FRS 1201D:  Freshman Seminar - Fall 2007

 

 

Amy W. Halters

308 Varnell-Jones

425-3244

halters@lambuth.edu

 

Office Hours:             Monday                       10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

                                    Tuesday                       9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

                                    Wednesday                  10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

                                    Thursday                      3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

                                    Friday                          10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.                                                                                    and by Appointment

 

Texts:

Chip and Dan Heath,  Made to Stick

John Gardner and A. Jerome Jewler,  Step by Step to College and Career Success 6th ed.  It is imperative that you own this book and that you acquire the 6th edition.

Handouts:

          Paolo Freire,  “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”

 

Course Goal—this course is designed to prepare you for college-level work.  It’s also designed to help you choose a career and show what it will take to prepare for your chosen field. 

 

I.   Course Requirements:

·        Successful completion of the Freshman Seminar is a requirement for graduation. This is a graded course that will affect your overall GPA.  Please be aware that attendance will also affect your grade. Most weeks, you will have an assignment to turn in to your teacher at the beginning of class, and failure to turn in your material on time may adversely affect your grade.  Most assignments will be due the week after you have covered that particular topic in class.

·        Outside events:  You will be required to attend the following events.  Failure to attend any of these events will affect your final grade:

1.      Fine Arts Event:  Students are required to attend at least one (1) fine arts even on campus as a class (e.g. play, recital, art show, guest lecture, etc.).  Note:  sporting events do not count, nor does the talk by Dan Heath.   

2.      Convocation on Tuesday, September 4th at 1:00 P.M. in the Chapel:  All freshmen are required to attend this convocation, and attendance will be taken.

3.      Made to Stick Talk by Dan Heath:  Wednesday, August 29th at 7 P.M. in the Hamilton Performing Arts Center

·        Short Essays and assignments:  Based on the assigned readings/events (see “Grading Scale” below for a list of assignments).  Please note that all late papers will be penalized accordingly.

·        Career Portfolio:  This is the primary research project for this class.  You will be investigating a career and writing a 5-6 page paper that summarizes your research about a proposed career that interests you (e.g. high school teacher, accountant, lawyer, etc).  You should start on this project as soon as possible, since it will be all but impossible to complete during the last week of class.

 

 

II.                Grading Scale:

·        This is a graded course that follows a standard 10-point grading scale.  A = 90-100    B = 80-89    C = 70-79    D = 60-69    F = 0-59

·        Grade breakdown

1.      Community Service Essay:  10 pts. (Due Sep. 4th)

2.      Made to Stick Journal:  25 pts.  (Due Sep. 4th—Intro.-Ch. 3, pp. 3-130, and Sep. 11th—Ch. 4-Epilogue, pp. 131-253)

3.      Convocation Essay:  10 pts.  (Due Sep. 11)

4.      Class Participation:  10 pts. (total)    

5.      Attending session with Career Development on appointed date:  5 pts.

6.      Career Portfolio:  40 pts.  (Due on Oct. 30th)

 

III.  Reading Assignments:

 

·        Each week’s reading assignment should be completed prior to attending class so that you are prepared to discuss the assignment.   

 

IV.  Attendance: 

 

·        You are permitted one absence in this class; however, if you miss a class, you will have to attend one extra Fine Arts event and describe it for your portfolio and you will also have to complete any additional assignments your professor deems suitable.  If you miss two classes, you must complete the above work and you must also attend an extra class with Dr. Patterson on Tuesday, November 13 at 2:00 in VJ-201.  It will be your responsibility to contact Dr. Patterson to arrange the class.  If you miss more than two classes, for any reason, you will fail the course (University Policy).  If you have an official school absence, let your teacher know ahead of time, and it is your responsibility to inform your teacher of an official school absence. 

 

 

V.   Assignments and short essays:  Each answer/essay should be clearly labeled, and essays should be from one (1) to two (2) pages long, typed and double-spaced.

1.      Community Service  (Essay)

A.  What Community Service project did you do?  What did you learn about the organization where you visited?  Lastly, based on your experience, how can Community Service enhance classroom learning?  (Due Sep 4)

2.      Convocation  (Essay)

A.     Describe the convocation and evaluate its importance, including what function you think the convocation performs at Lambuth.  (Due Sep 11)

3.  Made to Stick Journal  (see handout—Due Sep 4 and 11) 

 

 

VI.   Career Portfolio:  (an example of the Career Portfolio is on reserve in the library)

 

  • Career Search Paper:  The final paper should be 5-6 pages in length, double spaced, use 12 point font, have one-inch margins, and follow the MLA style guide.  This is to be a polished paper, with no spelling, grammatical, or citation errors.
  • Research:  The paper should include relevant research information, and each of these sources should be used and cited correctly, according to your chosen research style.  Your paper should include at least the following minimum requirements.
    Ž 1 Printed resource (NOT general encyclopedia)
    Ž 1 Free Web Source
    Ž 1 Subscription Database
    Ž  Occupational Outlook Handbook (printed or electronic)
    Ž Lambuth undergraduate catalogue (requirements for major)
  • You must do the following:
    Ž  Personal interview with a person working or teaching in your chosen field (this cannot be someone on-campus, an immediate family member or a current undergraduate student.  The interview should be done in person if at all possible).  Also, please allow plenty of time to arrange and complete the interviews.  You may correspond via email or telephone if absolutely necessary.

              

·        Layout of the Paper
Ž  Introduction:  Describe the career you are exploring and explain your
personal interest in this career.
Ž  Body of the paper:  The body of the paper should cover at least one topic from each of the following numbered items: 
   

1.  Description of the position requirements. Topics include: starting salary ranges, opportunities for advancement, employment outlook, work environment (hours/shifts, geographic limitations, urban/suburban/rural settings, in office/outdoors, business/casual attire,
flexibility for family demands, likelihood for involuntary transfers, etc.)
2.  Include information from “Thinking Critically About Your Major.”  Reflect on why this particular field would be good for you and how college can prepare you for your chosen career.  (Read “Step 3” from Gardner and Jewler and read the questions on p. 37.  You may wish to incorporate information on thinking abstractly, creatively, or systematically from this list.

3.  Lambuth-specific information. What major do you plan on pursuing for this career? After reviewing entrance and degree requirements for this major, what courses are you most excited about, which appear to be the most challenging for you?  What have you discovered about this major's department or school?

4.  Made to Stick.  Incorporate information from the book.  Describe at least two of the most useful

things you learned from the book that will help you in your career.  Make sure that you cite page numbers for this information.

5.  Research.  From the above list (e.g. subscription database and personal interview)

6.  Conclusion - Summary of the information presented and personal reflections on this career and major. What would you like most about this career? Least?  Why?  What is your course of action from here? What activities (volunteer, organizations, work experience, internships, etc.) do you need to pursue in order to be successful and competitive in this field? If this is not a career you want to pursue any further, what new direction do you want to explore? How will you proceed to explore that new prospect?

  • Works Cited Page should be complete and thorough, including all sources & interviewees, as well as following the appropriate reference style.

 

 


Additional Portfolio Contents:

  • Include a copy of the thank you letters you sent to your interviewees, complete with their full names, titles, addresses. This should be a formal and professional thank you letter. It should not be an email.
  • Again, please remember that researching and writing this paper is a course-long process.  You should begin work on this project at the beginning of the semester.  Your instructor, Career Services, and the library staff are all here to assist you.  This should be the most valuable component of the course, and one in which you apply the other skills you have learned in this course to what you hope to accomplish while at Lambuth and in your chosen profession. 
     

 

 

 

Instructor:  Amy Halters (HYD 217) - 8:00 a.m.

 

28-Aug

4-Sep

11-Sep

18-Sep

25-Sep

2-Oct

9-Oct

16-Oct

23-Oct

30-Oct

6-Nov

 

 

 

 

 

rotation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

begins

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topic:

 

 

 

 

time mgt (mo)

ethics (ah)

info lit (ls)

act learn (ch)

crit think (rc)

finance (da)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignments:

Entering

MTS 1st 1/2

MTS 2nd 1/2

Notes/Exam

Ch. 2

Ch. 1 pp. 6-10

Ch. 10

"Pedagogy of

Ch. 3

Ch 1 pp. 10-12

evals

 

student

 

 

(all) ch 6/7

 

 

 

 the Oppressed"

 

Portfolio

 

 

survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

(handout) and Ch. 4

 

Due/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advising