Fall

2008

CONTACT INFORMATIONInstructor: Ryan McRaeOffice: University Village Business Office Email: rmcrae@csusm.eduOffice Phone: 750-3711 Office Hours: By Appointment

WELCOME TO GEL 101

You are about to start the adventure of a lifetime! This class is designed to help you chart the course and handle the challenging currents of receiving a college education here at Cal State San Marcos! We will cover how to utilize the library and the career centers—vital ar-eas here at CSUSM—to help you achieve your academic goals.

This class will help you assess your: time management, study skills, learning styles, team-work skills, test-taking strategies and personal wellness. The library faculty will introduce you to college level research skills and the technology available on our campus to access, evaluate and communicate information and ideas. Career advisors will help you clarify your long term career goals and you will learn the elements of effective résumé writing and how to research careers. This course will also expose you to opportunities and resources for be-coming an active member of our campus community outside the classroom.

This class is designed to equip students with the basic skills, concepts, and knowledge nec-essary to become a lifelong learner. Examination of current theory and research regarding the information age, health and wellness, career development, and psychological assess-ment. practical application of the theory and research. Includes information literacy and technology skills, group and teamwork, and learning styles. It is my goal that at the end of this class, hopefully sooner, you realize how much there is to learn and that you are excited about it. This is the adventure of a lifetime.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESUpon completion of GEL 101 you will be able to:

Academic Success Skills• Design and implement an effective time management plan that meets your personal

schedule and the demands of your coursework.• Assess your personal learning style, study skills and test taking strategies and de-

velop a plan to improve in these areas.

GEL 101: General Education, Lifelong Learning& Information Literacy:The Student, The University, The Community

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Fall 2008

Information Literacy & College Level Research• Formulate a research topic and write a relevant thesis• Use electronic databases to locate and retrieve information related to a thesis• Critique scholarly vs. popular press literature• Write a college level research report (in APA or MLA style) and reproduce a related

oral presentation

Academic & Career Planning• Research different academic majors (or confirm your choice of major) • Develop a personal academic plan that includes university requirements, general

education courses and courses for a major• Research various career options• Understand the career development process and explore key factors (skills, inter-

ests, values, personality and abilities) affecting career/major choice• Write a detailed and effective professional resume• Identify and make contact with an academic advisor, a career advisor and a faculty

advisor

Wellness• Assess personal wellness along a number of dimensions including physical, psycho-

logical, social and fiscal• Acquire and analyze information on wellness from Student Health Services and

other campus resources

Institutional Awareness and Resource Utilization• List the campus resources available to students • Identify common student needs and the appropriate campus resources to address

those needs• Identify the variety of ways students can become active participants in the campus

community outside the classroom

Moral & Ethical Decision Making• Locate and analyze the Cal State San Marcos policies on Academic Honesty, Drug-

Free Campus & Smoking, Nondiscrimination, Sexual Assault, and Student Disci-pline

• Clarify your own values while understanding the values and ethical practices of our university community

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Expectations of the Classroom Environment

• Students will be on time for class; punctuality is expected. • Cell phones will be turned off during class; if a student’s phone rings during class,

that student will lose 5 points per ring since it disrupts the class. You are not per-mitted to use a cell phone while in class regardless if you are working independ-ently. I have a short fuse about cell phones. There is a time and place for cell phones. My classroom is neither.

• Students will respect one another during discussions.• Students will uphold the Code of Conduct for CSUSM. Course Requirements for

GEL 101.• All assignments that are not to be completed in class must be typed, using Micro-

soft Word or Pages (except for your journal). • Assignments that do not have a name on them will be introduced to Mr. Shredder.

They will be utterly consumed. Utterly. • Any plagiarized assignment is grounds for an immediate failure of the class and a

not-so-fun referral to the Dean .• Extra credit is given sparsely. It is offered, not given. No extra credit can be applied

to the library or career module. Zero. • Class behavior (foul language, lack of respect, etc.) can cause a loss of points in the

class. • Quit the complaining when something is assigned. You chose to come here. Unless

you are a court appointed college student, please no whining.

Point Scale for Determining Final Grade out of 750 points: 90% A 80% B 70% C 60% D 59%-0% F

Description of each graded item:

Class Discussions & Reflection PapersThe class discussions will occur in class on a variety of topics such as: Kite Runner, ethics, study skills, first year experiences. Reflection papers will be assigned and handle topics such as: the Custom textbook, other texts, ethics, study skills and personal reflection. This is not an exhaustive list of topics, merely examples.

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Fall 2008

In-class exercises, quizzes & homework from the textsThe in-class exercises and quizzes will happen in class and will not be made up for any rea-son. These will deal with the reading due that day and any reading previously due. Home-work will be from assigned reading and reflection.

Tukwut Leadership CircleAll students are required to participate in the Tuwkut Leadership Circle

DebateThe information for the debate will be forthcoming.

Library and Career ModuleThis will be outlined in the appropriate syllabus. If you fail either of these sessions, you may fail this class.

Communication with the InstructorPlease do not hesitate to contact me if you need help. My email is rmcrae@csusm.edu and my phone is 760-750-3711. You can also set up an appointment to see me in my office. My general course policy does not allow for make up exams or acceptance of late work. How-ever, if you have a serious illness or other issue, it is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible.

Although I live in University Village, please refrain from coming to my home. Please respect my privacy—I am available through office hours.

Attendance PolicyYou have two excused absences when it comes to my class. After that, you will lose 5% of your total grade for every absence. If you are absent, it is your entire responsibility to make up the work, to contact me, come by and find out what you missed; I will not chase you down. Any absence over two days will require a doctor’s note. Please be aware—if you miss 7 or more classes, you will fail the class (regardless of your grade); there will be no extra credit, life vest or anything like that.

Communication with the InstructorPlease do not hesitate to contact me if you need help. My email is rmcrae@csusm.edu and my phone is 760-750-3711. You can also set up an appointment to see me in my office. My general course policy does not allow for make up exams or acceptance of late work. How-ever, if you have a serious illness or other issue, it is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible. If you need help, ask. Ryan McRae, despite the rumors, is not a mind reader.

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Academic Honesty Policy StatementStudents will be expected to adhere to standards of academic honesty and integrity, as out-lined in the Student Academic Policy. All written work and oral presentation assignments must be original work. All ideas/material that are borrowed from other sources must have appropriate references to the original sources. Any quoted material should give credit to the source and be punctuated with quotation marks.

Students are responsible for honest completion of their work including examinations. There will be no tolerance for infractions. If you believe there has been an infraction by someone in the class, please bring it to the instructor’s attention. The instructor reserves the right to discipline any student for academic dishonesty, in accordance with the general rules and regulations of the university. Disciplinary action may include the lowering of grades and/or the assignment of a failing grade for an example, assignment or the class as a whole. If you cheat blatantly, I will fail you blatantly.

Incidents of Academic Dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students. Sanctions at the University level may include suspension or expulsion from the University.

ADA Statement

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations must be approved for services by providing appropriate and recent documentation to the Office of Disabled Stu-dent Services (DSS). This office is located in Craven Hall 5205, and can be contacted by phone at (760) 750-4905, or TTY (760) 750-4909. Students authorized by DSS to receive rea-sonable accommodations should meet with me during my office hours in order to ensure confidentiality.

Texts Needed to be Purchased

The Student, The University, The Community

Texts We Will Read But Are Free

Urban, Hal, (2003 or newer). Life’s Greatest Lessons: 20 Things that Matter.Maxwell, John C. (2008). Make today count. Bach, David (2008). Go Green, Live Rich.Newport, Cal (2007). How to become a Straight A Student.Pauch, Randy (2008). The Last Lecture.

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This is a rough esti-mate of what is due; I will keep you up to date through the class.

Schedule

Date The Plan What is DUE that day.

8/26 Introduction to the class. Your attention. Undi-vided

8/28 Poster Project Your poster

8/29 Poster Project/Why We Refuse to Believe We’re Intelli-gent

Your poster.

9/2 Career Module: Your Strengths. Strengthsquest printout

9/4 Career Module: Your Strengths. TBA

9/5 Career Module: Your Strengths. TBA

9/9 Career Module: Your Strengths. TBA

9/11 Career Module: Your Strengths. TBA

9/12 Career Module: Your Strengths. TBA

9/16 How To Become a Straight-A Student Discussion Straight A Part 1/ chapter 4 of Custom

9/18 How To Become a Straight-A Student Discussion Straight A Part 2/ Chap-ter 3 of Custom is due

9/19 How To Become a Straight-A Student Discussion Straight A Part 3

9/23 Life’s Greatest Lessons Chapter 1-2

9/25 Life’s Greatest Lessons Chapter 4-5

9/26 Life’s Greatest Lessons Chapter 6-7

9/30 The Definition of Gratitude

10/2 The Definition of Gratitude

10/3 Academic Resources Your full attention

10/7 Public Speaking Your courage

10/9 Public Speaking Your imagination

10/10 Public Speaking Your story

10/14 Library Module

Fall 2008

This is a rough esti-mate of what is due; I will keep you up to date through the class.

Schedule

Date The Plan What is DUE that day.

10/16 Library Module

10/17 Library Module

10/21 Library Module

10/23 Library Module

10/24 Library Module

10/28 Debate Preparation

10/30 Debate Preparation

10/31 Debate

11/4 Election Day/Coverage

11/6 Time Management One More Time Alcohol 101 due.

CCR due

11/7 Diversity. I might blow your mind

11/11 Veteran’s Day

11/13 How to Analyze Literature. Simply. Make Today Count Due.

11/14 Student’s Choice

11/18 Last Lecture Discussion

11/20 Last Lecture Discussion

11/21 The most important lecture I’ll ever give

11/25 The most important lecture I’ll ever give

11/27 Thanksgiving Holiday

11/28 Thanksgiving Holiday

12/2 Presentations

12/4 Presentations

12/5 My Last Lecture Final Project Due

12/12 Final Exam 9:15-11:15 AM