Course Syllabus
Syllabus: Course Title
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Course Description
- Course Name: ENGL 150: Critical Thinking and Communication
- Department: English
- Current Semester and Year: Summer, 2023
- Credit Hours: 3
- Course Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in LIB 160 recommended
- Course Meeting Time: Asynchronous
- Course Format: Online
Instructor Information
Instructor: Sebnem Kurt
Email: skurt@iastate.edu
Phone: 5154511004
Office location: Ross Hall
Student hours: Mon-Wed-Fri, 12-2 pm, online through Webex
You can contact your instructor in the following ways:
- General announcements will be posted via Canvas announcements. Properly configure your Notification Settings in Canvas to receive notifications.
- Option #2: email
Course Objectives (COs)
Upon completing this course, students will be able to do the following:
CO 1: Understand fundamental principles of oral, visual, and electronic communication and their interconnectedness in the context of effective writing development.
CO 2: Analyze diverse communication mediums, with their strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate usage within different contexts.
CO 3: Create oral, written, and multimodal content for diverse audiences and purposes.
CO 4: Create a personal communication portfolio that showcases growth and proficiency in various communication mediums.
CO 5: Reflect on personal communication practices and experiences, and adapt strategies for ongoing improvement and growth in written, oral, visual, and electronic communication.
Course Materials
List any required and optional materials, such as books, instructional guides, websites, simulations, interactive games, mass media publications, peer reviewed journals.
Follow a specific reference style guide, such as APA, MLA or Chicago. At minimum, reference the author or owner name, date of publication, title, and the URL or source, such as publisher.
Required materials
- ISUComm Foundation Courses Student Guide, Iowa State University, Department of English, 2021-2022.
- Axelrod, Rise and Charles Cooper. The Concise St. Martin’s Guide to Writing. 9th ed.
- Additional readings assigned by your instructor are available in Canvas.
Learning Activities
Explain how the learning activities provide opportunities for practice, interaction and achievement of the listed learning objectives.
To successfully complete this course, you will do the following:
Discussions
Discussions will help you apply the concepts from the course to examples:
- For online courses, you will submit an original post and will sometimes need to submit a reply post(s) as well.
Our weekly discussions are essential to your outcomes in this course. Benefits of these activities include:
-
- Acquiring a deeper understanding of our course concepts
- Gaining practice with the methods and skills you'll need to be successful on our major assignments
- Interacting with your classmates and feeling more engaged in the course.
Quizzes
Quizzes may be completed throughout the semester as we encounter important course concepts from videos and our textbook readings.
Drafts and Peer Review
Prior to submitting each major assignment, you will submit a complete draft for credit. Then you will review your peers' drafts, providing and receiving helpful feedback to improve your outcomes on the final draft.
Reflections
Your reflections will focus on strengthening your writing process and reflecting on your writing process following each major assignment so that you can continue to grow as a writer.
Assessment & Grading
Assessments
List all course assessments. Provide specific and descriptive criteria to be used for evaluating student work and explain their connection to the course grading policy.Explain what kind of feedback students can expect after each assessment.
Assignment 1: Personal Narrative
Assignment 2: Profile
Assignment 3: Analysis
Assignment 4a: Multimodal Design
Assignment 4b: Presentation
ISUComm ePortfolio
Grade Distribution
To add more columns or rows, hover the cursor over the table to see table properties. See Canvas Guide for more guidance.
You can accumulate points by participating in the following way:
| Participation area | Total Points |
|---|---|
Discussions, reflection, practice |
25% |
Assignment 1: Personal Narrative |
15% |
Assignment 2: Profile |
15% |
Assignment 3: Analysis |
15% |
Assignment 4a: Multimodal Design |
10% |
Assignment 4b: Presentation |
5% |
ISUComm ePortfolio |
15% |
| Total Points Possible | 100% |
Grading Scheme
Grading scheme: The table below shows the Canvas default grading scheme. This is a Canvas sample grading schema, and not an institutional grading schema. Make sure the grading schema you describe in your syllabus matches your grading schema in the course-specific settings.
The following grading standards will be used in this class:
| Grade | Range |
|---|---|
| A | 93% to 100% |
| A- | 90% to < 93% |
| B+ | 87% to < 90% |
| B | 83% to < 87% |
| B- | 80% to < 83% |
| C+ | 77% to < 80% |
| C | 73% to < 77% |
| C- | 70% to < 73% |
| D+ | 67% to < 70% |
| D | 63% to < 67% |
| D- | 60% to < 63% |
| F | 0% to < 60% |
Course Policies
Below are sample policies. They may not fitting your course, so please change accordingly.
Feedback
All graded assessments will be returned with feedback within 7 days of the due date. Personalized feedback will be provided for each assignment and reflection. In addition, responses to common questions and unclear content will be posted at the conclusion of each module. Comments will be posted at the conclusion of each discussion.
Missed and late coursework
It is important to keep up with the pace of this course. Therefore no missed coursework will be accepted. If you miss the deadline on a weekly assignment, you will receive zero points.
Exams will be penalized one letter grade for each day they are submitted late (including weekends). Make sure to keep careful track of submission deadlines for all of your work in this class.
Attendance
This is a communication and writing-intensive course. Interaction with your peers and your instructor is an important aspect of our course, and it is essential that you consistently engage and complete course learning activities. At the same time, it is also important that if you are ill, you isolate yourself and stay away from in-person course meetings. For these reasons, you are encouraged to miss class if necessary and exercise personal responsibility for completing any missed learning activities in a timely fashion.
While this policy does provide flexibility for students as needed, it does not mean that attendance is optional or that excessive absences are permitted.
- For online courses, if you miss an excessive amount of learning activities (fail to complete more than two weeks' worth of activities in a regular semester), you will fail to meet expectations for attendance and engagement and your performance in the course will be negatively impacted.
If you are not regularly attending and/or engaging with your course activities, you may be required to meet with your instructor to explain any extenuating circumstances and seek approval for a plan to meet expectations for the remainder of the course. Students who have excessive absences or who miss an excessive amount of learning activities may be advised to drop or risk failing the course.
Grade Appeal Process
If you become concerned about your instructor's class management, please communicate your concerns with your instructor. Concerns sometimes relate to grading methods, paper turnaround time, and course policies, as examples. If you feel uncomfortable speaking with your instructor, please contact...
Before you decide to appeal, check out ISU's academic appeal process.
Appealing Your Final Grade
If you feel that your final grade does not reflect the quality of the work you produced throughout the semester, please first discuss the issue with your instructor. If, after talking with your instructor, you still feel that your grade does not reflect the quality of your work, you can file a grade appeal.
To file an appeal, you will need to submit the following materials to our program staff Deanna Stumbo at stumbo@iastate.edu:
- A letter to the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses stating the grounds for the grade appeal.
- Copies of the work you submitted for major assignments
Guidelines for submitting your work
- You may attach your files to an email message or share them through Google Drive. If you choose Google Drive, please be sure to get the share link that allows anyone at Iowa State University to view your files.
- Your files may include video files or public links for Canvas StudioLinks to an external site. videos if you completed online presentations assignments in your section.
A panel of instructors will review your materials blindly and assign a grade based on the quality of the work. If the grade the panel assigns is higher than the grade you received, your grade will be changed accordingly. If, however, the grade the panel assigns is lower than the grade you received, your grade will remain the same.
Required ISU Syllabus Statement
Free Expression
Iowa State University supports and upholds the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech and the principle of academic freedom in order to foster a learning environment where open inquiry and the vigorous debate of a diversity of ideas are encouraged. Students will not be penalized for the content or viewpoints of their speech as long as student expression in a class context is germane to the subject matter of the class and conveyed in an appropriate manner.
Recommended ISU Syllabus Statements
Academic Dishonesty
The class will follow Iowa State University’s policy on academic misconduct (5.1 in the Student Code of Conduct). Students are responsible for adhering to university policy and the expectations in the course syllabus and on coursework and exams, and for following directions given by faculty, instructors, and Testing Center regulations related to coursework, assessments, and exams. Anyone suspected of academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct in the Dean of Students Office. Information about academic integrity and the value of completing academic work honestly can be found in the Iowa State University Academic Integrity Tutorial.
Accessibility Statement
Iowa State University is committed to advancing equity, access, and inclusion for students with disabilities. Promoting these values entails providing reasonable accommodations where barriers exist to students’ full participation in higher education. Students in need of accommodations or who experience accessibility-related barriers to learning should work with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to identify resources and support available to them. Staff at SAS collaborate with students and campus partners to coordinate accommodations and to further the academic excellence of students with disabilities. Information about SAS is available online at www.sas.dso.iastate.edu, by email at accessibility@iastate.edu, or by phone at 515-294-7220.
Discrimination and Harassment
Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Veteran. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to Office of Equal Opportunity, 3410 Beardshear Hall, 515 Morrill Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, Tel. 515-294-7612, Hotline 515-294-1222, email eooffice@iastate.edu
Mental Health and Wellbeing Resources
Iowa State University is committed to proactively facilitating all students’ well-being. Resources available on the ISU Student Health and Wellness website. (https://www.cyclonehealth.iastate.edu)
Prep Week
This class follows the Iowa State University Prep Week policy as noted in section 10.6.4 of the Faculty Handbook.
Religious Accommodation
Iowa State University welcomes diversity of religious beliefs and practices, recognizing the contributions differing experiences and viewpoints can bring to the community. There may be times when an academic requirement conflicts with religious observances and practices. If that happens, students may request the reasonable accommodation for religious practices. In all cases, you must put your request in writing. The instructor will review the situation in an effort to provide a reasonable accommodation when possible to do so without fundamentally altering a course. For students, you should first discuss the conflict and your requested accommodation with your professor at the earliest possible time. You or your instructor may also seek assistance from the Dean of Students Office at 515-294-1020 or the Office of Equal Opportunity at 515-294-7612.
Contact Information For Academic Issues
If you are experiencing, or have experienced, a problem with any of the above statements, email academicissues@iastate.edu
(Important note to faculty: The email address for contact information is monitored and answered through the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost)
Disclaimer: The information in this syllabus is subject to change in extenuating circumstances. Changes to the course syllabus will be provided in writing and announced via course-wide announcements.
The syllabus page shows a table-oriented view of the course schedule, and the basics of course grading. You can add any other comments, notes, or thoughts you have about the course structure, course policies or anything else.
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