Books/ Grading/ Attendance/ Lincoln's Lesson

The following books are available in the UTC bookstore:

The Politics of the Presidency, rev. 6th ed. (2006), Joseph A. Pika and John Anthony Maltese
A Divider, Not a Uniter (2006), Gary C. Jacobson

See Blackboard's COURSE DOCUMENTS for hot links to Internet sources for George Orwell's 1945 essay, "Politics and the English Language."

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 on 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.

An individual 4-5 page written analysis of a speech by a President, with an oral report to the class, will also assess each student's communication and critical thinking skills. These papers will be posted on the course web site and reviewed on-line by two teammates for constructive comments prior to submission to the instructor.

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 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. As stated in the course objectives, this course requires you to become an active learner, not a simple scribe. You should recognize that lifelong learning will help you to succeed in the fast-changing 21st century. 

15% NSA Surveillance Brief
25% Midterm Exam
35% Final Exam
10% Team Performance Instructor Evaluation
15% Party Team Peer Evaluation
                                 100% Course Grade 

There will be no make-up exams unless you provide a written doctors excuse or an obituary notice from an immediate relative. More than two unexcused absences (for above reasons) will result in the drop of one letter grade in your course grade.. At the end of the semester, each student will be provided a Peer Evaluation Form to assess and comment upon the attendance, preparation, knowledge and performance of each team member in the on-line Discussion Forums and face-to-face meetings, as well as in your team's class presentations.

ATTENTION: If you are a student with a disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) and think that you might need special assistance or a special accommodation in this class or any other class, call the Office for Students with Disabilities/College Access Program at 425-4006 or come by the office - 110 Frist Hall.

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.

 

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Last updated on September 1, 2006