INTRODUCTION TO EXPLORATION OF UNIVERSITY RESOURCES IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Introduction: Introduction to Exploration of University Resources in Higher Education is a first summer session course designed to ease the stress and anxiety of those who are new to Ball State and seeking a master's degree. Through the use of repetitive activities (ex. Peer Power Hours, journal entries) students will begin to recognize their personal learning style and find confidence in how they engage in their educational journey. Additionally, each week will incorporate new activities (ex. Virtual Resource Scavenger Hunt, ways to lower stress and anxiety, and mastering one’s motivation) as a means to foster future learning in a way that promotes support, inclusiveness, accessibility, and accommodation. The course will close out with an evaluation ("Survival Memo") of accumulated knowledge so that the student may have continued access to presented topics, resources, their emotional responses, and the bonds they made with their peers and instructors.
Course Rationale: Emotions have a direct relationship to learning and this relationship is contextualized within the interconnected relationships of arousal, stress and anxiety (MacKeracher, 2004). There are both negative and positive outcomes related to a learner’s arousal, stress and/or anxiety. Despite an emotion’s positive or negative impact, as arousal increases, learners’ behavior can become “increasingly motivated, organized and directed towards accomplishing desired goals” (MacKeracher, 2004, p. 124). However, “if arousal continues beyond the individual’s maximum ability to respond, motivation decreases rapidly, disorganized behavior ensues, and physical collapse becomes a possibility” (MacKeracher, 2004, p. 124). In order to ensure that learners' stress and anxiety remains at minimal levels and their motivation is at optimal levels, this syllabus was developed with learner’s emotional needs in mind. We understand that when a learner feels too much arousal, they may withdraw from learning and isolate themselves. Therefore, the syllabus below was developed in an attempt to prevent information overload and ensure that learners had time to reflect on the course objectives. The activities and assignments outlined in the syllabus were designed to provide learners with resources that they can use for the rest of their graduate career in order to reduce arousal states such as stress and anxiety.
Ball State University
Graduate School
Summer 2021
Online: Synchronous and Asynchronous
Tuesdays: 6pm – 8pm EST – Online, Synchronous
Wednesdays/Thursdays: Asynchronous
Dates: May 10, 2021 – June 4, 2021
Finals Week: June 7, 2021 – June 10, 2021
Click here to download the syllabus.
Class Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2331150631?pwd=WhD6M7cbWdk
Meeting ID: 596 583 593 Password: Welcome
**All Open Virtual Office Rooms are via Zoom and are drop in. You will be held in a waiting room until the instructor is available to speak with you. Email for an appointment outside set office hour times.**
Get to know your instructors: Click here to view a fun Welcome Video and leave a comment or ask a question.
Introduction: This first summer session exploration course is designed to provide new Ball State University students a successful transition to the structure of and resources available to masters-seeking individuals. The content of the course is designed to motivate students in becoming more comfortable learners in order to support their educational opportunities. The course will expose students to the numerous resources and services available at Ball State, while beginning to develop a network of students with whom they can share their experiences. Students will discover their personal learning style as it relates to finding methods to lower their emotional responses to learning, what motivates them, and skills to help develop a foundation for lifelong learning and career development.
Objectives: At the end of this course, students will assemble data that provides access to stress and anxiety reducing resources, reflections on their personal motivational processes, and a support system of peers. This collection can be carried with them during their time in higher education and beyond.
Time Expectations: Weekly activities will be completed. It is expected that students log in to Canvas via MyBSU at least four times a week to ensure announcements, assignments, and communications are not missed. Due dates are expected to be followed and completion of all assignments, projects, surveys, and quizzes is vital to the successful completion of this course. Students are required to attend all four 2-hour synchronous virtual sessions over the course of the summer semester and complete all assignments by the due dates.
Communication Plan: Your instructors are accessible via drop-in virtual office hours, office hours by appointment, or email. Please allow 24 hours for an email response, after which you are encouraged to follow up. Additionally, announcements will be posted in Canvas each Monday morning in order to prepare learners for the week ahead. All efforts will be made to communicate clearly and in a timely manner.
Textbook (not required): Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: 7th Edition, 2020 Copyright Seventh Edition, by American Psychological Association Purchase on Amazon or Rent from Ball State Bookstore
Zoom: Students will meet via Zoom for all synchronous virtual sessions. An account is not required to enter a Zoom meeting (see direct access link above), however it is recommended that students are familiar with basic Zoom functions. Click here to access Zoom tutorials.
Canvas: Canvas is accessible through logging in to MyBSU. The site contains necessary information to successfully complete this course. Canvas will be used to assign and submit weekly assignments/final, engage in discussions, post and check grades, and send announcements. Please check Canvas at least four times a week.
Students are encouraged to reach out to instructors or the Technology Help Desk for technological support.
Disability and Other Accommodations: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share, or if you need special arrangements to facilitate your learning, please make an appointment with one of your facilitators as soon as possible. It is strongly encouraged that you schedule a meeting with the Office of Disability Services. The Office of Disability Services is located at Student Center, Room 116 or you can reach them at 765-285-5293 or dsd@bsu.edu. We, your facilitators, will do all we can to honor your needs.
Diversity and Inclusion Statement: As a group of diverse individuals with various backgrounds, we will strive to learn from each other in an atmosphere of positive engagement and mutual respect. Please review the Beneficence Pledge and become familiar with The Office of Inclusive Excellence.
Student Rights and Academic Integrity: This course will follow all Ball State University Academic Integrity and Dishonesty Policies. Review information from the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.
Description of Continuous Activities:
Attendance in Synchronous Sessions: This class meets synchronously on Tuesdays from 6pm – 8pm EST with additional asynchronous assignments due on Thursdays. Students are expected to attend all four synchronous sessions. Any missed sessions must fall under one of the following categories: prolonged illness with a doctor’s note, death in the family, religious holiday, or special arrangement that is need-based. Any work missed must be completed by the end of the summer session. Attendance at each of the four sessions is worth 15 points per session equaling 60 possible attendance points.
Participation in Synchronous Sessions: Students are expected to listen to, contribute verbally or in the chat, and learn from the conversations that take place during the synchronous learning sessions. Respect for guest speakers, your peers, your instructor, and the environment you are in are all part of the participation portion of the evaluation process. Participation at each of the four sessions is worth 10 points per session equaling 40 possible attendance points.
Peer Power Hours: Students will engage their peers outside the classroom in order to establish a relationship and support system for continued success. These sessions can include, but are not limited to, getting coffee and talking, engaging in a Zoom session where you get to know each other, take time to talk about what is happening in class, and generally form a connection. These sessions can be one-on-one or done as a group. This assignment supports networking and time management. At the end of each synchronous session, time will be provided to set up the week's Peer Power Hour. Once the Power Hour of the week is complete, students will submit a reflection of their time spent with peers in the provided discussion board on Canvas. Peer Power Hours are worth 25 points per session equaling 100 possible points for the semester.
Journal Entries: Students will log their week in journal entries. These entries should reflect on the topics of class and how they will progress the students preferred learning styles and desired outcomes of this introduction course. Additionally, students may log helpful resources, reflect on the connections they are making, and record any information that will be helpful to them in the future. These entries will be posted to a private discussion board. Only the instructors of the course will review, discuss, and comment on these entries. Journal entries are worth 25 points per session equaling 100 possible points for the semester.
Final Project: Due on June 10th, students will complete a “Survival Memo” as their final project. These memos can be in a variety of creative formats, including infographics, videos, animations, presentation slides, and more. Students can either work in groups or individually to complete their memo. See the finals week schedule below for more information. The Survival Memo is worth 100 points in total.
Instructor/Course Evaluation: During the week of June 7th, students are encouraged to provide feedback regarding instructors, effectiveness of course, and other components of the summer session. A link will be added to the Canvas site closer to the end of the semester. Response to the survey provides students with 10 bonus points added to the final grade as extra credit. This is not mandatory and choosing not to participate does not influence final grade negatively.
Grading:
Grading Scale Breakdown: 500 possible points
Attendance/Participation: Four Virtual Sessions at 25 points each = 100 points
Peer Power Hours: Four Power Hours Sessions at 25 points each = 100 points
Journal Entries: Four Journal Entries at 25 points each = 100 points
Assignment 1/Week 1: 25 points Introduction, Overview, and Connection
Assignment 2/Week 2: 25 points Lower Your Stress
Assignment 3/Week 3: 25 points Decrease Your Anxiety
Assignment 4/Week 4: 25 points Mastering Motivation
Final Project/Week 5: 100 points Survival Memo
Instructor/Course Evaluation: 10 points for extra credit
Letter Grade by Points Breakdown:
A: 500 – 468 A-: 467 – 451
B+: 450 – 434 B: 433 – 417 B-: 416 – 400
C+: 399 – 383 C: 382 – 366 C-: 365 – 349
D+: 348 – 332 D: 331 – 315 D-: 314 – 298
F: 297 – 0
Assignment 1/Week 1 (May 10th-May 13th): Introduction, Overview, and Connection
Rubric: Total of 100 possible points
Assignment 2/Week 2 (May 17th-May 20th): Lowering your Stress
Weekly Objective: To find BSU resources that can facilitate stress reduction through a variety of methods.
Description: During the synchronous portion of this week, students tailor the resources found in week 1 to fit their own stress-reducing needs. Students will work together in virtual breakout rooms to explore different resources BSU offers for reducing stress using various types of stress-reducing strategies such as physical activity (ex. Recreation Programming), social interaction (ex. Graduate School Wellness Initiative events), quiet time alone (ex. Counseling Center’s Resource & Relaxation Room), and more. Students will choose breakout rooms depending on how they best reduce stress and present the resources they found for their assigned stress-reducing strategy to the larger group. Peer Power Hour and Journal Entry will be assigned for asynchronous completion.
Rubric: Total of 100 possible points
Assignment 3/Week 3 (May 24th-May 27th): Decrease your Anxiety
Weekly Objective: To identify triggers of anxiety and develop strategies to decrease learners’ anxiety.
Description: During the synchronous portion of this week, students will work individually to create a list of strategies they can use to decrease their anxiety. Students should use the resources they discovered in week 1 and week 2. Students will be asked to identify the triggers of their anxiety and then, begin to brainstorm strategies they can use to combat anxiety when triggered. Students will be asked to submit a visual including what they have discovered. The visual can be in any format including but not limited to a video, a PowerPoint, Prezi or Canva presentation, a visual image such as a poster board or some form of diagram, and more. The visual should be submitted via Canvas. Peer Power Hour and Journal Entry will be assigned for asynchronous completion.
Rubric: Total of 100 possible points
Assignment 4/Week 4 (May 31st-June 3rd): Mastering Motivation
Weekly Objective: To identify motivational factors for each student as they relate to both the desire to function autonomously and be able to function harmoniously in a group or pairs.
Description: During the synchronous portion of this week, students will complete the career exploration survey developed by the BSU Counseling Center, who will then conduct a debrief and analysis with each student based on the results of the survey. The aim is to enhance personal motivation by helping students clearly identify career goals and develop strategies to reach these objectives. Peer Power Hour and Journal Entry will be assigned for asynchronous completion. Students will be encouraged to reflect on the relationships they have built during Peer Power Hour throughout the course, focusing on emotions related to these meetings and relationships.
Rubric: Total of 100 possible points
Assignment 5/Week 5 (June 7th-June 10th): Survival Memo
Final Objective: To create a message for oneself and future incoming graduate students detailing successful strategies and practices for surviving the course and the higher education journey.
Description: Students will individually complete a “Survival Memo” as their final project. These memos can be in a variety of creative formats, including infographics, videos, animations, presentation slides, and more. The Survival Memo is a recap of the learning experience and advice to new students starting the course. Just as students viewed previous students’ Survival Memos in preparation for the course, future students will view the current students’ Survival Memos. Content should include strategies to manage one’s time, organizational practices, effective group processes, and other tips and tricks to succeed in this course. Students will include at least 3 main points and at least 3 useful resources in their memos. Students will determine if they would like their memo to be shared in future classes or not. Assignment instructions and examples can be found on Canvas.
Rubric: Total of 100 possible points
Highlights: One of the highlights of our syllabus is our introduction video that is included in our syllabus. This introduction video provides our learners with background information for each of the instructors and allows them the chance to get to learn more about the instructors. Our aim was to help reduce stress and anxiety related to learners not knowing their instructors. The introduction video shows learners that their instructors are relatable and are dealing with some of the same life circumstances as them.
A second highlight of our syllabus is that learners can take the resources found in the activities and assignments presented in the syllabus and use them for the rest of their graduate career. The resources learners find will be so valuable that learners will be able to also apply some of the resources to their personal lives and careers in an attempt to ease stress and anxiety.
Finally, our syllabus is unique because we decided to have four instructors as opposed to just the one. We believe that having four instructors will help cater to various emotional needs amongst learners and provide them with multiple ways to learn. In addition, having four instructors will help acclimate learners to different teaching styles and methods.
Process: The process began with a group of individuals taking a moment to establish a relationship though open communication. We used email to set up a time to meet for our first live planning session and then transitioned to Microsoft Teams. We utilized Microsoft Teams’ functionality for video calls and user-friendly chat features that allow for document drops in order to provide the group with our thoughts, comments, and resources all in one place. By using a platform that fosters communication, we were able to establish a strong rapport with each other and count on each person to do their part. We began to trust each other. The group then took extra time and care to set up the group plan assignment which allowed us to see exactly what we wanted to do, when, and how. We ensured that our plan was well-established and each individual’s role was clearly presented.
Additionally, the theory review gave us a chance to see individual reflections regarding our topic and how that might guide us toward a syllabus design that will influence what we are most passionate about: lowered stress and anxiety, personal motivation, and providing information in a manner that is clear, consistent, digestible, and available for future use. We reviewed chapter 5 of Karen Lawson’s, The Trainer's Handbook, for inspiration on writing learning objectives. We discussed what types of syllabi we had been given in the past and what has been clear and not clear with those. We also reviewed examples of previous groups' syllabi provided by Dr. Chang. The last few items that assisted the group was the use of Zoom for sessions we needed to record that might be added to the final showcase and google.doc sharing for group editing and commenting. Collectively, we have learned respect for each person, trust, solid communication, and using the right tools will tee us up for success now and in the future.
Table 1: Summary of Syllabus Design
References
Couto, D. (2014, August 1). The anxiety of learning. https://hbr.org/2002/03/the-anxiety-of-learning.
Lawson, K. (2016). The trainer's handbook (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making sense of adult learning (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division.
Hi, Group 3.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have to say that I was blown away by your attention to detail in your Syllabus Design Project. I enjoyed watching your introduction video, and I thought that was a wonderful addition to the syllabus. I also appreciated the fact that you each identified your given pronouns. I felt that you were creating an inclusive classroom and signaling to all that their pronouns (and identification) are important and will be respected. Additionally, I loved the hyperlinks to all of the outside resources (Amazon or BSU Bookstore, zoom tutorials, the different offices a student might need, and the different codes of student conduct). I felt that each of these components were designed to ease student stress levels as they begin your class. Great job!
Next, I have to say that I love the idea behind your course. It sounds like the perfect course for anyone who is just starting their graduate journey at Ball State, and I love the idea that students who take this course will be set up for success in their educational journey. I liked the layout of your syllabus, specifically the “Schedule” section. Again, I loved the attention to detail and the fact that you color coded the weeks and included a calendar of the week as well as the weekly objective, description, and rubric. I truly felt that you were setting your students up for success in your class. Finally, I appreciated your highlights section, and I truly agreed with the areas that you chose to highlight. Additionally, you say in your “Process” section that your group began to trust each other, and I believe that your syllabus project is evidence of that fact.
Thank you for sharing!
Adrienne
Hi Group 3,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your syllabus. I appreciated how your syllabus was organized and how visually appealing your syllabus was. For me, it makes things easier as a learner if I can easily come back to the syllabus at any point during the course and find the information I need without having to re-read the entire document. You did a great job making this happen.
Hi Group 3!
ReplyDeleteI loved the formatting and links that you included in your syllabus. I see that it was designed as a one-stop shop for your course and I loved that. I also enjoyed that the course was developed as a weekly view. I also really enjoyed the level of detail that was included in your support of your literature. The 4 instructors and peer power hours are great examples of engaging with the course in a way that lowers the anxiety that a new course may provide.
Hi Group 3!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great syllabus! It looks very professional and is extremely detailed. I really like how your course is focused on helping new students lower anxiety. With all the stress that college students face, this would be a wonderful course for so many students to take. In fact, it would be a course that I would have liked to take when I started college.
One of my favorite parts of your syllabus is your detailed weekly outline of the course. Students will know exactly what to expect each week and day. It is an excellent way to set up a syllabus. If I was a student entering your course, I would definitely have a grasp on what is going to be required for the class based on your syllabus. Some syllabi I have seen over the years have been too vague and required me to ask a lot of questions after reading it. This syllabus is extremely clear and easy to follow.
Great work!
Cara Johnson
Group 3,
ReplyDeleteI like how course is designed to help students become more comfortable learners through helping them manage stress, anxiety, and motivation. Mental health is a large component to student success, and help students learn to effectively maintain a positive state of mind would be wonderful. I feel like your syllabus does a good job of balancing a lot of information while being easy to navigate and understand.
Samuel Martin
Group 3,
ReplyDeleteI like how each topic has a designated area and goes in sequence on stress learning. For visual learners, it helps with the colors, charts, and bold print. The intent of the topic displays throughout the syllabus. The table in the syllabus on ways to reduce stress and motives is an excellent rationale.