Welcome to Family 430!
Course Description
This course teaches the ecological and gospel perspectives on providing family-focused prevention and intervention services and support, with emphasis on communicating with families, empowering parents, developing family and professional partnerships, interagency collaboration, and accessing and linking family and community resources.Course Objectives
- Develop a beginning understanding of the diversity and concerns of families;
- Explore the role and application of family systems theory and other ecological approaches to understanding the family and community;
- Recognize the characteristics and advantage of strength-based and family-focused approaches to prevention and intervention services;
- Understand the dynamics of community collaborations and partnerships and the methods for advocating, mobilizing, and sustaining community intervention efforts;
- Explore the theories and best practices related to parent involvement and child centered intervention;
- Investigate the community resources available to families with young children;
- Explore the dynamics of family and paid work on a family interactions and child socialization.
- Advance writing, communication and analytical skills by participating in course activities and preparing written assignments.
Course Architecture
In an online course, regular and sustained attention to the course is critical. You are encouraged to be attentive to the deadlines, reading assignments and course activities. This course is organized into, and will run in 14 one-week lessons. In the first week, you will complete the Course Introduction, which will help orient you to the course and give you time to practice using the I-Learn tools. During the next 12 weeks, you will study one lesson per week.
Each lesson:
- Will open early in order to accommodate students who want to get started.
- New lessons will be opened Thursdays of the preceding week, and
- Will close 9 days later (Saturday at 11:00 PM).
- Has two main due dates:
- Wednesday (11:59 PM) Complete Preparation Questions, Check for Understanding, Initial Posts on the Treasure Hunt and Idea Exchange Discussion Boards.
- Saturday (11:00 PM) All other activities: Follow-up posts on the Treasure Hunt and Idea Exchange Discussion Boards, Lift Others, Weekly Report.
Even though this course is an online course, it is not an independent study course. You will be expected to interact with classmates in order to teach one another about what you are learning. Students will be expected to participate in Teach One Another activities where some of the most powerful experiences occur. This course has an expectation that students spend 3-4 hours each week for every credit earned. Students will need to be able to commit 9-12 hours each week. If you are unable to commit to the time demands of this course then you would be advised to take this course some other time when you will be able to commit to the workload.
This course has been designed to help you slowly build up a knowledge base of ideas and skills. Not all of these ideas and skills will come easily. It takes a lot of work and practice before some things will even start to make sense, so you should not be surprised to find that it may take you a little time to comprehend these ideas. Just be patient-as you approach the end of the course the ideas will start to come together and you will see how much progress you have really made. You will understand what this course is all about and you will be glad you persisted in your efforts to learn.
As you thoughtfully prepare, teach one another, and ponder/prove what you have learned, and as you humbly seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will bless you with a greater knowledge of His mercy and love, and you will receive an increased testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Activities
Preparation (Due Wednesday at 11:59 PM)
- Preparation Questions Guide: This guide will help you look for information that you will need to include in your Nugget
List and Concept/Mind Map each week. The notes you take on your readings will help you in understanding key concepts as
well as in preparing for the comprehensive final. There will be a quiz every week to check your understanding. Under the
preparation materials you will be covering:
- Textbook Reading: Each week you will be assigned a chapter to read through from the course textbook. You will be assessed on your understanding of the material you are reading.
- Additional Resources: Key Point Summaries and Chapter PowerPoints found in the Course Folder under Resources have been provided to assist you in understanding course material and key concepts.
Be aware that: The time it takes to complete the assigned readings may not be consistent every week.
Treasure Hunt (Due Wednesday at 11:59 PM and Saturday at 11:00 PM)
- Treasure Hunt: This activity will have you work as a class to find resources available, both civic and religious, to help strengthen families. This activity will require you to apply your knowledge on how best to use the available resources. The purpose of this activity is to help you create a repository of helpful information that you can take with you at the end of the course. To read further instructions on what you will be expected to do, review the Treasure Hunt Discussion Board-Instructions page found in the Course Folder under Resources > Treasure Hunt Resources
Application (Due Wednesday at 11:59 PM and Saturday at 11:00 PM)
- Personal Application: Similar to the Preparation Questions Guide, this activity is a Word template with application questions specific to your own experiences and as a result are not shared with other students.
- Idea Exchange: You will be using this Discussion Board to have meaningful online conversations with your classmates that deepen your understanding and learning experience.
- Lift one another:One of the most powerful aspects of the learning process is application of the learning. Over the course of the semester you will be asked to perform 7 hours of related community service. This translates to about 30 minutes a week. It is possible that you do the project in larger parts like a 3 hour project and a 4 hour project.
You will be responsible to report on the amount of your service provided in your weekly report each week.
Note: At mid-term and at the end of the course you will submit a 600-700 word paper reflecting on your experience. You will also be responsible to report on the amount of your service provided in your weekly report each week. Click here for more detailed instructions about the Lift Others activity.
Lesson Reflection (Due Saturday at 11:00 PM)
- Weekly reports: This short report will allow you to give important feedback about how you are experiencing the course and completing the assignments. Because the reports are a summary of what you have done throughout the week, they will not open until later in the week that they are due.
Note: Some lessons have additional assessment activities, such as: Mid-course Feedback, Midterm, and Final.
Preparation
This course is designed to engage both your mind and your heart. Thus, it is important to prepare both intellectually and spiritually each week. Consistent personal prayer, scripture study, and attention to your covenants will provide a great support to your academic studies. While this is not a religious course, what you study here will help you to grow spiritually. When you are prepared, the Holy Spirit can provide guidance and direction that will make a difference in your life. As you interact with others in various assignments, please remember to be kind, considerate, and respectful of differing viewpoints. You can differ in opinions (sometimes the best learning comes when others challenge your thinking) but still be civil. Any violation of basic common courtesy-including interaction with the instructor-will negatively impact your grade.
Read the following article as a reminder to the promises and warnings Elder Bednar addressed concerning entitlement.
Point Break-Down
Weekly Activities:
- Complete Preparation Questions-5 pts
- Check for Understanding-20 pts
- Treasure Hunt Research-10 pts
- Idea Exchange-20 pts
- Weekly Report-10 pts
Semester Activities:
- Lift Others Proposal-10 pts
- Lift Others Report-20 pts
- Comprehensive Exam-120 pts
Course Requirements
Course Text
- Child, Family, School, Community Socialization and Support by Roberta M. Berns, (10th Edition) Cengage Learning: Stamford, CT (ISBN: 978-1-305-08897-9). Compare prices for your textbooks through the University Store Price Comparison site. They will show you all of the options from the University Store plus several online options to help you find the best price. See link to price comparison tool for current price.
- Additional reading will be available through I-Learn.
GRADING POLICIES
Final Grade Breakdown
A=94% +; A-=90-93%; B+=87-89%; B=84-86%; B-=80-83%; C+=77-79%; C=74-76%; C-=70-73%; D+=67-69%; D=64-66%; D-=60-63%; F=below 60
CLASS POLICIES
Late Work Policy
Assignments are due on the day indicated. No late work will be accepted without permission from the instructor. Work that is late hampers your ability to fully participate in the course and will be accepted only at your instructor's discretion. Inform your instructor before the assignment is due. Any late work that is accepted is subject to a penalty as determined by your instructor.
Disclaimers
The instructor reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus any time during the semester in order to adapt to changing course needs. You will be notified prior to any changes that may take place.
Students with Disabilities
Brigham Young University-Idaho is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any disabilities, which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities Office, (208) 496-1158. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by this office. It is the student's responsibility to disclose to their teacher any special need she/he may have before the end of the first week of class. If you need assistance of if you feel you have been unlawfully discriminated against based on your disability, you may seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures. You should contact the Human Resources Office at (208) 496-1130.