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NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
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Course Title:
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American State & Local Government
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Course Prefix & Number:
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GOVT2306
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Section Number:
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403
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Semester/Year:
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Fall 2017
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Semester Credit Hours:
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3
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Lecture Hours:
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3
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Lab Hours:
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0
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Course Description (NCTC Catalog):
Origin and Development of the Texas constitution, structure and powers of state and local government, federalism and inter-governmental relations, political participation, the election process, public policy and the political culture of Texas.
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Course Prerequisite(s): None
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Required or Recommended Course Materials:
GOVT2306 Champagne-Harpham. Governing Texas. 3rd edition. Norton. paperback w/ebook folder ISBN: 9780393283679
OR
Champagne-Harpham. Governing Texas. 3rd edition. Norton. 2 hole punch w/ebook folder
9280393616477
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INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
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Name of Instructor:
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Dr. Jennifer Danley-Scott
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Campus/Office Location:
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COR 331
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Telephone Number:
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None
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E-mail Address:
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Jdanley-scott@nctc.edu
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OFFICE HOURS
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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11:50 a.m. to 12:20
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Online in Canvas, Blue Button Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
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11:50 a.m. to 12:20
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8 to 9 p.m. in Canvas via BlueButton
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Online in Canvas, Blue Button Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
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Additional hours online in BlueButton by appointment
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STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog
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At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
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Explain the origin and development of the Texas Consitution.
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Demonstrate an understanding of state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.
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Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice in Texas.
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Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Texas government.
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Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties in Texas.
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Analyze the state and local election process.
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Identify the rights and responsibilities of citizens
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Analyze issues, policies, and political culture of Texas.
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Research and compose an essay assignment/argument using proper grammar/English and basic computer skills.
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Grades are received based on the number of points you have at the end of the term. Students will accumulate points and there are just over 1000 points to be earned. The grade breakdown is:
A 900-1000 B 800-899 C 700-799 D 600-699 F 599 & below
Your grade will be composed of points from the following activities:
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Unit tests (5 tests @ 100 points each)
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500
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4 team based learning modules (60 points each – lowest dropped)
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240
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Reading quizzes and activities
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190
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Peer points
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50
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Simulation (attendance + write-up)
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20
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COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE
Please see below.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered. All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor. It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member. Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence. Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work. Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor. A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam. Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives. Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)
Students must use Canvas to complete this class; a lack of attendance in Canvas may result in the student being dropped from the class.
Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is _______________.
DISABILITY SERVICES (Office for Students with Disabilities)
The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides support services for students with disabilities, students enrolled in technical areas of study, and students who are classified as special populations (i.e. single parents).
Support services for students with disabilities might include appropriate and reasonable accommodations, or they may be in the form of personal counseling, academic counseling, career counseling, etc. Furthermore, OSD Counselors work with students to encourage self-advocacy and promote empowerment. The Counselors also provides resource information, disability-related information, and adaptive technology for students who qualify.
For support, please contact the counselors at (940) 498-6207 or (940) 668-4321. Alternatively, students may stop by Room 170 in Corinth or Room 110 in Gainesville.
CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA (For classes in the Core)_______
o Communication
o Mathematics
o Life and Physical Science
o Language, Philosophy & Culture
o Creative Arts
X Government/Political Science
o Social and Behavioral Sciences
o Component Area Option
o American History
REQUIRED CORE OBJECTIVES (For classes in the Core)
X Critical Thinking
o Communication
o Empirical and Quantitative
o Teamwork
X Personal Responsibility
X Social Responsibility
COURSE TYPE
o Academic General Education Course (from ACGM but not in NCTC Core)
X Academic NCTC Core Curriculum Course
o WECM Course
STUDENT HANDBOOK
Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the student handbook and published online.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, academic falsification, intellectual property dishonesty, academic dishonesty facilitation and collusion. Faculty members may document and bring charges against a student who is engaged in or is suspected to be engaged in academic dishonesty. See Student Handbook, “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct ([FLB(LOCAL)]”.
[Instructor-specific Academic Dishonesty Policy:
QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS
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Name of Chair/Coordinator:
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Crystal R.M. Wright
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Office Location:
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Gainesville Campus, Room 824
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Telephone Number:
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940-668-7731, ext. 4320
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E-mail Address:
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cwright@nctc.edu
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Name of Instructional Dean:
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Dr. Larry Gilbert
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Office Location:
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Corinth Campus, Room 305
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Telephone Number:
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940-498-6216
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E-mail Address:
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lgilbert@nctc.edu
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This class integrates lecture videos, external research, and an in-class intergovernmental simulation, which means there are many components to your grade. As well, this is a team-based learning course, and students will work in groups throughout the semester to enhance learning. Please be aware of these facts when deciding whether this is the class for you! I cannot alter the course to meet your preferences.
Activities, Assignments, and Grading Policy
This course will utilize team based learning, which means you will be assigned to a group of 6 or so and you will work with the group throughout the semester. A small part of your grade will be derived from your group activities/performance and the majority of your grade will be based on your attendance, performance on exams, and reading/research quizzes. It is important for you to complete your weekly reading and work so that you do well on your individual tests, but also so that you can help your group.
This class is not one where you can skip class and skip readings, but it is one that will help you connect with the material and have a little fun. While an A will require real effort, it isn't difficult to pass this class if you complete all of the work, study, and attend regularly. If you don’t complete the weekly work and skip classes, you will fail. It is also likely that you will make new friends and find study partners. Many of my students leave class with a list of new contacts, which will hopefully help you throughout your years at NCTC.
You will be responsible for all material presented in Canvas, lecture, and the readings. You will required to watch online videos, perform online activities, complete exams and written assignments, and be actively involved in group and individual activities inside lecture periods. Late work will not be accepted, as there will be an opportunity to drop your lowest module grade. There are no retakes or resubmissions of work in this class, with the exception of the mastery tests.
Please keep all electronic documents and files until your final grade is posted at the end of the semester. If there are discrepancies between the recorded grade and the actual grade, it will be your responsibility to prove the recorded grade is in error. This includes clicker participation and tests. If you disagree with a grade, an argument must be explained in writing and e-mailed to me within one week of the grade posting. Extra credit assignments will not be given on a student-by-student basis. If you feel you are doing poorly in the class, please speak with me to discuss how to improve your performance.
Unit tests and Mastery tests In this class, you will have the chance to test twice on course material to give you an opportunity to master the material. The first round is a unit mini-mastery test (MM in Canvas), which will be given on the days following the team learning days. Each mini-mastery tests will cover the material from the prior week’s learning module, including terms. Please see our Canvasshell for which dates the tests will occur. You will be given a 20 question test via scantron, covering the unit materials. Each question is worth 5 points, for a total of 100 points. Students will have 20 minutes for the test. (DSS students should speak with me if they have a time accommodation.)
On final exam day, there will be a mastery testing day for students that wish to try to increase their grade on each of the mini mastery test topics. The final exam period will have five 15-minute segments, one for each of the mastery tests. These will each be the same length, point value, and topic as the mini-mastery tests, but will be different questions. You do not have to take any of these or you can take some or all of these. For example, if you do well on mastery tests 1, 3, and 5, but wish to only take mastery test 2 and 4, you will need to be in class by ready to log in and take that test. If you were happy with your mini-mastery tests, you may skip this day.
The schedule for the mastery test day, held during our regularly scheduled final exam period:
If you are late for a mini-mastery or a mastery test, you forfeit your chance to take the test. You will be expected to sign out and show ID on the mastery testing day.
The team based learning modules will consist of the total sum of the following activities:
- In-class individual readiness test (25 points – taken via responseware or clicker)
- In-class team readiness test (15 points) – taken via scratch test as a team
- Activity sheet (20 points) – to be turned by each student at the end of class
In class activities (readiness tests / activities) cannot be made up without long-term absence paperwork. To help with the inevitable illness, I will drop the lowest weekly module score. There will be 5 modules over the term and the top four will be added to your overall grade. If you miss more than one class activity due to hospitalization or a similar long-term problem, you will need to provide hospitalization or similar paperwork and we will create an alternate test and activity that you can take, worth 36 points.
Occasionally there will be research activities to complete, with nstructions in Canvas, along with the due date.
Reading /research quizzes and activities
The reading/research quizzes in Canvas have posted due dates; quizzes and activities are due by 11:59 p.m. I do not accept late quizzes or research activities, but there are are a little over 200 possible points, just in case you miss one due to illness or other unforseen activity.
The simulation is a way to have a little fun and apply what you’ve learned. You will be given a role for the simulation and you will research the role, write up answers to a couple of questions, print the answers, and come to the final exam period ready to plan for a disaster to hit your city. At the end of the planning session, you will go home and type up an answer.
Peer points will be based on your peer review. Each student will give each teammate a grade between 0 and 50. I will average the percentage assigned by yourself and your peers. The peer review will be given during the last module as a form to fill out. I will ask students to write their names on the back so that I can keep the scores anonymous but so that I know who filled out the forms. This grade will help you hold yourself and your peers accountable for coming to class and participating in the learning. Groups will be big enough that a “bad egg” won’t ruin the batch, but the happiest groups are those where most students are participating.
* Students must treat their teammates with respect. While my students have always been respectful of one another, the following are the policies on group respect:
If multiple students in your team complain about your performance, you will receive a warning. If there are more complaints, you will be removed from your team and will work alone or with another group (at the instructor’s discretion) for the remainder of the semester.
If students complain about behavior that is harassing or inappropriate, you will be asked to leave for the remainder of the class and speak with me before returning to the team. If the behavior requires you to leave class, you may forfeit the team activity and test scores for that day.
** Signing in or clicking in for another students will result in a 0 for you and for the other student on the weekly module, and that weekly module will not be eligible for dropping. You will also be sent to the dean on a student conduct violation. I will do occasional cross-checks on clicker attendance and team activity sheets, so if you are in class for the activity, be sure to also click in or get a white card.
Email and Class Etiquette: I will hold office hours each week. If I am unable to be in my office hours or in class, a note will be posted on my office door. If you need to email me, please use my email (jdanley-scott@nctc.edu) to contact me. I attempt to answer emails within 8 hours, but do reserve a window of up to 48 hours for response during busy times. Please be sure to put your name and class (section/time) in each email so that I can quickly establish which course you are contacting me about. Please write in a formal style, with proper grammar and spelling. If you are contacting me about a grade or a discussion of your progress in the class, please use your school email account. For FERPA reasons, I cannot send personal information to any email account but your school account. (Anyone can create a Yahoo or Gmail account and say that they are you.) Students that disrupt class will be given a warning and, if the disruption continues, will be counseled. You may also be referred to the dean for counseling.
In this course, recycling old class work (even from a prior Texas Government course), unauthorized collaboration with classmates, and citing material that you did not personally read is also considered academic dishonesty.
Technology Requirements
This class will require you to use the Internet to listen to online lectures (via YouTube), complete research, and access Canvas for assignments. It is possible that this may not be accessible on a tablet or smartphone, so please have access to a computer either at your residence or on campus.
This syllabus may be updated or amended by the instructor as needed. If you feel overwhelmed, confused, or would just like more information on government, please stop by and see me!