Textbooks, Grading & Discussions

Textbooks

The following textbook for the course is available at the UTC bookstore and should be purchased at your earliest convenience:

Karen O'Connor & Larry Sabato, American Government: Continuity and Change (2002 ed.)

The instructor recommends that students keep abreast of current political affairs discussed in the class by reading the local newspapers and watching the evening network news programs. The course web home page (see top left URL) includes links to the White House, Congress, Executive Departments, national newspapers and polling organizations. The instructor has also created hot links to Web sites concerned with the topics for the simulated congressional debates on gun control and the anti-missile defense system.

Grading

In order to achieve the course objectives, students will be evaluated based upon their performance on the traditional midterm and final exams (essay questions), as well as on participation with their assigned party/issue teams' on-line, face-to-face meetings and class presentations. Your examinations will particularly test your critical thinking ability, as identified by the Bloom Hierarchy of cognitive skills, which will also be vital as you pursue your career goals.

There will be a midterm examination during the semester as well as a comprehensive final examination. The midterm examination will cover roughly the first half of the course material and will be given prior to the official drop date for the semester (October 18). It will include an essay question (65%) and short-answer essay questions (35%). The comprehensive final examination will emphasize material from the second half of the course but also include questions relating to the early parts of the course. You may wish to use study groups (your teams) to prepare for the scheduled exams.

Since Political Science 101 is certified for General Education credit, the essay questions will be graded not only on the basis of content and correct use of course material, but also from the standpoint of grammar, spelling, sentence structure, paragraphing, and organization. The instructor particularly looks for improvement, so if you have trouble on the first exam, carefully read his comments and talk with him during the scheduled office hours.

Examinations: Midterm Exam (essay and short-answer essays)	150 points
Final Exam (comprehensive essay and short-answer essays)	200 points
Written Member Profile (2-3 typed double-spaced pages)	100 points
Assignments: Assignment 1 Course On-line Syllabus Quiz	10 points
Assignment 2 Posted Discussion Forum Self Introduction	10 points
Assignment 3 Quiz- Confederate Flag case (prior to class)	10 points
Assignment 4 Team Group Posting--Member Profile attachment	10 points
Team Peer Evaluations (final)--postings, participation & debate	60 points
Instructor Evaluation Team Forum Postings	50 points
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS	600 points

If you have trouble writing essays, you may wish to schedule an appointment with UTC's Writing Center in Holt 119 (425-1774) for practical assistance. After the midterm, you may wish to bring them your blue book, test questions and the study guide.

BONUS POINTS
Bonus 1 Quiz- Tracy Knauss presentation "Signers of the Declaration of Independence"	5 points
Bonus 2 Team Forum Posting-- Evaluate 2 PAC sites. Republicans--NRA and Pro-Life. Democrats--Handgun Control and Pro-Choice	5 points
Bonus 3 Team Forum Posting: Republicans--National Republic Committee web site Democrats--Democratic National Committee web site	5 points
Bonus 4 Posted URL sites for Congress debate topics Students will vote on best 2 site recommendations.	5 points
Bonus 5 Attendance Drawing (Miss no more than twice. Instructor drawing to select 50% of eligible high attendance students winners)	10 points
TOTAL POSSIBLE BONUS POINTS	30 POINTS

GRADING SCALE:
A= 540 points and above
B= 480 to 539
C= 390 to 479
D= 300 to 389
F= 299 and below

Class Discussion

Note that a sizeable portion of the course grade will be based upon peer assessments of your in-class and on-line participation in the Discussion Board forums and team reports to the full class. The Team Peer Evaluation Form allows your teammates to assess and reward your participation and substantive contributions to the team's deliberations and class presentations. There will be a number of discussions during the course of the term, and high quality participation in these discussions will be a positive factor in the event of a borderline grade at the end of the course.

 

Lesson from Abraham Lincoln

Political scientists, historians and surveys of the American public consistently rank Abraham Lincoln as one of the Nation's greatest Presidents. But his path from the proverbial log cabin to the White House reveals many stumbles and obstacles. Nevertheless, he persisted in pursuing his dream. Click on Lincoln's Lesson to learn how persistence can achieve success over the long run.