Syllabus

See Calendar for Due Dates

Learning Outcomes

Course Architecture

In an online course, regular and sustained attention to the course is critical. Be attentive to the deadlines, reading assignments, and course activities. This course will run in 12 one-week lessons with an additional Introductory lesson at the beginning and a Conclusion lesson at the end. In the Introductory lesson, you will complete Course Introduction activities, which will help orient you to the course and give you practice in using the I-Learn tools.

Each Lesson

Note

The due dates of the Introduction lesson activities have been relaxed and are not due until the mid-week due date of Lesson 02. This extra time is given to help students who add late have time to complete the assignments. Be sure not to procrastinate these assignments until week one as that will make completing all of the assignments in Lesson 02 more difficult and time consuming.

Note

If any of your pages are not loading correctly read How to View Insecure Content article.

Skim Reading

When most of us were taught to study, we learned to read things through once and believed that this constituted high comprehension. In this course you will be asked to do something different from what you are probably used to doing: you will be asked to skim through the same material several times. Although this will probably feel new, and a bit awkward at first, you will begin to see benefits that will help not only in this course, but in any future situation where you are asked to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time. Research has shown that recall is much higher when you review material several times, even if you don’t feel like you are grasping everything when you are only skimming the material.

Peter Kump, author of Breakthrough Rapid Reading, and an expert in speed-reading says the following about the power of repetition:

The First Misconception

The first misconception is that you should read everything in the same way, word by word. Whether you are reading the newspaper, a good adventure novel, or a physics textbook, it was implied that you should start at the beginning and go once through, from the beginning to the end. This is a waste of your time and it is possibly the worst habit that you have to break in your development as an efficient reader.

The Second Misconception

The second misconception concerns comprehension. It was implied, again because you were taught nothing else, that if you read material using this once-through approach you should be able to understand it. Of course you now know that many times you have not been taught. Yet what techniques were you given to use when a passage was difficult? Probably none.

The Third Misconception

It was finally implied that if you read a passage once through you should not only understand it but you should also be able to remember what was important. Yet how many times were you given tests on passages which you had read once through and found out that you didn't remember as much as you should have? Perhaps your teacher told you to "study" harder next time. But what did that mean other than reading once through once more? (a)

And S.D. Frank, author of The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program (Evelyn Wood is probably the most famous speed reader) had this to say about quickly reviewing material multiple times: I’ve heard some students object, 'But doesn’t all this…take more time than just going through the book once the way I’ve always done it?'

“The answer to this question is emphatically no…the multiple-exposure or layering approach to learning does increase your comprehension of and contact with study assignments. But this approach doesn’t take more time; it takes much less.” (b)

If you will dedicate some time to learning how to skim well you will be able to see similar results: greater recall of the material, higher comprehension, and no more time commitment than it would take you to read something normally.

a. This quote about the power of repetition comes from chapter 7 of Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Peter Kump, Parker Publishing, NY, 1979.

This excerpt is from Chapter 7 "Don't read just for its own sake"

b. (Frank, S.D., (2009), The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program , Barnes and Noble Publishing, NY.)

Additional activities

Note

In this course you will be required to turn in activities in .doc format. If you do not have Microsoft Office you can access a free download for either PC or MAC from BYU-Idaho's bookstore.

Course Benefits

This course will help you:

Not all of these ideas and skills will come easily. It may take a lot of work and practice before some of the things we talk about will even start to make sense, so don’t be surprised to find that it takes you a little extra time to comprehend these ideas. Just be patient—as you approach the end of the semester your knowledge of, and proficiency in, the things we have studied will start to come together and you will really see how much progress you have made. You will understand what this course is working to teach you, and you will be glad you persisted in your efforts to learn.

An additional benefit of this course is that, as you thoughtfully apply the learning model to teach one another and ponder/prove what you have learned, and as you humbly seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit:

Preparation

Note

The order of this assignment is deliberate. Searching for the terms yourself first requires you to interact with them in a way that will help you remember them better. It is more important that you think deeply about the terms than that you get them right the first time.

Note

Some of the readings take longer than others to load. Please allow a generous amount of time (this may take several minutes) for readings to load. The time it takes to complete the assigned readings may not be consistent every week. Check the suggested times listed after each article to help you plan your schedule.

Assessment

Note

Some lessons have additional assignments, such as: Mid-course Feedback.

Course Requirements

Course Text

There is no required textbook. All reading materials will be available through I-Learn.

Grading Policies

Final Grade Breakdown

A

94–100%

C

74 – 76%

A-

90 – 93%

C-

70 – 73%

B+

87 – 89%

D+

67 – 69%

B

84 – 86%

D

64 – 66%

B-

80 – 83%

D-

60 – 63%

C+

77 – 79%

F

Below 60%

Class Policies

Course Questions/Problems/Concerns

As this is an online class you will be interacting 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.

This course has a “Questions and Conversations” board in each lesson where you can post general questions/problems/ concerns, etc. Using these boards will inform the instructor, other class members, and others monitoring the course of the issues you find and will allow the proper people to correct them for everyone. Please use this board in each lesson. If you are experiencing the same problem as another student who has posted, you can post as well so others know the seriousness of the problem. If you know the answer to a problem, please post solutions. Helping to solve your classmates’ problems is another way to teach one another. Additionally, your instructor will use this board to inform you of fixes and solutions. So check back often to learn of any changes to the course.

Note

You should only email your instructor directly if the problem is of a personal nature OR your instructor informs you this is the way he/she would like to be informed of questions/problems/concerns.

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.

Sexual Harassment

Brigham Young University-Idaho prohibits sexual harassment. The university also prohibits unlawful sex discrimination and inappropriate gender-based behavior in the workplace or in an academic setting directed at another due to that person’s gender. Inappropriate gender-based behavior is conduct which violates the Church Educational System Honor Code or the individual dignity of university personnel, students, or campus visitors, but which does not rise to the level of unlawful sexual harassment or unlawful gender-based discrimination.

Once you have read through and understood the course requirements, take the Syllabus Quiz to complete the activity.