Improved College Reading       Spring  2010

RED 090 Section 01     Haywood Community College   Instructor:  Gerry Kelly 

Classroom: Bldg. 300   Rm. #326 Division:  Developmental Education  Bldg. 300  Rm. #339A 
Class Meeting Times: 11:00-11:50 M-F Secretary:  Imogene Rogers                                                                                                                                           Instructor Phone:  828-768-2843  

Secretary Phone:  828-565-4223          Office Hours:  By appointment

Email: gkelly@haywood.edu

TLC Hours: M-TH 8:00 AM- 6:30 PM; F 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM                   
 
 

COURSE SYLLABUS 

Course Description 

This course is designed to improve reading and critical thinking skills.  Topics include vocabulary enhancement; extracting implied meaning; analyzing author’s purpose, tone, and style; and drawing conclusions and responding to written material.  Upon completion, students should be able to comprehend and analyze college-level reading material.  This course satisfies the developmental reading prerequisite for ENG 111.  Prerequisite: Satisfactory placement score  Corequisites:  None. 
 

Instructional Materials 

  • The Effective Reader, by D.J. Henry and I Am One of You Forever, by Fred Chappell

 

Course Competencies 

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:  

    • Use language cuing systems
    • Identify active and passive learning characteristics
    • Write letters of intent and cite specific learning goals
    • Read a variety of reading genres, including poetry
    • Analyze the process of reading and connect confirming strategies to comprehension
    • Recognize key elements of comprehension
    • Define word meanings by utilizing context clues, substitution strategies, and/or the dictionary
    • Develop and improve effective strategies for reading
    • Apply reading strategies to content area readings
    • Generate written and oral responses to reading
    • Employ reading concepts through self-reflection papers
    • Identify topic and main idea of paragraphs and essays
    • Self-assess reading behaviors
    • Create summaries from annotations
    • Identify central idea and thesis statements in textbooks and essays
    • Identify supporting details located in paragraphs and long passages
    • Generate concept maps
    • Interpret thought patterns within and between sentences
    • Evaluate reading passages to identify fact and opinion statements
    • Identify biased and unbiased words
    • Identify implied main ideas and central ideas
    • Interpret writer’s purpose and tone in reading passages
    • Apply critical thinking skills to a variety of reading materials
    • Annotate and respond to a variety of reading materials
    • Infer and draw logical conclusions
    • Interpret graphic and visual materials
    • Identify and demonstrate knowledge of writers, specifically North Carolina writers
    • Score at least 70 on a final reading competency exam

 

HCC Mission Statement: Entrepreneurial Skills 

Haywood Community College seeks to take learning beyond the classroom by encouraging individuals to develop their abilities in problem solving, leadership, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship. As a community college, Haywood endeavors to reflect state, national, and global trends in its educational programs and to serve the surrounding community by fostering economic growth in the county and region. This course will focus on the following General Competencies. 

General Competencies: General Competencies identified for the course by Department or Program Head should be listed below. Upon course completion, students will be able to: 

1. Teamwork – Work with others to:

    • analyze a situation;
    • establish priorities;
    • apply resources for solving a problem; and
    • accomplish established mission, goals, and objectives.

2. Responsibility - Employ individual behaviors to

    • work within established guidelines
    • support mission, goals, objectives
    • accomplish designated tasks within identified deadlines

3. Communication – Appropriately exchange ideas and information in:

    • oral formats
    • written formats
    • visual formats

4. Problem Solving - Identify problems &  potential causes to

    • develop solutions
    • implement action plans  

 

Task Completion Policy 

Make-up tests will be scheduled on an individual basis.  It is the student’s responsibility to see the instructor regarding any missed work or tests.  All missed assignments or tests must be made up within five class days.  Failure to complete missed assignments or tests within this time period will result in a grade of 0.   
 

Grading Practices 

Course Assessments:  80% = Literature Study, MyReadingLab, Reading Strategy Exams

10% = Vocabulary Development Journal and Novel Journal   10% = Final Competency Exam 

Grading Scale:     A = 90-100     B = 80-89    C = 70-79    CT = Below 70

A grade of CT indicates that the student failed to successfully complete course requirements and must register and repeat the course.  A passing grade will count in cumulative grade point average.  The RED 090 course cannot count as an elective or as graduation credit.  Students must pass the course with an average of 70 and also successfully complete the required exit competency with a passing grade of 70. 
 

Please note that grades are not mailed. You may access grades, unofficial transcripts, and schedules online by going to www.haywood.edu. Click on "Academic Information" and follow the "Check Grades" instructions. 

Competency Exam:

There is a divisional competency exam required in RED 090.  This competency will be given at the end of the semester, and you must pass the exam with a score of 70 to pass the course.  You will be given a diagnostic test at the beginning of the semester, which will cover the exact same material as the competency.  The diagnostic exam grade will NOT be counted toward your final average, but will be used only to identify areas that you need to review.  You will also be given a sample competency exam to keep so that you will know from the beginning of the semester what will be expected of you.  Even if you have a passing grade in the class, you must pass the competency exam, or you must repeat the class.  
 
 

Attendance Policy 

Students who miss ten percent (10%) or more of the total possible time for a course, before the “Last day to withdraw from a course” as set forth in the Academic Calendar, will receive a grade of “W” for the course, provided they officially withdraw from the course by completing a Registration Change Notice form.  Students who do not officially withdraw from the developmental course will receive a “W” for the course (Continuation of Developmental Course, which means the student must retake the developmental course). Students have the right to appeal any grades given due to the lack of attendance. 

ADA Notification: Alternate Learning Styles/Additional Support 

Haywood Community College is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for students with documented disabilities. The college complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which stipulate that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.” Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, psychological disabilities, and hearing, sight or mobility impairments.   

Students who require disability services or reasonable accommodations must identify themselves as having a disability and provide current diagnostic documentation to Disability Services counselor. All information is confidential. Please contact Student Services for more information - (828) 627-4504. 
 

Class Rules and Regulation 

Upon enrollment at Haywood Community College students are provided with and agree to review and abide by all rules and regulations contained in the HCC Student Handbook and the HCC Catalog.  Specifically, students agree to abide by the Student Code of Conduct in the HCC Student Handbook and the Rules and Regulations of the College in the HCC Catalog. As such, students accept that violation of the drugs, alcohol or weapons policy, or the academic honesty policy may result in expulsion. Students may obtain copies of the Handbook and Catalog in Student Services or online at www.haywood.edu.  
 

Regular attendance is necessary for successful learning to take place.  Haywood Community College has adopted a reasonable attendance policy to ensure successful completion of course work.  Please notify the instructor if you anticipate absences and schedule individual conferences with instructor following an absence.  Any student missing more than 16 class hours will be dropped.   
 
 

Course Instructional Methods

  • lecture
  • discussion
  • cooperative learning
  • experiential learning
  • inquiry-based learning
  • problem-based learning
  • project-based learning
  • group projects
  • others that include reading journals
  • successful completion of required competency exam

 

Academic Honesty

Students may not engage in academic dishonesty. The HCC Student Handbook defines Academic Dishonesty as “Taking or acquiring possession of any academic material (test information, research papers, notes, etc.) from a member of the college staff or student body without permission; receiving or giving help during tests; submitting papers or reports (that are supposed to be original work) that are not entirely the student’s own; not giving credit for others’ work (plagiarism)” (Student Handbook 05-06).  Students who violate the Academic Integrity Policy will be sent to the Vice President of Student Services for expulsion from the College or other sanction.   

  • Cheating: Cheating includes, but is not limited to:
    • copying, faxing, emailing, or in any way duplicating assignments that are turned in, wholly or in part, as original work
    • exchanging assignments with other students, either handwritten or computer generated, whether you believe they will be copied or not
    • using any form of memory aid during tests or quizzes without the expressed permission of the instructor
    • giving or receiving answers during tests or quizzes.  (It is the student’s responsibility to secure his or her papers so that other students will not have the opportunity to copy from them or the temptation to do so.)
    • taking credit for group work when the student has not contributed an equal or appropriate share toward the final result
    • accessing a test or quiz for the purpose of determining the questions in advance of its administration
    • using summaries/commentaries (Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, etc.) in lieu of reading the assigned materials.

 

  • Plagiarism: Plagiarism consists of taking another’s ideas and/or words and presenting them as if they were your own.  Students submitting plagiarized material, in whole or in part, will be subject to penalty at the discretion of the instructor.  Plagiarism results in a zero grade on the assignment, loss of credit in that course, and/or other administrative action. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
    • taking someone else’s assignment or portion of an assignment and submitting it as your own
    • submitting material written by someone else or rephrasing the ideas of another without giving the author’s name or source
    • presenting the work or tutors, parents, siblings, spouses, or friends as your own
    • submitting papers from the Internet written by someone else as your own
    • supporting plagiarism by providing your work to others, whether you believe it will be copied or not

 

Acknowledgement

Our thanks go to the English Department of North Hunterdon-Voorhee Regional High District of Annandale, NJ, for allowing Haywood Community College to use part of North Hunterdon’s existing academic honesty policy.  The Hunderton policy is available at http://www.nhvweb.net/nhhs/English/cheatingplagiarismpolicy.htm. 

If you require students to sign an honesty pledge at any point in the course, be sure to state such here.  

Syllabus Changes

Other documents provided by the instructor are incorporated by reference into this syllabus and are binding.  Changes announced or posted in class or via Blackboard take precedence over the syllabus.  It is the students’ responsibility to keep abreast of such changes. 

Student Concerns

If you have concerns about this course, first consult your instructor.  If after meeting with your instructor, you feel that your concern has not been satisfactorily addressed, or if you feel that you cannot effectively communicate with your instructor about the issue, you may contact the following people in the following order:

First Contact

Developmental and TLC Coordinator:

Margaret Studenc, 627-4688 (mstudenc@haywood.edu)

Second Contact

Executive Director of Student Success Services:

Elaine Barnes, 565-4220 (ebarnes@haywood.edu)

Third Contact

Vice President of Academic Services and Workforce Development:

Chad Bledsoe, 627-4676 (cbledsoe@haywood.edu)