Course Syllabus

Click the Link to access/print the full Syllabus  

Regular Effective Contact policy: Regular and Effective Instructor Contact will be met through weekly instructor initiated threaded discussion forums; weekly announcements to students; timely and effective feedback on student assignments; email, phone or messaging to individuals; and office hours.

Text Book and Materials

Required Textbook: Child, Family, School, Community: Socialization and Support, Berns, 10th Edition Textbooks are available at the Cuesta College bookstore. While earlier editions may be available, the course (& its exams) is based on the current edition. Weekly chapter readings are required.

Grades: 

Grades are based on participation, assignments, exams, papers, and class projects.

Participation:

We all have something to teach and something to learn from each other in this class.  You will be given opportunities to share your own experiences as well as read about others’ experiences with children via posting messages in the Discussions Forum.  We will all be reflecting on these experiences to build our learning and develop our skills.  This course requires active participation to achieve course objectives.  Please plan on logging into the course via Canvas at least 2-3 sessions per week to keep pace with the course and to check messages, announcements, and discussion posts.

Assignments: Click the links to read full directions of the assignments!

Throughout the semester, you will complete a variety of assignments related to the corresponding chapter in the textbook.  All assignments are due on the designated dates at 11:59 p.m. Assignments will be graded on evidence of course learning (including specific information, concepts, and terms from the textbook), clarity, quality of thought, and quality of your writing (spelling and grammar). 

All unit assignments must be completed and submitted to receive an A or B in the class, regardless of total points earned. This includes the Family Cultural Biography, Cultural Interview and Mini Research Paper, Personal Bioecological Model and the Community Resource Notebook.

Family Cultural Biography: (75 Points) The Family Cultural History assignment is designed to help students explore their personal and family cultural history as a basis for understanding and working with families of diverse backgrounds. Cross-cultural competence begins with knowing about and appreciating one’s own cultural background. Sometimes it is difficult to see that we have a “culture,” especially if we are from a dominant culture in our community.

Cultural Interview and Mini Research Paper: (75 Points) To learn about another culture by reading about and then interviewing a person from this culture. For this assignment, we are defining culture as racial, place of origin, or ethnic.  Before contacting your cultural interview, spend some time thinking about questions you’d like to ask him/her.  Ask important questions – questions about love, birth, family, passion, cultural stories, vocation, etc.  You must also do some research before meeting about their culture so you are familiar with their culture and so you are more prepared.

Personal Bioecological Model : (75 Points) The bioecological model of human development can be applied to both children and maturing adults, and is thus a lifespan approach to development.  The framework emphasizes the importance of understanding bidirectional influences between individuals’ development and their surrounding environmental contexts. For this assignment, you will be designing your own personal bioecological model of your life to date, using Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model of Human Development (do this in an electronic format; e.g. Prezi, or PowerPoint).

Community Resource Notebook: (75 Points) Each student will research a minimum of ten (10) support systems available to families/children.  These support systems must be available within the local community or families must have access to them in some way. 

Reflective Journals: (4 Journals @ 15 points each = 60) Your Reflective Journal will enable you to collect your thoughts and feelings about course content and issues raised during discussions or through readings.  Taking the time to synthesize course content in your own words will help you transform knowledge into knowing.  It will also enable you to develop your critical thinking skills and self-expression. (Each Journal will be on Exam Weeks)

Late Work Policy: Unless arranged with the instructor prior to the due date, no work will be accepted beyond one week past the due date. Late Assignments are worth a Maximum of 75% of the total points if turned in after two days past submission date.  A 10% penalty per day will be applied for each day the assignment is late up to a full deduction of 25%.

Chapter Quizzes (12 @ 10 points each = 120)

Chapter quizzes are available at the beginning of each week and then they will no longer be available after the posted final due date and time. Quizzes are open book, online, and taken at your convenience.  Quizzes will be given through the Quizzes page. You cannot go in and out of the quiz- they must be completed in one sitting.

Exams (4 @ 50 points each = 200)

There will be four exams during the semester, including the final. Each exam consists of 50 questions. You will have 1.5 hours to complete the entire exam. Exams are worth 50 points each. Even though the exams are open book, online, and taken at your convenience, you should always study for them as you would any other exam. Exams will be given through the Quizzes page. You cannot go in and out of exams- they must be completed in one sitting.

Discussion Forum Postings (13 posts @ 15 points each = 195)

Your assignment must be at least two paragraphs and free from spelling and grammatical errors to earn full credit (15/15 points).  Discussion postings, posted after the due date, will be considered late. Late postings will be accepted until the completion date for each Unit, for a maximum value of 10/15 points. For each discussion post assignment, you are also required to reply to at least two of your fellow students’ posts. (No Posting on Exam Weeks)

Initial posts are due Wednesdays by midnight.  Responses to peers are due by Sunday at midnight.