NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Course Title:	United States History I
Course Prefix & Number:		1301	Section Number:	317	Semester/Year:	Summer 1 2019
Semester Credit Hours:		3	Lecture Hours:	3	Lab Hours:	0
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of the United States from the pre-Columbian era to the Civil War/Reconstruction period. United States History I includes the study of pre-Columbian, colonial, revolutionary, early national, slavery and sectionalism, and the Civil War/Reconstruction eras. Themes that may be addressed in United States History I include: American settlement and diversity, American culture, religion, civil and human rights, technological change, economic change, immigration and migration, and creation of the federal government.
Course Prerequisite(s): none
Required Course Materials: Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People.  8th edition.  McGraw-Hill. 2016  ISBN 978-1259969118 The web-based material is unique to NCTC.  You must purchase it from the NCTC bookstore or directly through Canvas, to the McGraw-Hill publishing Connect website.

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Dr. Adrien Ivan
Campus/Office Location:	Online
Telephone Number:	940-696-8752 ext 3325
E-mail Address:	aivan@nctc.edu

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (From Academic Course Guide Manual/Workforce Education Course Manual/NCTC Catalog

At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
	Create an argument through the use of historical evidence.
	Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources.
	Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on this period of United States history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
4	Major Exams	80%
1	Research Paper	20%

 

COURSE SUBJECT OUTLINE (Major Assignments, Due Dates, and Grading Criteria)

 

Week 1	Read Chapters 1 through 4
6/9 - 6/15	Submit Course Contract in Canvas
Week 2	Read Chapters 1 through 4
6/16 - 6/22	Exam 1 due by 6/23
Week 3	Read Chapters 4 through 7
6/23 - 6/29	Exam 2 due by 6/30
Week 4	Read Chapters 7 through 12
6/30 - 7/6	Exam 3 due by 7/7
	Research Paper due by 7/7
Week 5	Read Chapters 13  and 14
7/7 - 7/11	Exam 4 due by 7/11

 

Course Grade

 

Your final grade will be determined through four exams and a major research paper. Each

Exam will cover a “fourth” of the course. The exams will consist of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions.  A week before the exam you will receive a review with a list of key terms, which will be the basis of those questions.  Each exam will count for 20% of your final grade.

 

There will also be a major research paper. This paper will be submitted the week before final exams. It will count for 20% of your grade.

 

I will not assign nor accept any extra credit.

 

Grade Breakdown

Exam 1:                       20%

Exam 2:                       20%

Exam 3:                       20%

Exam 4:                       20%

Research Paper:           20%

 

 

 

 

 

Contacting Me and Meeting with Me:

 

Email is the best way to contact me. I check my mail multiple times a day. I have a 24 hour policy when it comes to responding to your email.

 

I also have a 24 hour policy when it comes to responding to phone calls. If I do not pick up, simply leave me a message and I will get in contact with you as soon as I can.

 

Grade Report Requests

 

The grade book on Canvas has been set up to automatically weigh the grades according to the breakdown on the previous page. Thus, the grade that is displayed by Canvas is your current grade. At the end of the semester, I will use the number that Canvas comes up with to determine your final grade.  Remember that grade calculation is more of an art than a science. If your final grade is within a couple of points of the next higher letter grade, I will look at your overall performance to determine whether or not an argument can be made to “bump up” your grade to the higher grade

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A Little About Me and Some Final Thoughts:

 

My name is Adrien D. Ivan and I have been an adjunct at North Central Texas College since 2008. I am also a full time history instructor at Vernon College.  I have a bachelor’s degree in history from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in history from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a doctorate at the University of North Texas. My research specialty is in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, particularly Texas and the effects of the abolition of slavery on the Texas elite. I am also interested in American and European military history and in ancient Greece and Rome. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, the son of an Air Force officer. My wife and I live in the Wichita Falls area, along with our two sons.

 

I would like to take the last space of this syllabus to talk about how to succeed in this course and in all your other courses across the disciplines. When it comes to academic success, intelligence is not what divides the successful from the less-successful. Although intelligence certainly does help, what makes a student successful is good time management. Undergraduate students, especially newly admitted freshmen, have a hard time transitioning between high school and college because they think they can approach college like they did high school. Trust me, for most people, it does not work. When you were in high school, at least when I was, you would have exams on one, maybe two, chapters of whatever you were studying. You would then study them one or two nights before the exam. If you look at the class schedule for this class, each exam covers a minimum of four chapters, and those chapters can be long. Studying all the material for college the night before an exam can be disastrous. You simply do not have the time to do that and you will most likely be unable to retain the material for the exam. The key, therefore, is to break down whatever you need to study in more manageable parts. For example, you should begin studying for your exam a week before it. To make your studying less traumatic, total up the pages that you need to read and divide by six. Whatever the number you come up with is a more controllable amount to study per day. Your seventh day, test day, should be for review and taking the exam. Always remember the adage: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. You can apply this method to any course you take throughout the remainder of your academic career. A final note about studying: when studying for the exam, it should not be the first time you study the material. You should be reading the material during the week it is due, or else how can you take the quiz and do well on it? Rather, studying for the exam should be at the very least the second time you have encountered the material that you will be tested over.

 

Success in your courses is kind of like winning a championship in sports, it is a long process.

You cannot earn the grade you desire at the beginning of the course, but you certainly can lose your opportunity to achieve it. From the first day, therefore, you must do everything possible to get the grade you want. Here are some more tips that I can provide that you can certainly take advantage of. Use a two spiral approach to your notes.  Take one spiral and label it “Class.” This is the one you will take to class and write your notes. You can be as messy as you want, as long as you can understand what you are writing. When you get home, though, take your second spiral, label it “Home.” In it, nicely and neatly re-write your notes. This does a couple of things.  First, it exposes you to the material a second time, and if you are keeping up with your reading, that’s a third time. Second, it lets you know what questions that you may have to ask during class. I would recommend that you ask the questions publicly so that everyone can benefit.

Knowledge breeds confidence, and the more you know, the more confident you will be, and the better you can perform in this course.

 

My final tip is simple: use all the resources you have available. This college is here for one thing: YOU. Everyone, from the most junior staff member to the president of the college, work here for your betterment. You have many resources at your disposal. The most important one is me.  Come and see me at my office, call me on my phone, or email me. I am here to ensure that you have ample opportunities to succeed. If you think that your tuition is to allow you to just attend class, think again. Imagine your tuition as a bill for a bundle (cable, internet, phone) from Time Warner Cable. If you are just attending class, you are paying for all three services but just using the cable.  Go to the library to study. Take advantage of all that your money enables you to use. After all, you are paying for it, even if you don’t use it.

 

Always remember that I am not the enemy, boogeyman, nor do I want you to fail. I remember when I was going through high school, my teachers put a fear of professors in us, saying we relish failing students and serve as a way to weed out students. That cannot be farther from the truth. This course is scary enough and I don’t want to add to your worries about it and any other course you have. I WANT YOU TO PASS THIS COURSE.  I promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure your success. If you need my help, all you need to do is ask for it. Here’s what I won’t do: take your quizzes and exams for you.

 

When you want my help, or any other instructor’s help for that matter, it makes things a lot easier for the both of us if you do some things BEFORE you come to me. Here are the most important ones. First, attend class.  Now sitting there and nodding off is NOT attending class.

You will notice that unless the majority of the class is asleep, I will not wake you up. You are the one who chose the time to attend class. Please plan your personal sleep schedule accordingly.

Attending class, paying attention, taking notes, and asking questions can help solve problems before they begin. Second, read the textbook both before and after class. This makes lectures more understandable as you listen and when you review your notes. Third, know where you are struggling. Please don’t come to me and say “I need help on everything.” The first question I will ask you is “do you have your lecture notes?” If you don’t have good notes, it is much harder for me to help you. If you do these things, you will have less problems and I can help you to a greater extent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, for those of you that are “bad at history” or just do not like it, I can certainly relate.  There are things that I do not enjoy reading about as they simply do not interest me. How do I get through it? I just read the material with an open mind and think of it as a story. Think of your favorite novel or movie, are there tedious parts in it despite the overall work being really good?  That’s how history is, it has peaks and valleys of interest for everyone.  Read the material for this course for what it is, a story that helps us define what we mean when we say “American.” When you place your readings within that context, it should help you be more engaged within the material.

 

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)

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is _____June 26, 2019__________.

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___________  

         Communication

         Mathematics               

         Life and Physical Science

         Language, Philosophy & Culture

         Creative Arts

 

         Government/Political Science

         Social and Behavioral Sciences

         Component Area Option

         History

 

         Critical Thinking

            Communication

            Empirical and Quantitative

 

            Teamwork

            Personal Responsibility

            Social Responsibility

COURSE TYPE

STUDENT HANDBOOK

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY