First Year Experience Seminar
Syllabus
Required books for the course:
- Gardner, Step By Step to College & Career Success. St. Martin Press 3rd ed. (2010)
- ISBN: 978-0-312-68306-1
- 2012-13 UMass Lowell Day-Planner by At-A-Glance (Academic version by Week)
Grading:
This one unit class will be graded as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory basis. More than three incomplete or failed assignments will result in receiving an Unsatisfactory grade.
Schedule:
| DATE | TOPIC | READING | ASSIGNMENT DUE |
Week 1 |
Introduction |
||
Sept. 7 |
Introduce class website |
go buy the textbooks | |
Week 2 |
How to Get Started |
||
Sept. 14 |
Beginning Your College Experience |
SBS pgs. 2-9 |
Response Paper 1 DUE |
Week 3 |
How to Express Yourself |
||
Sept. 21 |
Writing and Speaking Clearly |
SBS pgs. 52-63 |
Response Paper 2 DUE |
Week 4 |
How to Get It All Done |
||
Sept. 28 |
Time Management Bring your Day Planners Guest Speaker: Susan Lemire |
SBS pgs. 14-25 |
Response Paper 3 DUE |
Week 5 |
How to Prove You Have a Brain |
||
Oct. 5 |
Thinking Critically |
SBS pgs. 26-35 |
Response Paper 4 DUE |
Week 6 |
How to Use History |
||
Oct. 12 |
History as a Discipline |
Why Study History |
Response Paper 5 DUE |
Week 7 |
How to Know What the Prof. Wants |
||
Oct. 19 |
Listening, Note-taking and Participation |
SBS pgs. 64-75 |
Response Paper 6 DUE |
Week 8 |
How to Ace the Exam |
||
Oct. 26 |
Taking Exams and Tests |
SBS pgs. 88-99 |
Response Paper 7 DUE |
Week 9 |
How to Know the Building Blocks of History |
||
Nov. 2 |
Historical Sources |
“The Nature and Variety of Historical Sources” |
Response Paper 8 DUE |
Week 10 |
How to Find the Building Blocks |
||
Nov. 9 Note: we will meet in O'Leary 140 |
Library Research Session Guest Speaker: Ron Karr |
“Finding Your Sources” |
Response Paper 9 DUE |
Week 11 |
How to Be Honest |
||
Nov. 16 |
Plagiarism |
Response Paper 10 DUE |
|
Week 12 |
How to be Thankful |
||
Nov. 23 |
Thanksgiving Break |  |
No Class |
Week 13 |
How Not to Get Sick |
||
Nov. 30 We will meet in our usual classroom |
Staying Healthy Guest Speaker: Diana Walker-Moyers
|
SBS pgs. 112-123 |
Response Paper 11 DUE |
Week 14 |
How to Make Learning Fun |
||
Dec. 7 |
Experiencing College Life Guest Speaker: Robin Toof |
SBS pgs. 124-134 |
Response paper 12 DUE |