Chabot College, Sociology 1 Online                                                          Instructor: Elizabeth Grant

SAMPLE SYLLABUS – NOT INTENDED FOR CURRENT TERM

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY

Catalog Description

The sociological perspective: the scientific study of human interaction and society as a whole with emphasis of the impact of groups on social behavior; a systematic examination of culture and social organization, and methodology.  3 hours.

Course Learning Objectives

1.   To demonstrate an understanding of the sociological perspective

      by using it as an analytical tool as one interprets social phenomena.

2.      To acquire a working knowledge of sociological concepts and theories, i.e., to be able to identify and discuss major concepts and theories and relate them in relevant ways to both society and one's own life experiences.

3.      To be able to identify the substantive areas of sociology, explaining their focus, and current issues.

4.        To creatively use knowledge and skills acquired in this course.

TEXT: See the current syllabus for textbook and access code information.

Online Course Delivery

Mode of Delivery:

The requirements for this online course are equivalent to a traditional college level Sociology 1 course. As a student, you will be required to read the required text, participate in discussion questions, complete quizzes, exams and web exercises. 

As an online course, instruction occurs via the computer.  Instead of in-class lectures, discussions and other activities, learning occurs through online discussion groups, individual web exercises and assignments.  Tests, quizzes and web exercises are taken online. Interaction occurs through discussion forums with fellow students and the instructor. 

Course Pace:

This is not a self-paced course; however, there are similar advantages to this course.  You have approximately one week to complete each chapter, therefore you can select the day and time (usually within a seven day period) to take the quizzes, tests, exercises and respond to the questions in the discussion forum.

Please read “Recommended Pace to Complete Sociology 1.”

Methods of Grading

Quizzes

All chapter quizzes are multiple-choice. You can earn up to 70 points (5 points for 13 quizzes and 1 practice quiz). End-of-the-chapter quizzes will help you prepare for your other exams. See the ‘Recommended Pace’ for deadlines.

Exams and Final

All exams – two exams and one final – are each worth 100 points (50 multiple-choice/true-false questions, 2 points each). The final is not cumulative; however it does cover more chapters than the previous exams. Each exam will cover the chapters listed in the ‘Recommended Pace.’

When you click to begin an exam, you must complete the entire test at that time. You CANNOT start to take a test and then decide to stop and take it at a later time. You will be allowed a maximum of 90 minutes to complete each exam.

Although Blackboard does not ‘shut down’ when you reach the exam time limit, I can see the amount of time spent on the exam. If you go over the 90-minute time limit, you will be deducted points. If you go over more than 5 minutes, I will deduct 5 points for each minute thereafter.

When a deadline passes, the exam (quiz or exercise) will no longer be accessible.

Exams can only be taken once. If you have a problem taking an exam, you must email me immediately. Depending on the problem, I may offer a makeup exam. A note of caution: makeup exams are not a ‘second chance’ for the same exam. Makeup exams are more difficult.

Discussion Questions

Throughout the course, I will post questions in a discussion forum that you are required to participate in.

I will post a question and you must answer the main question and reply to at least one of your classmates’ comments. You will receive credit for each answer.

The length of your response is not important. Most questions should be answered in one to two paragraphs and professionally submitted. See Requirements for Discussion Forums for proper conduct and posting guidelines in the discussion area.

You will not be graded on the content of your responses, however you may not receive credit if you do not attempt to answer the question (or have an appropriate reply). What I am looking for is a thoughtful response, usually after you have completed your readings and web exercises, not a right or wrong answer. For each of the six discussion questions, you should post two responses – one to the original question and one to a fellow student’s response. (6 discussion questions including Introductions, 2 each at 10pts, and 1 Final Thoughts, 10 pts, 130 points total).

See the ‘Recommended Pace’ for discussion deadlines. When we are past the deadline, you will not longer be able to post a response to those discussions.

Web Exercises

Web exercises will vary in length, depending on the material covered. A web exercise will typically be answered in the same manner of a quiz.

Each exercise is worth 25 points, for a total of 100 points. Most web exercises are for the purpose of using the Internet to explore web sites that are of interest to sociologists. The goal here is for you to become more comfortable exploring the web and to view current events with a sociological imagination.

Internet Link Assignment

The purpose of the Internet link assignment is to give you an opportunity to search the Internet on any topic related to sociology that you have an interest in from your readings.

One Internet link assignment is due at the end of each section. The topics you decide to search must come from the chapters in that section. At the end of each section, you must complete the assignment to receive credit. Each Internet link assignment is worth 20 points, for a total of 60 points.

Examples: You can choose any subject from the textbook from those chapters in each section. You can search sociology sites and find interesting subjects different from the readings. If you like the NY Times or other news sources, you can include links to articles on current events that have a sociological basis. Use your imagination and curiosity. But remember not to use the same site for all your sources.

To complete the assignment:

1) Utilize the web to investigate any three subjects that relate to sociology that you find interesting from the chapters you read in Section 1, 2 or 3.

2) Post the links to the sites, articles, etc. in the discussion area for the web link assignment. Post the link to the exact article or site (i.e.: include more than www.nytimes.com), include the title and the date you accessed the site. See the discussion area for an example.

3) After each link, give a brief description of the link, how it relates to sociology and what you found interesting. The description should be two or three sentences – in your own words – NOT cutting and pasting from the web sites.

4) Feel free to comment on your classmates’ assignment.

Your grade is determined by points, not percentages on assignments. Keep track of your points and you will know how well you are doing in the course.