HONR 100 FIRST YEAR HONORS SEMINAR

"MORE THAN ENOUGH"

Dr. Rowan
CLO-262 (mailbox in CLO-216)
989-2654
jrowan@calumet.purdue.edu (This is by far the best way to reach me.)

BOOKS:
The Trial and Death of Socrates (by Plato, translated by G.M.A. Grube, revised by John Cooper)
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work (by John M. Gottman and Nan Silver)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Each of the following will be worth 10% of your overall grade unless otherwise noted.

1) University Knowledge Assignment (6%)
2) Research Paper (12%)
3) Ethics Analysis
4) Logic Assignment
5) Statistical Analysis
6) Success Project #1
7) Success Project #2 - Presentation
8) Reading Paper #1
9) Reading Paper #2
10) Peer Grading Assignments (3 @ 4% each)

*I am a resource and can be available to provide general assistance, including reviewing drafts of your work and providing comments that may be useful in revising that work.

"MORE THAN ENOUGH": Success in life requires hard work. This is true in all respects - personal success, professional success, even success with relationships. Those who regularly fail to achieve the success they desire often take the approach of asking "How much is enough" and then working to meet that standard. By contrast, those who regularly achieve success usually don't ask this question at all. Instead, they just strive to make each project the best it can be. When they do ask "How much is enough" they add extra requirements to the answer they have been given. This is why successful individuals usually have this "More Than Enough" philosophy instilled as a habit. Because a primary goal of this course is to equip you with skills, knowledge and tools to help you succeed in achieving your goals in life, the overriding theme of the course will be "More Than Enough" which, again, is a mentality that is crucial to achieving that success.

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CLASS SCHEDULE

Mon, Jan. 14: Introduction
Wed, Jan. 16: University Knowledge
Wed, Jan. 23: University Knowledge
Mon, Jan. 28: Research
Wed, Jan. 30: Reading: Political Obligation
Mon, Feb. 4: Reading: Political Obligation
Wed, Feb. 6: Reading: Political Obligation
Mon, Feb. 11: Ethics
Wed, Feb. 13: Ethics
Mon, Feb. 18: Ethics
Wed, Feb. 20: Logic
Mon, Feb. 25: Logic
Wed, Feb. 27: Logic
Mon, March 3: Logic
Wed, March 5: Success Projects
Mon, March 17: Reading: Physics
Wed, March 19: Reading: Physics
Mon, March 24: Reading: Physics
Wed, March 26: Reading: Physics
Mon, March 31: Survey Design
Wed, April 2: Statistical Analysis
Mon, April 7: Presentation Skills
Wed, April 9: Reading: Psychology
Mon, April 14: Reading: Psychology
Wed, April 16: Reading: Psychology
Mon, April 21: Reading: Psychology
Wed, April 23: Presentations
Mon, April 28: Presentations
Wed, April 30: Presentations

*In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to "reasonable accommodations." It is the student's responsibility to inform the professor of any special needs before the end of the third class.

ABOUT THE ASSIGNMENTS

1) University Knowledge Assignment
This assignment will assess your understanding of how the Honors program is developing, how the university operates, and what university policies and practices students need to know in order to succeed. Some questions will require you to research particular aspects of your major field of study. The test will allow you to make use of notes, the Purdue University Calumet website, or other resources. The questions will require you to write out answers - there will be no multiple choice, etc. One thing to keep in mind, for all assignments but beginning with this one, is that how you convey information - in terms of clarity, precision, etc. - is as important as what that information is. In other words, knowing the answer is not enough: explaining the information carefully, completely and clearly is vitally important.

2) Research Paper
This paper will require you to research a topic that you will choose, though the issue will have to be approved by me. The topic should probably be related to your academic interests. The paper itself should speak to your "audience" as should any writing. In other words, you should conceive of this paper as educating an audience - a group of readers - about the topic. Grading will be based on how well you educate your audience about the topic through clear, careful, informative writing. (There is no minimum or maximum in terms of page numbers, though 6-8 pages is probably "enough" for this assignment.) More specific details will be discussed in class.

3) Ethics Analysis
This project will require you to analyze an ethical issue of your choice, though the issue will have to be approved by me. It will require you to apply the theories learned in class to that issue. The analysis will be in the form of a written report, several pages in length.

4) Logic Assignment
This assignment will allow you to make use of class notes to answer questions concerning logical arguments, fallacies, and rules that we will discuss in class. There will be a section on informal logic (basic language use and errors) and formal logic (using symbols and logical connectives to establish validity).

5) Statistical Analysis
This assignment will focus on proposed correlations and will consist of two main tasks. The first task will be to design a survey which will be distributed to at least 10 individuals. The second task will be to analyze the results of the survey using statistical methods learned in class. An introduction (stating what you set out to find in the analysis) and a conclusion (indicating what you actually did find out) should frame the analysis.

6) Success Project #1
Successful individuals understand how to set goals and develop plans for achieving those goals. In this assignment, you will be asked to set a career goal that you are actually considering. Then, the project will require you to determine the steps needed to achieve that goal, followed by smaller steps that would have to be taken to achieve the larger steps, and so on. By the time the details are worked out, the project should consist of a detailed account of strategies to be followed for proceeding through the (numerous and perhaps tedious) steps necessary for getting where you want to be. More specifics will be forthcoming in class.

7) Success Project #2 - Presentation
The aim here will be to take your first success project and revise it, expand it, and improve on it in various ways. The revised written report will be submitted, but this time most of your grade will be based on an oral presentation made in class to the other students. It is generally useful to include a written or visual component with your presentation, such as an outline, a power point presentation, etc. Presentations will take place in class during the last two weeks of the semester. Your presentation must be between 10 and 15 minutes in length.

8 and 9) Reading Papers
We will be engaging in three very different kinds of readings, looking at political obligation, theoretical physics, and the psychology of relationships. You will be required to write papers on two of these three readings - it is your choice which to leave out. Each of the readings will be discussed in class, and you are free to use in your papers the ideas raised in class by myself and by other students. (So, for example, you do not need to worry about plagiarizing something I say! Your job will be to work with the ideas and fit them into a coherent, cohesive paper.) Each of the three readings will have a different focus, with the focus of the first (political obligation) being argumentative analysis, the second (theoretical physics) being comprehension, and the third (psychology of relationships) being speculative analysis.

10) Peer Grading Assignments
Over the course of the semester, you will be provided with three assignments completed by different students.With each, your job will consist of reviewing, evaluating, and grading that assignment. The process will be anonymous. The basic task is to take on the role of teacher/grader and critically assess the degree to which the assignment demonstrates excellence (rather than adequacy). More specifically, the task will include four steps: First, read through the paper and provide detailed comments about aspects you think are quite good or not so good; Second, at the end of the paper assign a grade and provide a justification (at least one paragraph in length) for that grade... in other words, explain why the grade is what it is; Third, decide which paper is better, this one you have just graded or the one you submitted (no ties!) and explain (in at least one paragraph) why you think it is the better of the two papers. Fourth, explain (in about a paragraph) something you learned from reading this anonymous paper - not something about the subject the other person wrote about, but something about process, structure, organization, etc. that you think might have been useful in your own paper.

General Information about Assignments

Due Dates for each assignment will be determined in class, by agreement.

Grading will not be easy. An assignment that basically accomplishes what it is supposed to accomplish will receive a B. My approach is to begin reading over each assignment thinking that it will receive a B. To receive an A, you must demonstrate in the assignment that you have mastered the objectives of that assignment, going beyond what it is basically supposed to accomplish. (Excellence - not adequacy.) Assignments that are lacking in certain ways will receive a grade somewhat lower than a B.

Submission should generally be by email, unless otherwise noted. These submissions are counted as complete once they actually get to me. Failed emails do not excuse lateness, so make sure you receive a reply from me confirming that what you have sent has been received. With any assignment, please be ready (in case I ask) to provide me with a separate, anonymous hard copy, which will be used by another student in the peer grading assignments.

ABOUT THE COURSE

Overall, this class should be viewed as "breather" from life, though not in the sense that there will be less work than usual. (There will be more work than usual!) Instead, this is an opportunity for you, wherever you are in your academic careers and pursuits, to pause... reflect... think... to learn about various things beyond what you usually learn... to consider where you are, where you might be going in life, and how you might get there.

In short, a principal objective here is to learn more about yourself.

With this in mind, what we will be doing is "experimenting"... trying out different kinds of thinking and learning, different kinds of topics and ideas. These different kinds of topics should require you to make use of different parts of your brain. They are diverse ways of thinking. These ways of thinking could very well come up again in your college studies, and they will almost certainly come up in life - not the specific content, but the general modes of thinking required by those tasks.

In short, this course is about learning new ways of thinking... not really about learning new "things."

My role will probably a bit different from what you are used to. I do not see myself as "teaching" as much as I see myself "coordinating" things. This is because much of what you learn in this course will be learned on your own. There will be some exceptions, but for most things in this class, the responsibility of learning how to do an assignment is your responsibility. I will provide general direction but will often refrain from explaining how you should go about accomplishing something. There are plenty of other courses in which you simply, and without difficulty, carry out the instructions of the professor. In this class, to learn on your own, you should make use of various resources, which will differ according to the nature of each assignment. However, I am a resource available to you for all assignments.

In short, part of your job is learning what to do and how to do it. It is not just about doing what you're told.

In class, when there is "teaching" or when I do give "instructions," there will usually be no handouts or other formal materials distributed. Instead, it will be incumbent on you to take notes, ask questions, and struggle with the material. The reason for this approach is that it leads to more successful learning. With handouts, or examples of the work, etc., there tends to be more mechanical execution of the assignments. Our society does not need more people to act mechanically. We need more people to be thinkers. This is especially true of our leaders, and Honors students are, and will be, leaders.

In short, much of your job in class is to engage in active learning in the classroom, however you may do so.

No assumptions will be made about any specific previous knowledge. Everything will begin at "ground level." This means you may at times be bored, if we cover something you already know well. It also means you may at times be quite confused, if we cover something new and very foreign to you. The strategy will therefore be to adjust accordingly. Instead of being bored with certain material you already know very well and taking a "pass" in class, become a leader/tutor for others in class who are not understanding it. When you are confused, seek the assistance of others and do what it takes to master the new topic.

In short, go with the flow of the topics.

ASSUMPTIONS

1. Honors students are quick learners.
Implication: Instead of going slowly (to make sure I'm not losing anyone), I will go more quickly. Then, what is not being understood should be asked about.

2. Honors students want to do well.
Implication: You will do what it takes to do well. You will ask questions, work on assignments ahead of time, discuss strategies with me and with each others, revise your work, and in general strive for excellence instead of adequacy.

3. Honors students are naturally curious.
Implication: You will want to learn about the various topics we cover. You will be motivated to find out more. Underlying this is the further assumption that the material is already interesting to you - it does not need to be "made" interesting by me or by anyone else. In case this further assumption is not entirely correct, the responsibility to make the material more interesting to you is (you guessed it) yours.

4. Honors students engage in plenty of discussion in class.
Implication: There will be no real "down time" in the classroom with everyone being tired, bored, confused, or any combination of these and other dubious adjectives. Underlying this is the further assumption that if you find yourself lapsing in any of these ways, you will find ways of making things more interesting and contributing to the class discussion in helpful ways.

COURSE POLICIES

Attendance is extremely important. The basis of most things to be learned, and certainly most details of what you need to know for the assignments, will be covered in class. Thus, you should avoid missing class whenever possible. You are permitted three ˇ°freeˇ± absences. These "freebies" should be used carefully, since absences for any reason are still absences. Penalties will be assessed beginning with the fourth absence and increasing with each subsequent absence. A maximum of six absences is permitted for the course.

Absences, when they are necessary, should not be explained. (No references to illnesses, accidents, traffic jams, strange bodily growths, etc., are needed.) Instead, when absent you should check with me, via email, to see whether anything has been assigned for the next class. You should also check with a classmate and get notes and other information from the class you missed.

Grading, although based on the assignments described above, will also include an intangible component. This component could be called "participation" though it is really more than that. Successful learning requires a positive learning environment, and this, in turn, requires students to be fully engaged with the course and the material being covered. The overall grade average which follows from then official assignments could go up or down, depending on the degree to which you contribute to this positive learning environment. Factors affecting that determination include the following: attendance; completion of minor homeworks or assignments that may be distributed on occasion; class discussion, in terms of asking questions about material that is not understood; class discussion, in terms of providing actual ideas about the material - comments, criticisms, different perspectives, or other contributions which advance the discussion; willingness to assist other members of the class; demonstrating respect for fellow students in class discussions and other interactions; and indeed any other ways in which the basic goal (contribution to the class learning environment) can be advanced.

Finally, although this sort of warning should not be necessary for Honors students, you should know that cheating of any sort (plagiarism, unauthorized assistance from other people, etc.) will not be tolerated. I will try to be very clear about what constitutes the acceptable parameters for each assignment. Any instance of cheating will generate a failing grade for the course and dismissal from the Honors Program. Should you at any time have any questions about what is acceptable on an assignment, please contact me.