Syllabus

College of St Scholastica
Summer2011
American Sign Language 1103
Tower 2121(9:00-12:00)
Instructor: Monica K. Marciniak
Office hours: by appointment, before or after class as time allows
mbutche@css.edu
Required Text: and DVD: Learning American Sign Language, Tom Humphries & Carol Padden: Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs. 2004.


Course Objectives and Goals:
Linguistic
1. Students will use their knowledge from American Sign Language I skills, to continue to recognize that American Sign Language is a visual gestural and true form of language.
2. Students will demonstrate appropriate fluency in vocabulary and basic grammatical structure.
Functional
3. Students will compare and contrast the grammatical structure, vocabulary, and syntax of ASL with traditional spoken language.
4. Students will actively watch lectures, engage in group work and participate in each class meeting.
5. Students will master the ability to expressively initiate, conduct, and terminate context-specific conversations of short length.
6. Students will create a Deaf Culture Workshop to help prepare them in working together with Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons in their future careers.
Cultural
7. Students will continue to build upon their knowledge of Deaf Culture and its dynamics
8. Students will articulate their responses to relevant social aspects and values of the Deaf Culture and the community.
9. Students will attend a Deaf Community Event to increase awareness and knowledge of Deaf people and their language.

Class Organization:

The language mode in the class will be both English and ASL, mostly ASL. I am Deaf and ask that students are respectful of this. This means that I may need students to repeat questions and comments made in class and that I want students to try to use their ASL skills to the best of their ability to communicate with me. There will be times where only ASL is allowed. Students are expected to respect this time and make it known they are not understanding or understanding. I will ensure that I will do everything I can to help students understand what is being presented to them at all times. At times this may mean to “hang in there” and try to put the pieces together to get the bigger picture. This is part of the learning process and takes great patience on your part.

Students will actively engage and participate in class lectures as well as assigned group work. Each week, students will be involved in lectures and group work. Participation in this course is the key to successful learning. Group work is not only expected of each student, it is required. Students that are simply sitting together and chatting will not get participation points for the day. Exercises in the book are very important and students are required to complete them weekly.

Since this class is divided into three days a week, we will have our unit spilt into three parts. Mondays will typically be vocabulary. Wednesdays are typically vocabulary review, grammar, and lecture. Finally Fridays will be quiz or exams. Often each week is started with a signed story that uses targeted vocabulary we will learn that week. Also, group exercise and activities will be added frequently throughout the semester and require all students to participate. Therefore, it is crucial students become comfortable with weekly group exercises and activities.
This class will utilize both individual and group work. All members of your group will receive the same grade on group projects. Each member of the group will also evaluate the relative contribution of group members. You must put what you learn into action for this class. Many people are uncomfortable working in groups and on group projects. Due to the nature of this course, however, you must participate in groups. Students are expected to be completely prepared for class and to participate fully in all activities.
Academic dishonesty is wrong and any occurrence will be punished to the fullest extent possible. Students should consult the College of St. Scholastica book of Student Rights and Responsibilities to familiarize themselves with the terms and policies applicable to academic dishonesty.

Participation:
Class attendance and participation is required. It is much like work Students will be awarded for class attendance and participation. Students that do not attend class will lose points. IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE A GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE GROUP MEMBER, AND THAT YOU TAKE ACTIVE STEPS TO GET ALL GROUP MEMBERS TO FULFILL THEIR OBLIGATIONS AND PARTICIPATE FULLY.

Attendance Policy:
Students are expected to attend every class meeting Unexcused absences will not be tolerated. Readings, class discussions, small group work and in-class activities increase both your understanding of ASL and the development of your communication skills. Class attendance and participation are important in accomplishing the goals of this course. NOT ATTENDING CLASS WILL NOT ONLY HURT YOURSELF, IT HURTS YOUR GROUP MEMBERS AS WELL.
If you are going to miss a class it is your responsibility to speak with me PRIOR to the class session you will be missing. If you should have an unanticipated EMERGENCY, please contact me and leave a e-mail message.

Students are permitted ONE ABSENCE during the semester. For college sponsored absences, notification must be given to me prior to the absence. Students are responsible for arranging to make-up missed work. Late work will not be accepted. Exams and Quizzes may only be made if the student has a college approved excuse (death in the family, hospitalization....) and require documentation to be excused. Class activities that involve group participation may not be made up.
Students With Disabilities:
Students with disabilities, physical or learning, are entitled to appropriate accommodations. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Disability Resource Center far enough in advance to allow a reasonable amount of time to approve of and provide the accommodation. Appropriate accommodations will be made to allow equal participation in the course.


Academic Honesty:
Academic honesty directly concerns ethical behaviors which affect both the academic environment and the civic community. Plagiarism and other academic dishonesty, including falsification of data, will result in, at a minimum, failure of the assignment or test, and the maximum penalty shall be failure of the course. In addition, a department may deny admission to, or dismiss from a program, a student who has engaged in academic dishonesty, and the dean of faculty or the dean of students may exclude such a student from extracurricular activities or expel him or her from the College, even on the first instance of academic dishonesty.

Students must keep all assignments, exams and quiz scores, and tutor times for personal record keeping. Students will grade quizzes in class and are expected to list areas they did incorrectly and their scores for their own personal record keeping. This will be collected at the end of the semester and is required. Students should always be aware of their performance in the course.

Course Grading Method:
Student Responsibilities:

Course components and grading.
Success in this course requires study outside of the classroom, including completing the handouts given by the instructor and the exercises done on-line. It is best to set aside some time each day to review your notes, study and practice new vocabulary, and go over the grammar explanations and exercises from your text.

Learning another language is a skill that is best learned through repeated frequent practice and it does take time. Please do not plan to “coast” along and cram when exams and quizzes are given. This will only hinder your ASL language development.

Class participation, preparation, blog and attendance: 15%.
Attendance and willingness to participate in a meaningful manner are essential for success in this course. This means that you must stay in your targeted language when told to do so and not whisper to each other. Students are expected to attend and participate in each class session. This also includes NOT “helping” each other through talking or whispering. TEXTING DURING CLASS IS NOT PARTICIPATING OR PRESENT! STUDENTS TEXTING WILL FOLLOW WILL BE CONSIDERED UNEXCUSED FOR THE DAY.


Attendance and Blog: 10% A student will be granted one “free” absence without penalty. Otherwise the students grade for attendance will be as follows (THIS ALSO WILL BE USED IF STUDENTS ARE TEXTING):
One unexcused absence: A-, two: B, three: C, four: D, five or more F

Vocabulary and Grammar Quizzes: 20%. Twice every week (T and TH) students will be required to either complete a quiz on the material covered that week, or will take an exam on everything that has been covered so far in the semester.

Workshop Assignment, Translation Assignment: 30%

Deaf Culture Workshop rubric will be given in class. This assignment will need to be completed with a group. Groups will be assigned according to majors and interests.


Receptive and Expressive Exam: 40%. There will be three exams given upon the completion of units. Students absent on a test day will receive a “0” unless previous arrangements have been made. If you arrive late you will not get credit for what you missed. Student guides and/or direction sheets will be given before each exam.


Assignments:
· Deaf Culture Workshop part 1 (Due: Thursday, July 14 after class)
· Weekly Blog
· Blog will be posted on Thursday, July 7, Tuesday, July 12, Thursday, July 14
· ASL Translation Assignments
· Translation #1 (Assignments posted on Wednesday July 6, Due: Monday, July 11) To be posted on blog for all to view
· Translation #2 (Assignment posted on Wednesday July 13, Due: Monday, July 18) To be posted on blog for all to view

Direction for these assignments will be posted and explained in detail on the class blog.

Exams and Quizzes
· QUIZZES T and TH quizzes on information covered in class. Quizzes cannot be made up.
· EXAM #1:Comprehensive Receptive and Written (Thursday, July 14)



AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE 1103
WEEK 5-6

WEEK FIVE
FINAL EXAM: STORY (100 points) Monday

Unit 12-14
· Use of breakdown, wear-out, break
· Structure for declining
· Conditional clauses
· Physical and emotional states
· Satisfaction
· Use of finish as a conjunction
· Conjunctions
· Classifiers
· Expertise
· What’s up

Quiz
· 12-14 Thursday, July 7

Assignment
· Translation #1 (Assignments posted on Wednesday July 6, Due: Monday, July 11
Blog
· Week 5

WEEK 6
Unit 15-17
· Verb pairs
· Obligation
· Classifiers
· Use of body with directions
· Bored
· Every with time
· Advice signs
· Use of locale
· Abbreviations

Assignments
· Translation #2 (Assignment posted on Wednesday July 13, Due: Monday, July 18) To be posted on blog for all to view

Quizzes
· T Unit 15-16

EXAM #1
· Comprehensive Receptive and Written (Thursday, July 14)

Blog
· Week 6

--
Monica K. Marciniak
American Sign Language Instructor/Dignitas Instructor
Department of Global Language and Culture
College of St. Scholastica
3607 Tower Hall
email only please: mbutche@css.edu