the Discussion Board during the course, you must let your instructor know and be ready to make up missed work as instructed.

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.