UNITED
STATES GOVERNMENT, DIL
Spring 2018 - 1st 8 Weeks (01/16/18 - 03/11/18)
GOVT 2305 - SECTION 31436-086
INSTRUCTOR:
Frank J. Garrahan
OFFICE: 2132-C Northridge OFFICE PHONE: 223-4805
FAX: 223-4310
E-MAIL ADDRESS: frankjg@austincc.edu
URL www.austincc.edu/frankjg
MAILING ADDRESS: 11928 Stonehollow Dr., Austin, TX
78758
OFFICE HOURS:
Mondays through Thursday: 10:00am - 10:30am
Monday & Wednesday: 1:20pm - 2:20pm / Tuesday & Thursday: Noon - 2:00pm
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COURSE
DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to national government in
the United States and is designed not only to provide
students with the basic facts about U.S. government, but
also to help students develop their ability to engage in the
political deliberation that is central to our system of
government. The textbook focuses on three issues: who is and
who is not part of the American political community,
American political values, and why should Americans be
engaged with government and politics at all. In particular,
the authors wish to show why everyone must for their own
sake be interested in
politics.
TEXT
We the People: An Introduction to American
Politics, by Ginsberg, Lowi, & Weir, 11th Essentials
Edition, W.W. Norton & Co, 2017. (CAUTION: Do not
confuse the required text with Patterson's We the People,
which is also available at ACC bookstores. Also, there are various versions of the 11th Edition, make sure you get the one marked Essentials.). Texts may be
purchased either by gong to an ACC or Bevo bookstores
located near an ACC campus or online by visiting: http://www.mbsdirect.net/
or calling (800) 325-3252 or purchase through the pubisher or ebook: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/webad.aspx?id=4294993781
How to Use the Text: Each chapter begins with
Learning Objectives for the chapter. Keep these in mind as
you read the materials presented. Read the entire chapter
including the highlighted boxes and side notes, especially
the definitions of the terms used in the text. After you
have completed the chapter, review the "Study Outline", take
the "Practice Quiz" and review the "Key Terms".
For additional assistance with the text materials check out the
publisher's online interactive study guide that is located in Blackboard. Proceed to your course section on Blackboard and then click on "Course Materials" on the left side of the page. Then click on the chapter you wish to review. Here you will find Flash Cards, a pre-test you can take before you read the chapter, and then a post-test after you have read the chapter. Participating in these exercises is completely optional, but they can be very helpful in your prepatation for taking unit exams and the optional final.
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS
This is a DIL course, each student is
expected to keep up with the assigned readings and to
prepare thoroughly for each test. Preparing for the tests
involves more than just reading the textbook, it requires
you to 1) take notes on the readings using the learning
objectives and other study aids provided in the text; 2)
review by answering the sample test questions in the text
(answers are on page A41 of your text); 3) call or email the
instructor with any questions you might have about the
readings. Each student is responsible for keeping up with
the course requirements and deadlines.
Each student should complete FOUR required tests (50 points each) taken at ACC Testing Centers, particpate in at LEAST TWO discussion boards (each worth up to 10 points each), and complete ONE report (worth up to 30 points). Each test will consist of 50 objective (that is, multiple choice & true/false) questions covering the material in that unit of study. In addition to the exams, there is one report and two discussion boards. If you complete additional discussion boards these will count as exrtra credit (each will be graded on a scale of 0-10). Your course grade will be based on the total number of questions on the four exams which you answered correctly, plus your scores on the report, the two required discussion boards, and any additional points earned as extra credit. If you want to improve your point total, you can take the optional comprehensive final and it will replace your lowest test score if your final score is higher. If you are satisfied with your point total based on the four unit exams, report & required Discussion Boards, you do not need to take the optional final.The grading scale is as follows:
A 215-250 B 190-214 C 165-189 D 140-164 F 139 and below
COURSE
DEADLINES
EXAM 1 -
Ch 1, 2, 3, Declaration of Independence,
Articles of Confederation, US
Constitution, Federalist #51 |
Thursday, 1/25/18 |
EXAM 2 -
Ch 5, 6, 7 |
Tuesday, 2/6/18 |
REPORT
(maximum 30 points) |
Tuesday, 2/13/18 |
EXAM 3 -
Ch 8, 9, 10, Federalist #10, |
Thursday, 2/22/18 |
WITHDRAWALS |
Monday, 3/5/18 |
EXAM 4 -
Ch. 12, 4, US Constitutiional
Amendments |
Tuesday, 3/6/18 |
OPTIONAL FINAL |
Thursday, 3/8/18 |
Optional Final Test
A student may complete an optional final at any ACC Testing Center without the prior consent of the instructor up until the scheduled deadline date. The optional final covers all the chapters you studied in the textbook, therefore, it is a comprehensive test. If your score on the optional final is higher than your lowest test score, the grade on the final will substitute for that lowest score. If your final score is lower it will not count against you. The optional final must be completed by Thursday, March 8, 2018. Like your other exams, the optional final will be 50 objective questions (that is, multiple choice and True/False).
MANDATORY
MEETINGS WITH INSTRUCTOR
The Texas State
Coordinating Board of Higher Education requires that, in
order for an Open Campus course to be certified, instructors
and students need to have at least two contacts with
each other during the semester in addition to the
orientation session. Therefore, for a student to get credit
for this course, s/he must make contact, either in
person, by phone, or e-mail, with the instructor on at
least two occasions during the semester. (NOTE: A message
left on my voice mail does NOT count as a contact.) When you
send me an e-mail, please include your section
number.
TESTING
AND GRADING
Students must take the four tests and the optional final at any ACC Testing Center. See link on instructor's ACC web page for Testing Centers' locations and times. Please read the instructions for computerized testing on the following link: http://www.austincc.edu/support-and-services/services-for-students/testing-services/instructional-testing/testing-center-guidelines It might be helpful to bring this instruction sheet with you when you go to test. Grades for tests will then be
posted to Blackboard.
Although you will see "Test" on your Blackboard page, you need an access code to complete the tests and only the Testing Centers have the codes. Students will receive
a Feedback Sheet which will serve as a verification
of their test results. Each test will be based on the materials covered in each
unit as defined in this syllabus. Whereas the optional final will cover the entire course. Tests may be
taken any time up to and on the deadline dates. Contact the
instructor if you are unable to take any of the tests by the
specified date. Failure to take tests on time (without prior
approval from the instructor) may mean that the results will
not be accepted by the instructor.
Again, you can find the link to the locations and hours of
operation for the ACC Testing Centers on my web
page.
Exam |
Chapters |
Discussion Board |
DEADLINES |
1 |
1, 2, 3, Declaration of
Indepenence, Articles of Conferation, U.S.
Constitution, Federalist #51* |
1 |
Thursday, January 25 |
2 |
5, 6, 7 |
2 |
Tuesday, February 6 |
3 |
8, 9, 10, Federalist
10* |
3 |
Thursday, February 22 |
4 |
12, 4, US Constitutional Amendments* |
4 |
Tuesday, March 6 |
Final |
1 - 12 (Except Chapter 11) |
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Thursday, March 8 |
*You are reading the Declaration Of Independence, Articles of Confederation,
the United States Constitution, and the Federalist Papers as primary documents to
back-up or reinforce the materials you are reading in the
assigned chapters for this unit. They are all located in
the Appendix of your textbook.
TESTING
CENTER HOURS, Spring 2018
Please consult the Testing
Center Web Site for details.
FINAL
GRADE |
TOTAL
POINTS |
A |
215 - 250
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B |
190 - 214 |
C |
165 - 189 |
D |
140 - 164 |
F |
139 and
below |
Blackboard
The platform ACC uses
for its Web-Based courses is called Blackboard. While
much of the online information needed for this course is
available through various links on my ACC web pages, you
will also need to familarize yourself with ACC's Blackboard
page. This is the place you will go for course announcements
from me and to see your progress in the course through
grades on your tests, report, and Discussion Forums. You need to sign onto
Blackboard during the first week of classes. To go to the
student Bb page, click here.
The first thing you
need to know about Blackboard is that it requires you to
log in. The student login is available at: https://acconline.austincc.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp.
All Distance Learning students across the College are asked
to visit this link to learn how to log in to Blackboard. Once you log in for the
first time, you must enter your e-mail address into the Bb
system by clicking on Student Tools.
Student Accessibility Services
Each ACC campus offers support services for students with
documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students
with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations
through the Office for Student Accessibility Services on the
campus where they expect to take the majority of their
classes. Students are encouraged to do this three days
before the start of the semester.
SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY
A grade of "F" will be assigned to any student involved
in scholastic dishonesty Acts prohibited by the college for
which discipline may be administered include scholastic
dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam
or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with
another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted
by students shall be the result of their thoughts research
or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not
limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or
on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom
presentations, or homework.
INCOMPLETE
GRADES
A student may receive
a temporary grade of 'I' (Incomplete) at the end of the
semester ONLY if the following conditions are
met:
1. There is a valid
reason for needing the delay and the student has completed
at least two exams, the required paper
and one discussion board with a C grade average (that is, a student must
have accumulated at least 90 points) by the end of
the semester.
2. To request an
Incomplete, a student must come in person to the
instructor's office and complete the necessary
forms.
WITHDRAWALS
A student may withdraw
any time during the semester until Monday, March 5, 2018 without academic penalty. To withdraw from a class, you
must do it officially by filling out the required form with
Admissions & Records. The responsibility of officially
withdrawing rests entirely with the student. The
instructor will not withdraw any student from the
course who completed the online
orientation process. If you stop taking the course and do
not officially withdraw, you will then receive a grade of
'F.' A student who misses test deadlines will not be
withdrawn by the instructor, but the instructor reserves the
right to refuse to accept any late test unless the
instructor was previously notified by the student that the
exam would be delayed. If you need to postpone an exam
deadline, please contact the instructor, relate your reasons
for requesting an extension, and establish when the test
will be taken.
STUDENT
ID CARDS
To take an exam at any
of the Testing Centers you will be required to prove that
you are currently enrolled as a student at ACC and to show
acceptable proof of identification. Any student wishing to
use an ACC Testing Center must have a current ACC ID
(which has no photo) along with a photo ID such as a
driver's license or passport. No student will be allowed to
test in the Testing Centers without these two IDs. You may
obtain an ACC ID from any campus Admissions & Records
office.
HOW
TO PASS THIS COURSE
Any Open Campus course
requires the student to be highly motivated and
understanding of a non-traditional method of study. For the
most part, you are on your own; there is no structured
classroom or lecture in such a course. You are expected
to meet all course requirements by meeting deadlines and due
dates. Feel free to seek out the instructor to review
exams and course requirements.
The key to completing
the course successfully is to follow the guidelines on
the first page of this sylabus in how to use the text.
Also keep the lines of communication with the instructor
open. If problems develop during the semester, contact the
instructor as soon as possible to resolve any
difficulties.
DISCUSSION FORUMS
There are four Discussion Boards on Blackboard for students' participation. You must reply in a reasoned way, either in response to the forum question itself or in response to something one of your classmates has posted. "Reasoned" means you've thought about the question and present your ideas in a coherent fashion. You will encounter a variety of viewpoints on volatile topics over the course of the semester. You may disagree, perhaps strongly, with the opinions expressed by your classmates. As long as you treat each other with respect, these differences enhance class discussion and create an atmosphere where we learn from each other. Rest assured that your grades will not be influenced by beliefs or ideas expressed on the discussion boards.
Each student should complete two of these four discussions for grade points (up to ten points will be awarded for each Discussion forum). A student may complete additional discussions for extra credit points. Each Discussion forum will be open until 11:59pm on the test deadline date for that unit. Since the Discussion Boards are group activities, no deadline extensions will be granted.
Participation is graded on whether your comments are thoughtful and coherent, respond directly to the question (or another post in the board), contribute something new to the discussion, reflect an effort to move the discussion along, and reflect an understanding of the course materials. Disscussions are graded based on your contributions to the discussions. Points are awarded based on your response to the discussion question & your responses to others. So you start with zero & then accumulate points based on your contributions. The expectation is that you will respond more than once. These are group discussions, and therefore, no extensions to the deadline dates will be granted. The more you add to each discussion and the more often you respond increases your chances to earn the maximum amount of points.
REPORT ASSIGNMENT
Visit three of the following national media Web sites to
answer questions one through five below. Compare the news
coverage between ONE of the newspaper web sites (NYT, WaPo.
Or La Times) and any two of the other news media web sites.
Visit the sites in rapid succession to get a viable
comparison.
CNN - http://www.cnn.com/
NBC - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
Fox News - http://www.foxnews.com/
ABC News - http://abcnews.go.com/
CBS News - http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/home/main100.shtml
BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/
MSNBC - http://www.msnbc.com
National Public Radio - http://www.npr.org/
New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/
Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Los Angeles Times - http://www.latimes.com/
Report requirements - answer the following question:
1. Which three Web sites did you visit?
2. What were the top three stories on each of the three
Web sites?
3. How close were the stories each media outlet chose to
cover? In other words, did each one have the same three
leads? Or were there differences? If so, what were those
differences?
4. Compare and contrast the coverage of the top stories.
Did each media outlet emphasize the same things? (Provide
examples.) Was one more positive or more negative than the
others? (Provide examples.) Did they quote the same people?
(Provide examples.) Did they provide the same basic
information, or did you learn more from one than another?
(Provide specifics.)
5. What do the lead stories tell you about the media in
their role as agenda setters? Be specific. What examples did
you see of priming? What examples did you see of framing? Be
specific. In your view, what should you as a media consumer
do to mitigate the media's power as agenda setters who can
frame issues and prime their audience to see issues in a
certain way?
GUIDELINES FOR
REPORT
In writing this paper,
you must follow the guidelines provided here.
Documentation.
You must provide documentation for any quotations and/or
paraphrased information found in your research and used in
your paper. Documentation acknowledges the source of your
information. (In other words, you must give credit where
credit is due.) You must document all information that is
not common knowledge that you acquired from another source.
The documentation must be in the Modern Language
Association (MLA) style.
In the MLA style,
parenthetical documentation in the body of the paper is used
to briefly identify the sources of information that you have
borrowed in writing your paper. An MLA style sheet is
available courtesy of the ACC
LRS
or check link on
my web page. Please consult this style sheet in order to
correctly document your sources and format your works cited
page. If the style sheet does not cover the types of sources
used, or if you need further direction or clarification, go
online and consult the MLA
Web site.
First Page. In the upper right hand corner of the first page of your report list the Title of the report, your name, the course number (GOVT 2305), and your section number. DO NOT put the paper in a folder or plastic cover. Staple the pages of the paper in their proper sequence.
Format. Your
paper must be three typed, double-spaced pages in length.
Use standard margins of one inch (top, sides, and bottom)
and standard font sizes. The first page of the paper may
begin two inches from the top of the page. Papers which are
too short or gratuitously too long will lose points. DO NOT
use headings of any kind in the paper, or extra spaces
between paragraphs. Remember the paper must be at least
three full pages in length (not counting your works cited
page).
Works Cited.
The last page of your paper will be entitled Works Cited and
will list the articles that you used to write your paper. In
preparing the works cited page, remember to use the Modern
Language Association style, following the style sheet in
this syllabus.
Grading. The
required paper will be graded on a 30-point scale according
to the following criteria:
(A) Answering the all
questions
(B) organization of
the paper and writing style, including the proper use of
grammar and punctuation
(C) proper
documentation of your sources listed on the works cited
page
(D) format (for
instance, the paper should be neither too short nor too
long).
Paper grading
scale: A 27-30 points B 24-26 points C 21-23 points D
18-20 points F 17 or below
To receive at least a
C grade, the paper must adequately cover the "content"
requirements above, be coherently organized and written,
follow MLA style in source documentation, and use at least
three sites.
Report Due Date.
Report will be due on Tuesday, February 13, 2018. Your paper may be either mailed using the US
Postal Service (postmarked by the due date), placed in your
instructor's mailbox in room 1107 at the Northridge campus
(stamped by mailroom personnel with the date it was turned
in), sent by intercampus mail (stamped with date), faxed
(223-4310, be sure to put my name on the cover page),
emailed as an attachment -
if I cannot read your attachment I'll email you and let you
know, or turned into your instructor during posted
office hours. The paper must be mailed or presented to your
instructor by 11:59pm of the due date. Late reports will not be
accepted.
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