Interactive Syllabus

110 Interactive Syllabus

Step 1 of 30

Hi! I'm Dr. Lindsey Albracht. You can call me Dr. Albracht, or Professor Albracht, or Lindsey. What's your name?(Required)

First Last

Is that the name you prefer to be called?(Required)

Yep.

No, I go by something else.

What name should I use?(Required)

Some people have trouble pronouncing my last name. I say it like this: ALL-brahkt (rhymes with SMALL-socked.) What's the best way to pronounce your name?(Required)

My pronouns are she, her, and hers. Some people use he, him and his; some people use they, them, and theirs; some people use a combination or other pronouns that aren't listed here. What do you prefer to use? You can also write "I'd rather not say."(Required)

Please put the e-mail address in the box below that you're the most likely to check.(Required)

Tell me a little bit about what you already know about English 110. What do you expect that you might learn or practice in here?(Required)

So, English 110 is a class where you learn more about academic writing. The theme of this section is Bad Ideas About Writing. We'll be discussing several common myths about writing, education, and language that many people believe, but that researchers within the field of Writing Studies have actively challenged.(Required)

What kinds of “myths?”

I'm glad you asked (even though I kinda forced you to!) Stuff like "learning grammar makes your writing better" and "plagiarism should always be punished," or "there is one correct way to speak and write in English," or "texting ruins your ability to write well." These are actually not true, and in this class,we'll be reading research about these (and other) "bad" ideas about writing to find out why not.(Required)

OK, got it.

Wait, I have a question.

Great! I love questions. What's your question?(Required)

English 110 is part of the Pathways General Education Program at Queens College. This class fulfils the EC-1 Pathways Requirement.

OK, cool.

Uhh, what does that mean?

You have to take a bunch of different classes to graduate, and at CUNY, some of the classes are standardized across all of the campuses so that if you transfer from Queensborough to QC (for example), it's easy to tell which Pathways requirements you've already fulfilled because they have the same learning outcomes. This is supposed to help make it easier for students to get credit for the work they've already done or seamlessly move from one campus to another.

OK, cool.

What do you mean by learning outcomes?

Learning outcomes are like goals that CUNY has for all students who are taking a particular class. By the end of the semester, you should be able to do certain things if you take an EC-1 class anywhere in the system that are relatively consistent. Do you want to see what the outcomes are?

Nah, I’m good.

Yeah, sure, show me those outcomes!

Here are the EC-1 Learning Outcomes

1. Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence. 2. Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using Standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one’s own and others’ texts. 3. Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources. 4. Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media. 5. Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.

In this section, I'm going to go over some of the learning goals for this class. These are basically the same thing as the EC-1 learning outcomes, but the English department here at Queens College interprets them just a bit differently.(Required)

OK, got it.

What do you mean by learning goals?

A learning goal is something that you should be working on during the semester: something specific that you need to learn or practice or be able to do in order to succeed in this class.(Required)

Oh, OK. Got it.

I still don’t understand.

Tell me more. What questions do you have about the meaning of "learning goals"?(Required)

The first goal of the class is for you to "produce writing that responds appropriately to a variety of rhetorical situations with a particular focus on academic argumentation." What do you think that "academic argumentation" might mean? How might it be different than just regular arguing?(Required)

The second goal is to (2) Learn reading strategies to summarize, synthesize, analyze, and critique other people’s arguments and ideas fairly. How have you worked on these skills prior to now? Which (if any) will be new or are confusing or difficult for you?(Required)

Next up, we have "Learn research practices that will help strengthen your writing and thinking." Have you done academic research using library databases before, or will this be new to you?(Required)

OK, the next one is "Produce writing that shows how writers may navigate the diverse processes of composing including revision and collaboration." Have you had to revise your writing in the past for school or in writing for other purposes? Have you ever done peer review? What did these processes look like for you?(Required)

This last one is one that students tend to appreciate. Here it is: "Take ownership of your work and gain an understanding of their own voice, style, and strengths." How much have you been able to examine your own writing in the past? Do you have any experience with assessing yourself and what you're already good at doing?(Required)

So, you've heard a bit about MY goals for you. What are some of YOUR goals for you this semester? What do you want to learn or achieve in this class or just generally in this semester?(Required)

OK. Enough of the lofty stuff. Let's talk about the basics. You know that this class meets in person twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:05am – 11:55am, right?(Required)

Yep!

There's no coursebook in here, and I use all open access materials so that you don't have to pay extra money to take this class on top of the money that you already paid. But this means that you'll be reading the coursebook online rather than a printed copy. Is that OK?(Required)

Yes, reading a textbook online should be fine.

I have a question about this.

Thanks for letting me know. What's your question?(Required)

I'm planning to have my office hours on Tuesdays directly after class from 12pm-1pm. Does that work for you?

Yeah, sounds good.

What’s an office hour?

I can’t make it then because I have a conflict.

All of your professors are required to plan one "office hour" per week. This is time that you can (and should!) come in to ask questions, go over assignments, or just come talk about what interests you about the class. You can talk to me about your questions and interests outside of this time, too: this is just a planned, official hour where you can come and talk to me.

OK, got it.

No worries! You can make an appointment with me outside of this time if you need to talk to me about a question or a problem that you're having. The best way to do this is to reach out to me over e-mail or Slack with a couple of times that you're free.

OK, got it.

I'm planning to use Slack to help you keep track of your progress in this course. This is a messaging system. It's kind of like Discord. You can use it to message me, get ahold of your classmates, share your work, and keep track of which assignments you've completed. I know this adds yet another platform to the mix, but one nice thing about Slack is that you can download it to your computer and your phone and it lets you customize which notficiations you receive. I also don't give grades on individual assignments (more on this later), so Slack works better for me than the Blackboard gradebook. Do you have any concerns about this?(Required)

Yes: I’m worried about this.

No: this sounds fine.

Thanks for letting me know. Can you say a little more about why you're worried?(Required)

So there are three "major" assignments in this class. There's a link to the course site underneath this box. Copy and paste it into a new browser window, and read about the assignments you'll complete in here. Don't worry: you'll get much more detailed prompts for each of these, and we'll go over them in class a lot.(Required)

OK, I did this! I don’t have any questions yet.

I looked at the assignments, and I have a question.

Eek! Looking at all of these assignments stresses me out, so I’ll just follow along in class.

I couldn’t get the link to work.

Here’s a link to the assignments. Please copy / paste it into a new browser: https://110spring23.commons.gc.cuny.edu/assignments/

Thanks for letting me know. Can you say more?(Required)

Can you type the address into a new browser window? If not, let me know what happens when you try to open the link.(Required)

Coming to class and keeping up with your work is super important in here. They're essential to passing this class. But also, this class is very interactive, and if students don't come to class, it's less interesting for all of us: we all need you here to be able to benefit from your unique perspective. All of this said, I imagine that some of us will be out sick this semester. If you can't come to class, you're going to have the option to "make it up" by doing that day's assignment or reading, reviewing my slides, and reading some annotations that your classmates produce on them. You'll then fill out an exit ticket (a form like this one) which will help me to understand what you've learned. You'll be able to find these in the #whatyoumissed channel on Slack. But this is really not as good as attending class: it's just a "better than nothing" alternative. Do you think you'll be able to come to class a lot when you aren't sick?(Required)

Yeah, I’ll be in class or read recaps and fill out exit tickets when I can’t make it.

I might need to miss class a lot, or I already know I’m going to need to miss class for a specific reason.

Thanks for letting me know. Can you say more about why?(Required)

Tell me a little bit about your thoughts on class participation. What does it mean to you to "participate" in class? What helps you and encourages you? What makes you hesitate to participate?(Required)

Take a look at the late work policy. It's here on the policies page: https://110spring23.commons.gc.cuny.edu/policies/(Required)

OK, I see it.

I couldn’t open that link.

How would you summarize this policy in your own words? What are the important things to know?(Required)

Can you type the address into a new browser window? If not, let me know what happens when you try to open the link.(Required)

Choose one other policy from that list and summarize it.(Required)

You may have heard of the program Chat GPT: an artificial intelligence chatbot that can help you to easily summarize and create academic arguments automatically. We're going to be experimenting with and talking about using AI in the development of our writing in this class, because I think that this could potentially be a really great and helpful tool. However, just like you wouldn't copy and paste a whole paragraph from Wikipedia into your paper without properly citing it, I'm going to ask you not to use passages from Chat GPT (or other AIs) in this way, either. Does that make sense?

Yeah, I get it.

I have a question about this.

Sure, what's up?

Sometimes, you're going to write during class. Do you have a device (preferably a tablet or a laptop) that you can take with you to school to do this?(Required)

Yes, I do.

No, I don’t.

OK, you have a couple of options here. Did you know that there is a program where you can rent a device from the school for the whole semester? It might be a good idea to do this if you don't have one. The website where you can read more about this program is below this box. Just copy / paste it into a new browser window. If that doesn't work, you can also rent a device from the library for a couple of hours before you come to class. Just stop by the library to pick one up on your way in.(Required)

OK, great!

https://www.provost.qc.cuny.edu/students/devices

Sometimes, I like to do activites in class the require you to buzz in or answer a poll using your computer or phone. Do you have a phone that you have with you all of the time?(Required)

Yes, I do.

No, I don’t.

Sometimes, students stop coming to class and turning in work, and they also stop responding to e-mails or other attempts from me to reach out. I know it's ultimately your responsibility to keep up with your work, but I'm really committed to your success in this class, and I do NOT want you to have to take it again. This means that if you ghost the class, I'll usually reach out a few times to see how things are going before I just leave it alone. Over the years of teaching this, I've noticed that different people are different: some students really want me to keep reaching out to them, and others would rather just be left alone. If this happens to you, what's the best way for me to handle it? Should I leave you alone? Keep trying to contact you? Something else? Just a heads up: I can't contact your family or friends for legal reasons.(Required)

On the second day of classes, we're going to talk about the grading system in this class, which is a little non-traditional. In short, I don't like grades, and I don't give them on individual assignments. Instead, you have unlimited chances to meet a set of requirements on any assignment that you turn in up to a certain point. After the time is up, assignments that didn't meet requirements will count against your grade, but only if you didn't work on revising them. So, you can get a good grade in here by doing your work consistently, revising it when it doesn't meet requirements, coming to class (or catching up when you miss), and completing all of the major assignments. I'll also give you plenty of feedback (and so will your peers) if you turn your work in on time, but ultimately, you'll be responsible for making and justifying you own revision choices to take ownership over your own work. This style of grading is sometimes called "ungrading" or "contract grading," or a "grading agreement." Does this kind of make sense to you?(Required)

I….think so? I’m fine with waiting to hear more about it.

I’ve taken a class with you before / a class with an approach like this. I get it.

Oh no, not at all. Help!

What worries you about this system, or what questions do you have?(Required)

It is important to me to provide an accessible learning environment for all of the students in this class. I'll ask for your feedback on how to make this happen, but you may also contact Dr. Mirian Detres-Hickey at the Office of Special Services for Students with Disabilities at QC.SPSV@qc.cuny.edu or 718-997-5870 for more information about receiving additional support services and accommodations. Do you want to tell me about any accommodations that you need right now or any other accommodation requests?(Required)

Yes: I need to tell you about an accommodation that I need.

No: I don’t need to tell you about an accommodation.

Thanks for telling me. What's up?(Required)

You'll be able to find all of the information that you just read and learned about on our course website: the same site that you're on right now. The information about the course policies is under "policies." The schedule for reading and assignments is under "course schedule." You can find out more about the way grades work under "grading agreement." The assignment descriptions are under "assignments." After you're done with this form, feel free to look around, but just a heads up that all of the information might not be ready yet if you're filling this out before classes start.(Required)

OK, got it.

You did it! This is the last question. Is there anything else you'd like for me to know about you? Sometimes students like to tell me about their caretaking responsibilities, their job, anything that's going on in their life that might interfere with their ability to take or finish this class, their star sign, their Tik Tok handle, or their hobbies. Some students give me a link to the writing that they do outside of school or a playlist that they're into right now. Some students share a fun fact, and others leave this blank. You do you!

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

English 110: Spring 2023

Edit Site Title and Tagline from Dashboard > Appearance > Customize > Site Identity

110 Interactive Syllabus

Here are the EC-1 Learning Outcomes

Need help with the Commons?