Mt. Hood Community College
RD 115 Reading for College Success
Humanities Division – Academic
Literacy – Winter 2014
Instructor: Joe Van Zutphen
Email:
Joe.VanZutphen@mhcc.edu
Office and mailbox:
Humanities Division, AC 2450 Office Hours: TTH 8:25- 8:55
Blogspot:
http://vanzutphenrd115.blogspot.com/
Course Information
_________________________________________________________________________
Credits: 3
WELCOME
TO MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE!
For those of you new to the college
experience, this document, your course syllabus, will outline everything of
importance in this course. Keep this syllabus, refer to it often, and use it to
guide your work in this course. Please know that this guide, like most others,
is subject to change, and that if substantive changes do occur, I will issue
revisions to this document.
MT.
HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE MISSION STATEMENT
A commitment to the community: Mt.
Hood Community College affords all people a knowledge-based education, giving
them the ability to make life choices: adapt to change; build strong
communities; contribute to and derive benefit from the new economy; and become
part of a skilled workforce.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Effective reading of college textbooks requires a variety of
critical thinking and reading skills. This course teaches effective strategies
and tactics directly applicable to textbook learning. Students develop skill
with techniques designed to make them active, thinking participants in the
reading/learning process. Focus of instruction is on comprehending textbook
material through the recognition, understanding, and application of main ideas
and thesis. College-level vocabulary acquisition is also emphasized.
REQUISITE
Placement in RD 115 is based on the college reading
placement (CPT) test scores, grades of C or better in RD090 and WR090, or
instructor referral. Concurrent enrollment in WR115 or higher is recommended.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will
be able to:
- Demonstrate literal comprehension
strategies that will enable them to:
a. Identify
general topics and narrow them into phrases
b. Identify
and comprehend main ideas and thesis
c. Distinguish
between major and minor details
d. Recognize
organizational patterns of paragraph logic
e. Paraphrase
and summarize academic material
- Apply reading strategies that
will enable them to retain what they learn from text material including:
a. Beginning
the reading process effectively
b. Reading
actively to monitor comprehension
c. Finish
reading by annotating ideas to effectively remember them
- Develop vocabulary through
techniques including:
a. Improve
context word attack skills
b. Learn
and utilize morphemes (Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes)
REQUIRED MATERIALS
- Textbook: Bridging the Gap, 11th Edition, by Brenda D. Smith
- 3” x 5” note cards
- three-ring notebook
- A
personal e-mail account & access to a computer and the Internet
HOW
MUCH TIME SHOULD I INVEST IN THIS COURSE?
You should be prepared to devote at
least 6 and optimally 9 or more hours per week to preparing for this class, or
around 2 to 3 hours of preparation for each hour you spend in class.
Preparation includes reading and completing your assignments, reviewing your
work, working with your study group, and any other work that you need to do to
support your learning.
COURSE COMPONENTS
Class
Participation:
I like to think of class participation as a willingness to
participate in and/or adhere to all of the following:
- class
discussion
- in-class
exercises
- collaborative/group
work
- punctuality
- coming
to class regularly
- being
respectful of your peers
- motivation
to succeed
If I feel that you fall short in any of these areas, I
reserve the right to drop your class participation grade as I see fit. I will
use my “Tardiness and Attendance” policy below to further arrive at your
participation grade.
Homework: Students
will be asked to complete specific homework assignments as outlined on the
course calendar and as directed in class. These assignments will provide
students with the opportunity to practice and apply skills taught both in
lectures and from the text.
Vocabulary
Development:
College students can expect to encounter a large number of
words and terms that they will not be familiar with in their textbook
reading. One of the best ways to develop
an understanding of these words is to use structural analysis – learning to
recognize common prefixes, suffixes, and roots (morphemes) that make up many
words in the English language. In order to develop recognition and
understanding of these common word parts, students will be asked to create
vocabulary cards, using the master list provided, and you will be tested on
these morphemes.
Exams: There will
be 3 mastery exams during the term.
These exams will include recall and application of skills and strategies
taught. It is the students’
responsibility to prepare for exams. It
is also the students’ responsibility to find out why he/she missed items on an
exam and to check with the instructor if grading is unclear.
GRADING
You will be graded on a letter grade basis at the end of the
term: A, B, C, D, F, and I (Incomplete). During the term, I will use grades A –
D for passing work and the grade F for non-passing work. Letter grades in this
course equate to percentages in the following ways:
A = 90% - 100%, B = 80% - 89%, C = 70% - 79%, D = 60 - 69%,
F = 0 – 59%
Your final grade for the course will be determined by the
following:
Attendance & Participation 30
Assignments (8 projects) 120
Quizzes (10 pts each) & Exams (40 pts each) 200
Additional assignments
20
400 Total
Note that some programs consider a C grade or better in
RD115 to be passing.
Students who wish to know their progress during the term
will need to make an appointment to meet with me to discuss such information.
NO LATE WORK
The purpose of homework is two-fold: to extend in-class
learning, and to prepare to continue learning. If homework is not done in a
timely manner, both of these purposes are lost. Any homework not turned in at
the time that it is collected is considered late and will not be accepted.
This policy applies to all circumstances,
including excused absences. Any assignments completed during class time on
the due date are late and a grade of zero will be entered. At the end of the
term, I will drop your worst homework grade, which can take care of a missed
assignment. Additionally, there is a one-time due date extender (see blogspot);
this extender is worth 5 end-of-terms points if unused.
Tuesdays
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8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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Wednesdays
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8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
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Fridays
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8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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TARDINESS
Tardiness is disturbing. Every time someone walks
into class late, he or she disturbs the flow of learning. For this reason, I will hold you accountable
to the following:
- All entrances into the room
after I have finished taking roll will be marked as tardy. Students more
than 5 minutes late will lose some participation points for that class
meeting. Extreme tardiness for a class meeting may result in a loss of all
participation points for that day.
- If you enter the classroom
after I have taken roll, it is up to you to notify me that you are present
by the end of class so that I don’t mistakenly mark you as absent.
- Three
tardies will count as an unexcused
absence (see below how unexcused absences will affect your final grade).
- Leaving class early or stepping
out in the middle of class is just as disruptive as arriving late. Therefore,
if you leave early or step out of class to attend to personal business, it
will be treated the same as a tardy.
- I will start this policy after
the second week of classes. By
then, you should know if the timing of this class and your own personal schedules
are workable together.
ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend each class. Regular attendance is necessary in order to
meet the course objectives.
- It is not possible to make-up
classroom activities. Therefore, any absence will result in no
participation points for that class period.
- Important:
Students who miss more than 20% of class
hours (i.e., two weeks of instruction) risk failing the course and may be
encouraged to drop the class.
- If you miss one class during
the first two weeks of the term, you may be dropped from the course.
- In order for an absence to be
excused, you must contact me before class via voicemail or e-mail. It is a
good idea to program my number/e-mail address into your phone. Failure to
do this will result in an unexcused
absence.
- If you miss more than three
class sessions, you must confer with me to discuss the best course of
action regarding your learning in this course. In most cases, I recommend
that you withdraw from the course if you must miss more than 3 or 4 class
sessions all term.
- Each
unexcused absence will cost you 1% of your overall points earned this
term.
- Excessive
excused absences will result in lower
achievement and reduced learning.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The
following applies if there is a waitlist for the class. If you are not present
by the second-class meeting and if I have no message or understanding of your
intention to continue with the class by the beginning of the second-class
meeting, I will drop you from my personal roster and move you directly to the
waitlist. You are then responsible for officially withdrawing from the course.
LATE ADDS
I will not accept “late adds” after the second class meeting
during the first week of instruction. NO EXCEPTIONS. Any student who would like
to be added must do all the work and be caught up with the rest of the class.
PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Please turn off all cell phones and
audio equipment when class starts and keep
this equipment out of sight. If I see you making a habit of texting
or using your phone in any inappropriate manner during class time, I will
request a brief conference with you. If the inappropriate behavior continues, I
will deduct 10 points from your overall grade for each subsequent occurrence.
If the distracting behavior persists beyond this point, I reserve the right to
drop or fail you from the course. If your cell phone goes off or if I see a
cell phone or other evidence during an exam or quiz, you will lose all points
for that exam/quiz. If you are a parent or someone needing to be attendant to
the needs of someone else for emergencies only, please leave your phone
on silent mode and take the emergency call only after you have quietly stepped
out of the classroom. If you cannot turn your cell phone off on a day when we
have a test, you will need to make alternate arrangements as you cannot leave
your cell phone on during exams.
CLASSROOM COMMUNITY
In order to create the best learning
environment possible, I ask that we respect each other at all times. This
especially means no talking while others are contributing to classroom
discussion. I will do my best to make sure that everyone has a chance to
participate. In addition, I would
appreciate your commitment to refraining from the following: sleeping, doing
homework for other classes, packing up early, arriving late, wearing headphones
while in class, text messaging, and other behaviors that, with a little bit of
foresight, you know are disruptive. Ongoing disruptive behavior will affect
your participation grade in this class. I also reserve the right to drop you
from the course if the disruptive behavior continues.
STUDENT CONDUCT
Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines spelled
out in the student handbook with regard to conduct.
CHEATING POLICY
It is against MHCC Guidelines for Student Conduct to cheat
or plagiarize, both of which are grounds for disciplinary action. For purposes of this course, any student who
submits work that they did not do, copies work from other students, allows
other students to copy their work, or cheats in any form, will not receive
credit for the work and will not be allowed to redo the work. If the situation warrants, further
disciplinary action may be taken.
INSTRUCTOR E-MAIL AND VOICEMAIL
I will only check and reply to voicemail and e-mail Tuesday
and Thursday during those times that I am on campus. After grades are due at
the end of the term, I will not respond to student e-mail or voicemail until
the first day of class at the start of the next term.
Letters of
Recommendation
If you seek a letter of recommendation from me, you need to
be earning an 88% or higher in my course which includes an overall average
grade of 88% or higher on your exams.
WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES
Should it be necessary to quit attending this or any other
class, you must officially withdraw in the Registration Office by the dates
published in the class schedule or risk a failing grade. A UW (Unofficial Withdrawal) is equivalent to
an F on your transcript.
PLEASE NOTE
Because the individual make-up and needs of each class
varies, and the reality that unforeseen circumstances may interfere with the
completion of all of the items in the course syllabus, the instructor reserves
the right to modify this plan in ways that will not penalize any student.
Students will always be notified of any modification.
FOR ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT MHCC POLICIES AND
SAFETY INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:
TUTORING
Many of you may wish to work with a tutor periodically
throughout this course. In some cases, I
may require that you do so. FREE
tutoring is available through the Learning Success Center in AC 3300 on the
third floor above the Library. Call
503-491-7108 for an appointment. Keep in mind that tutors are not there to
proofread your work. When visiting with a tutor, please make sure to bring your
textbook so the tutor understands what assignment you are working on and try to
be as specific as possible as to what you want help with. Also, don’t wait till the last minute to seek
out tutoring; the tutoring/learning process doesn’t work if you try to meet
with a tutor the day your assignment is due. The LSC also offers individual
learning skills consultation and academic success seminars. The LSC Computer
Lab is available for individual academic use and has a variety of
skill-building software available.
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES AT THE
LEARNING SUCCESS CENTER
By design, RD 115 has a student work load commensurate with
college-level coursework. “Extra” credit
implies that students have completed all of the required work and are seeking
additional work to offset low scores.
Therefore, no extra credit
will be considered unless all required work has been completed and turned in.
In addition, students who wish to receive extra credit must first meet with me
to review their progress. For those of you who may be interested in earning up
to 5 extra percentage points over
the term, I invite you to spend some time up at the Learning Success
Center. In addition to all the great
tutoring they provide, they have many workshops to assist you with your
academic success. For each workshop or
tutoring session you attend, I will award you a percentage point of extra
credit to be applied to your overall grade.
In order for me to record your credit, I will need you to have a staff
member from the Learning Success Center sign an extra credit form that I will
make available to you. While five visits
for tutoring and/or workshops will earn you the maximum number of percentage
points, I encourage you to take advantage of as many of their resources as
possible.
Note that room AC 3333 is
the computer lab inside the Learning Success Center, upstairs on the mezzanine
above the Library.
Important
Dates: Final exam March 18
TENTATIVE
SCHEDULE
(Please listen to specific assignments as they are given in
class. If you are absent, please check the portal.)
Week 1:
9/23
Introductions/Orientation
Chapter 1:Active Learning
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Week 1:
Chapter 1: Active Learning
Journal 1 due
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Week 2:
Chapter 2: Vocabulary
Project 1 due
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Week 2:
Chapter 2: Vocabulary
Quiz 1
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Week 3:
Chapter 3: Strategic Reading and Study
Project 2 due
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Week 3:
Chapter 3: Strategic Reading and Study
Quiz 2
Journal 2 due
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Week 4:
Predict Exam Content
Review for Exam #1
Project 3 due
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Week 4:
Exam # 1 w/Quiz 3
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Week 5:
Chapter 4: Main Idea
Project 4 due
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Week 5:
Chapter 4: Main Idea
Quiz 4 Journal 3 due
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Week 6:
Chapter 5: Patterns of Organization
Project 5 due
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Week 6:
Chapter 5: Patterns of Organization
Quiz 5 Journal 4 due
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Week 7:
Chapter 6: Organizing Textbook Information
Project 6 due
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Week 7:
Chapter 6: Organizing Textbook Information
Quiz 6 Journal 5 due
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Week 8:
Predict Exam Content
Review for Exam #2
Veteran’s Day No class
Project 7 due
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Week 8:
Exam # 2 w/ Quiz 7
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Week 9:
Chapter 10: Graphic Illustrations
Project 8 due
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Week 9:
Thanksgiving Holiday: No Classes 21,22,23
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Week 10
Chapter 10: Graphic Illustrations
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Week 10
Chapter 11: Rate Flexibility
Quiz 8 Journal 6 due
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Week 11
Chapter 12: Test Taking
Review for Exam
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Week 11
Chapter 12: Test Taking
Review for Exam
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Finals Week 12/10
Exam # 3
Day and time TBA.
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Latin
Roots Quizzes
Roots Quiz One
1. (a)equis equal,
even equivocal,
equate
2.
anima breath,
spirit magnanimous,
inanimate
3.
ann, enn year annuity,
bicentennial
4.
anthropo man misanthropic,
philanthropy
5.
astro star astronomical,
astral
6.
aud, audit to
hear audiophile, audiotape
7.
auto self autistic,
autopilot
8.
bellum war rebel,
belligerent
9.
bene good, well benign, benefactor
10.
bio life biodegrade,
bionic
Roots Quiz Two
1. cap, cept to take capture,
capacious
2.
capit head caption, decapitation
3.
cede, ceed to
yield, to go concession,
concede
4.
cent hundred centennial,
centipede
5.
chron time synchronize,
anachronistic
6.
civ citizen civility,
civilization
7.
cogni to know recognize, connoisseur
8.
corpus body corpulent,
corpse
9.
crat, cracy rule aristocracy,
bureaucrat
10.
cred, credit to believe credit, incredible,
credence
Roots Quiz Three
1.
cult to
care for culture,
occult
2.
cycle wheel, circle cyclical
3.
dem people pandemic,
democracy
4.
dent tooth dentifrice,
dental
5.
derm skin hypodermic,
pachyderm
6.
dic, dict to
say, to speak indicate, verdict
7.
duc, duct to
lead educate,
conducive
8.
fac, fact to
make facsimile,
factor
9.
fin end,
complete finish,
infinity
10.
gen, gene birth,
origin gender,
generator
Roots Quiz Four
1.
geo earth geography,
geophysics
2. gram to write grammar, epigram
3.
graph to
write graffiti, phonograph
4.
hetero other heterosexual,
heterodox
5.
homo same homonym,
homogenous
6.
hydra water hydrate,
dehydrated
7.
jac, ject to
throw dejected,
ejaculate
8.
log, logo word,
study etymology,
mineralogy
9.
loqui, locut talk ventriloquist,
loquacious
10. luc, lus light illustrate,
elucidate
Roots Quiz Five
1.
mania madness maniac
pyromaniac
2. manus hand manacle,
manipulate
3.
metr measure parameter, metric
4.
micro small microscope,
microfiche
5.
mit, miss to
send transmit, mission, demise
6.
mono one monopolize,
monogamy
7.
mor dead immortality,
morgue
8.
ocul eye monocle,
binocular
9.
path feeling,
suffering apathy,
psychopath
10.
ped foot (also child) expedite, pedestrian
Roots Quiz Six
1.
photo light photophobic,
photograph
2. port to carry deport, portfolio
3. phon sound symphony,
cacophony
4. scrib, script to write scribble, nondescript
5. spec, spect to look spectrum,
circumspect
6. un- not unkind,
unnecessary
7. re- again,
back replace,
repeat
8. in-, im-, il-, ir- not, opposite of illogical, immature, inactive
9. dis- not,
without dislocate,
disrupt
10. en-, em- in, to
cause to be, put emphasis,
enlarge, enemy
Roots Quiz Seven
1.
non- not nonentity,
nonpayment
2. over- over overdue,
overcoat, overt
3
mis- ill,
mistaken mistake,
mischief, misdeed
4.
sub- under,
below submerge,
substitute
5.
pre- before (both time & place) preamble, predict
6
inter between intergalactic,
interfere
7.
fore- before, in front of forehead,
8.
de- from delight,
dedicate
9.
trans across transportation,
trajectory
10. eu good euphoria, euphemism
Roots Quiz Eight
1. ambi
both ambivalent, ambiguous
2. mal bad, evil
malevolent, malady
3.
ad-
toward
adhere, adverse
4.
be-
on all sides, overly
bemoan, bedazzled
5.
con-, com-
with, together
construct, companion
6.
–ist
one who
dentist, oncologist
7.
mal- bad, evil maladjusted, malcontent
8.
dia-
through
dialysis,
diagnosis, diameter
9.
sur
over, above surface, sirloin, survivor
10.
luna
moon
lunatic, loony, lunar
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