SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY - Summer 2008

FAL Course Syllabus

Welcome to the Foundations of Academic Literacy course (FAL X99).

The Foundations of Academic Literacy (FAL X99) course began in September 2006, offered by the Faculty of Education. FAL X99 has been carefully designed to meet your needs as a learner, to prepare you to achieve your full potential in your studies at SFU, and specifically to succeed on the Writing-Intensive (W) courses that you will take as part of your studies.

Please read the following sections to familiarize yourself with the course.

FAL X99 Course Coordinator Steve Marshall

Faculty of Education, SFU,  stevem@sfu.ca

December, 2008

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FAL  X – 99        (D 4.00)          Summer 2008

T & Th   10:30 - 12:30 p.m.                                                      Instructor:  Susan Barber

SFU Surrey, Room 3260                                                      Susan_Barber@sfu.ca

Class Website: http://www.sfu.ca/~smbarber/fal.htm  

1. Aims

The course is designed to help students make the transition from high school level studies  to undergraduate level studies at Simon Fraser University, and to provide learners with a variety of opportunities to practice, develop, and apply in context, their academic literacy skills. The course allows learners to express their ideas, and those of others, through written and oral academic literacy.

Other aims are as follows:

2. Teaching

The course is designed around 5 units of study as set out in the syllabus.

A variety of presentation methods will be used. 

Low stakes writing activities

You will be asked to do regular “Low stakes writing activities” in your classes. This does not mean that there is nothing at stake for you in the writing, as the name might suggest. The aim of these activities is to give you an opportunity to gain confidence and learn through writing, without the pressure of having the written work assessed. When your instructor reads and marks your low stakes writing activities, the emphasis will be on feedback that will help you to develop your academic literacy skills. These activities will not be formally assessed.

Diagnostic writing

You will also be asked to do a diagnostic writing task during the course. Your instructor will use this piece of writing in order to draw up a list of individual self-study guidelines. You may also bring in a piece of written work from your ongoing studies at SFU to help your instructor to draw up the self-study guidelines. Later in the course, you will be given an indication of progress in these key areas. This writing task counts towards the “Improvement” criterion in your Active Learning grade.

3. Assessment & Additive credit

FAL X99 is for ‘additive credit’. This means that you take the course in addition to the normal 120 credits needed to graduate from SFU. The grade that you get for FAL X99 counts toward your overall GPA.

There is no final examination for FAL X99.

In order to obtain a FAL credit, and to go on to take a W (writing intensive) course, students are required to pass the course overall with a minimum C grade, and to pass each of the 3 assessed components with a minimum C grade.

1. Group Project   25%                     

2. Active Learning  25%          

3. Portfolio 50%

1. Group Project: Oral Presentation & Write-up

Students are required to work together to give an oral presentation in groups on a topic of social and academic interest. Students receive individual scores for presentations.

Students work together to write up a summary of the project, for which all students in each group receive the same score. The remainder of the score is made up from a reflective writing task from each group member, which includes the following: participation of self and others in the group; what I learnt from the process; things that I would have done differently with hindsight.

2. Active Learning

The grade for active learning is made up of the following components: mid-term grade, attendance, engagement, giving peer feedback, homework completion, punctuality, journal [if applicable] entries, improvement. Throughout the course, your instructor keeps records for each of these criteria.

3. Portfolio

Students are required to select 4 entries for the end of semester portfolio.  These entries are 4 pieces of ungraded written work done during the course. These entries will be rewritten for the portfolio, and both the original and rewrite will be submitted.  The portfolio should also include an introduction which includes the following: reasons for selection of each entry; reflection on progress made during the course; awareness of continuing needs.

4. Attendance

100% attendance is expected on this course. A class register is taken each class, marking absences and late attendance. If you are going to be late or absent due to unavoidable circumstances, you must inform your instructor by telephone or email before the class.

If you are absent or late for any classes, this will affect your active learning score. If you are absent for more than 5 classes (80%) without a valid reason, you will not obtain a FAL credit for the course. Instructors may ask for doctors’ notes to explain absences.

5. Required Texts

Specific FAL pilot courseware is available. All students are required to purchase it.

6. Expectations & Active Learning

Active learning involves engaging with material bring taught, with your instructor, and with fellow students in an active, respectful and inclusive way. The FAL X99 classroom is made up of learners who come from a wide range of backgrounds and who study many different subjects. Please be respectful of all of your fellow students.

Switch off all cell phones before class, and do not use laptop computers to use the internet during class as this will distract other students and your instructor.

7. Student Learning Commons workshops

The Student Learning Commons offers workshops that will help you to consolidate what you learn in FAL X99. You can also meet a peer educator at the Student Learning Commons for one-to-one advise on your learning. You are encouraged to make use of this facility.

8. Research

In order to understand learners’ needs better and to improve the FAL course, a programme of research has been set up around the FAL course.

[i] At the beginning and end of the course, you will be invited to fill in optional pre- and post-course surveys. The surveys will ask you to answer questions about the following: how you use language and write, your progress on the course, and recommendations for course improvement.

[ii] At the end of the course, you will be invited to participate in a second stage of the research project: interviews and analysis of your writing. Around 20 to 25 of those expressing an interest will be asked to take part. We are interested in understanding how learners from different linguistic and cultural background improve their academic literacy skills, and will select students from different backgrounds.

9. Getting help

If you need any additional help during the FAL X99 course, there are a number of people who can help.

10. FAL X99 Syllabus

The following Syllabus is an explanation of the five units of study that you will follow. Your instructor may change the activities, or the order of activities, in order to meet your needs as a learner.

 Unit 1: Writing about yourself

Learning Outcomes

In this unit, students will:

·       Write about their learning style and about their own lives

·       Develop personal & narrative voice

·       Practice skimming and scanning texts

·       Discuss learning issues one-to-one with instructor

·       Write a diagnostic task

May 2008

Class 1, May 6:  Me as a learner.

Homework:

- Writing: “Me as a learner: my strengths and weaknesses”.  Develop free writing and peer comments into a text [hand in next class]

- Reading:  Courseware: “Writing a personal Essay” (Ballenger, 2007)

Class 2, May 8: My story

Homework:

- Writing: “A major event in my life”.  Write a page on a major event in your life. This piece of writing will go through a peer-editing stage, followed by a rewrite. [To bring to next class].

- Reading: Courseware: “Personal Essays” (Mulvaney & Joliffe, 2005)

Class 3, May 13: One-to-one meetings

Homework:

- Students rewrite about the major event in their life, responding to peer comments [to hand in 7 days later- May 20, with peer comment sheets].

Class 4, May 15: Writing a biography

Homework:

Reading: Courseware: “Finding Your Earliest Memories” (Selling, 1989).

Writing: Write up biography [hand in in 7 days – May 22]

Preparation: students receive diagnostic task questions to prepare outline and ideas for next class.

Class 5, May 20: Diagnostic Writing Task

Homework:

- Courseware: “Rewrite with Voice” (Murray, 1995).

Unit 2: Group project

Learning Outcomes

In this unit, students will:

·       Work on a group presentation & a group writing activity

·       Practice critical thinking

·       Present work orally

·       Edit own work

·       Receive diagnostic writing task marked with FAL marking code

·       Visit SFU Library & Learning Commons (Surrey or Burnaby)

Class 6, May 22: Spoken academic language

Homework:

Work together on oral presentations.  Due June 10.   Email an outline to instructor for comments.

Class 7, May 27: Your arguments and those of others

Homework:  work on presentations

Class 8, May 29: Citations and referencing: for the group project

Homework:

- Finish rewrite of marked diagnostic writing task [hand in in 7 days – June 5 with original version].

- Courseware” “Punctuation Rules” (Oshima & Hogue, 2006)

- Courseware: “Charts of Connecting Words and Transition Signals” (Oshima & Hogue, 2006)

June 2008

Class 9, June 3: Library visit

Class 10, June 5: Group presentations: practice

Class 11, June 10: Group Presentations

·       Each group presents to the whole class: maximum 10 minutes presentation + 5 minutes questions and answers

Homework:  Write up (1) Summary of the project (submit as a group), (2) Individual reflection on your participation of self and others, what you learned from doing the presentation and things you would do differently with hindsight.  Due next class.

Unit 3: Different audiences and different styles: reading and writing

Learning Outcomes

In this unit, students will:

·       Demonstrate an awareness of style and audience through reading and writing

·       Apply to context: evaluate own work & rewrite to improve style

Class 12, June 12: Writing for different audiences

Homework:

-  Text analysis: students choose a topic from their other ongoing studies at SFU, and find a newspaper/magazine article, an academic journal article, and a related webpage/email to bring into the next class. Students do simple text analysis activity on a prepared worksheet [bring to next class].

-  Courseware: “Writing to learn and Learning to Write” (Mulvaney & Joliffe, 2005).

Class 13, June 17: Academic style: some general principles

Style as:

Class 14, June 19: Rewriting to improve style

Homework

-  Courseware: “Introducing Genre” (Giltrow, 2005).

Class 15, June 24: Applying to context

Homework

-        Finish rewrite and hand in next class.

-        Bring in sample of written work from ongoing studies for next class.

-        Courseware: “Laboratory Reports” (Mulvaney & Joliffe, 2005)

Unit 4: Writing the discussion essay: beginning, middle and end

Learning Outcomes

In this unit, students will:

·       Go through the processes of essay writing in class

·       Analyze a title for topic, focus, task

·       Brainstorm ideas

·       Organize a critical-analytical outline

·       Write an introduction

·       Write main body paragraphs

·       Write a conclusion

Class 16, June 26: Starting the process

July 2008

****  July 1^st:  NO Class – Canada Day

 Class 17, July 3: Introductions

Homework:

Courseware: “Writing Introductions and conclusions” (Behrens & Rosen, 2007).

- Rewrite the introduction from the piece of writing from your ongoing studies, practicing what you have learned in today’s class [hand in both versions next class].

Class 18, July 8: The paragraph

Homework: Rewrite a paragraph as per introductions above.

Class 19, July 10: Conclusions

Homework:

- Write up a final version of the essay (hand in next class)

Class 20, July 15: Citations, referencing & attribution

Homework:

-  Courseware: “Using and Citing Sources” (Ballenger, 2007).

Add at least 4 external sources to the ongoing essay

Prepare for the diagnostic follow-up next class. Choose a question, prepare an outline for a composition of choice with a beginning, middle and end [to write up during next class]. Students should also refer back to their self-study guidelines that came with the earlier diagnostic writing task. As well as looking at the introductions, main body paragraphs and conclusion, instructors will refer to the earlier self-study guidelines to give students an indication of level of improvement [bring in to next class for diagnostic follow-up].

Class 21, July 17: Putting the sections together

o      Writing with a beginning, middle and end [diagnostic writing follow-up]

o      Portfolio discussion.  Portfolios due July 31

Homework:

-  Courseware: Chapter by Nist and Holschuh on Annotating

Unit 5: Summaries and Critical Summaries

Learning Outcomes

In this unit, students will:

·       Annotate text

·       Write a summary and a critical summary

·       Add others’ arguments/opinions into writing

·       Use references and citations

Class 22, July 22 : Annotating text & summary writing

Homework:

-  Writing: Add personal reflection to summary: e.g. “A reflection on my carbon footprint”

Class 23, July 24: Making the summary critical

Homework:

-  Write up critical summary – position self in ongoing debates with own opinion and own context – for peer review next class.

Class 24, July 29: Peer Review of Portfolios

Class 25, July 31: Portfolios Due

Class 26, Aug. 5: Individual Portfolio meetings