R100 Syllabus - APP

Course Information

Lecture Meeting Days:

Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday

Lecture Meeting Times:

Section 1: 8–9

Section 2: 9:15–10:15
1

Section 3: 1-2

Section 4: 2:15-3:15

Room location: B F1-36

URL of Course Website: https://lms.auis.edu.krd/course/view.php?id=135

Credits and Contact Hours: 3

Instructor Details

Name: Benjamin Gibbon Office: B F1-42

2 Email: benjamin.gibbon@auis.edu.krd

Office Hours: Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday 12-1

Communications:

The best way to communicate with me is through email and I will answer emails within 48 hours.
 All marking of assessments will be completed within a week.

Course Catalogue Description

The purpose of this course is to develop students’ academic reading ability and study habits to
meet the standards of American tertiary education. Learners will be instructed and assessed on
their critical reading, debate, research, and comprehension skills with the use of a variety of
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pedagogical learning strategies. They will be exposed to literature (novel and short story) as well
as academic texts on a variety of topics and upon completion of the course are expected to be
able to analytically comprehend texts suitable for a level 4 degree program.

Course Delivery: Teaching/Learning Approaches

Lectures in this course are delivered with the use of PowerPoint slides (which will be

uploaded to the Moodle online blackboard) and the R100 Reader core text. The R100 Reader

has been split into three sections:

Section 1: Introduction to Critical Thinking (Week 1-5)

Section 2: Developing Research Skills (Week 6-9)

4 Section 3: Critical Reading (Week 10-13)

Each reader will be available at the copy center one week before the start of that section. It’s

the students’ responsibility to pick up their readers before the start of each section.

Sessions will be taught communicatively using a task-based methodology and all sessions
will integrate language learning, academic content and study skills.

5 Textbook(s) and other required material

How do your textbooks, other readings, guest lecturers, and other required materials
represent females and other diverse populations? Explain.

On the R100 course, texts, textbooks and teaching materials are chosen based on their analytical
value for students’ academic reading progression alone.
 However, the course contains many texts and teaching materials authored by females and
individuals from diverse backgrounds and class discussions are conducted in a non-biased
manner to facilitate open discourse on gender and diversity issues if they arise.

Topics Covered

 Psychology: The Big Five Personality Traits

 Literature: The Heroes Journey
 Debate: Pathos, Logos, Ethos
 Debate: Logical Fallacies
 Debate: Debate Skills
6  Research: Research Skills for Physical Books
 Research: Research Skills for Online Databases
 Critical Reading: Justifying a Claim
 Critical Reading: Bias
 Critical Reading: Tone
 Critical Reading: Context Beyond the Text

Program Learning Outcomes:

7
After completing this program, students will be able to:

8 Emphasi
Course Learning Outcomes Program s:
After completing this course, the student will be able to: SLO
H/ M/ L

CLO1.

CLO 1 Assessment Venue(s)

R100.1 Read and comprehend authentic academic text or literary text

on a variety of topics.

- R100.1.1 Identify and comprehend evidence by citing strong Project work

and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text explicitly says well as inferences drawn from the text. Comprehension quizzes

Final exam

- R100.1.2 Identify key ideas/themes/central ideas and

summarize themes or central ideas of text and analyze in
details its development over the course of text, including how
it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details.

CLO2.
CLO 2 Assessment Venue(s)

R100.2 Recognize and analyze craft and structure of vocabulary

- R100.2.1 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they Project work
are used in the text, including figurative and conative
meanings. Comprehension quizzes

Final exam
- R100.2.2.1 Analyze the cumulative impact of specific word
choices on meaning and tone, such sense of time and place,
formal, or informal tone.

R100.2.2 Recognize and analyze key details of structure, plot and

organization of text and how author’s claims are developed and
refined by characters, sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a
text.

R100.2.3 Determine the author’s purpose. Analyze a perspective or

point of view reflected in a text or work of literature. Analyze how an
author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose in an
informational text.

R100.2.4 Identify and use the following grammatical structures:

- R100.2.4.1 Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion

and clarity

- R100.2.4.2 Identify and use adverbial clauses for reasons for

counter claims and evidence by using the correct form of
MLA citation

- R100.2.4.3 Use appropriate punctuation for implementing in

text citation (MLA) in reading and responses.

CLO3.

CLO3

R100.3 Integrate knowledge and ideas from text to text or text to Assessment Venue(s)
writing through evaluations and presentations

- R100.3.1 Compare and contrast text in different topics, forms Project work
or genres in terms of various approaches similar to themes and
topics and how they shape their presentation of key Comprehension quizzes
information. Final exam

- R100.3.2 Delineate and evaluate arguments and specific

 claims in text, assessing whether the reasoning is relevant and
sufficient.

- R100.3.3 Present information, finding, and supporting

evidence clearly, concisely, and logically in order to follow
the line of reasoning and organization.

- R100.3.4 Make strategic use of digital media in presentation to

enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence to
add interest.

Graded Work

The purpose of the below assessments is to provide you, the learner, with feedback regarding
your level of knowledge, skills and competencies related to the above Course Learning
Outcomes. Your performance on these items is also used to determine your overall final grade for
the course.

Assessment Component Weight Due Date

Assessed Debate 20% 10/09/22

Research Project 30% 11/06/22

Comprehension Quizzes 35% Ongoing

Final Exam 15% 12/04/2022

Total 100 %

Description of major assessments:

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Assessed Debate: This is a group based assessment. Students will be placed in teams of 2v2 and
assessed on 4 criteria: supporting your position, demonstrating research, clarity of refutations and
overall collective effort.

Research Project: Individual assessment in which students will write a short expository multi-
paragraph paper on a research question.

Comprehension Quizzes: Most weeks will have a comprehension quiz to assess the students
understanding of the weekly topic.
 Final Exam: The final exam will assess the students’ overall knowledge of the course content, but
focus primarily on reading texts critically.

Grading Scale
A (4.0) 93 - 100 Superior

A- (3.7) 90 - 92

B+ (3.3) 87 - 89 Good

B (3.0) 83 - 86

B- (2.7) 80 - 82

C+ (2.3) 77 – 79 Satisfactory

C (2.0) 73 - 76

C- (1.7) 70 – 72

D+ (1.3) 67 – 69 Unsatisfactory

D (1.0) 60 – 66
F (0) Below 60 Fail

Technology Requirements:

- Students are required to be proficient at using a word processing application and navigating
internet websites.

- Students are required to own a mobile phone for in-class research and a laptop for coursework.

Technical Support:

- Any technical issues and the student should contact the IT department in building A.

Moodle Helpful Links:

- Moodle User Guide: https://docs.moodle.org/310/en/User_quick_guide

- Moodle Tutorials: https://docs.moodle.org/20/en/Student_tutorials

Zoom Helpful Links:

- Zoom User Guide: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360034967471-Getting-started-

 guide-for-new-users

- Zoom tutorials: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-video-tutorials

Course Policies and Expectations

While You Are in the Class

All students are responsible for following the requirements in the student handbook, including
but not limited to the following expectations. Students should be alert and willing to participate
in class activities and discussions and refrain from having disruptive conversations during class.
Students must bring to the class: a copy of the textbook or its soft copy in laptop or tablet, a
notebook for writing course notes, a calculator if the course requires it, all the relevant notes and
handouts for the course, the needed stationery, and a copy of the syllabus.

Students are asked to limit the use of their laptop computers or tablets to class purposes. Students
who violate this rule may not be allowed to use their personal laptop computers and tablets
during the class lecture. Students should limit the usage of their smart/cell phones during the
class lecture, whereas their usage is prohibited in quizzes, tests, exams and evaluations.

Classroom Conduct

Students are advised to conduct themselves in a collegial manner at all times when in class.
Rude, disrespectful, aggressive, or threatening language or behavior will not be tolerated, and
students displaying this rule will be asked to leave the class. Students should avoid distracting
behavior; otherwise they may be asked to leave the class and marked absent for the day.
Examples of distracting behavior include:

● Side conversations while others are speaking.

● Any other behavior that a student is warned against during class.

Grade Disputes

Unless grades are added up incorrectly, the grades will not change after quizzes/exams are
handed back to the students. Any grade related issue might be discussed in detail during office
hours, and not in class time. If there is a dispute concerning the final grade for the course,
students have the right to a grievance during the semester or a Grade Appeal at the end of the
semester. Details on this process are shared by the Dean of Students or the VPAA Office at the
beginning of each semester. .

Incomplete Grades
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In the unlikely event that it becomes necessary to assign an “I”, for incomplete, as the final grade
in the course, the affected student(s) and professor will adhere to the incomplete grade policy on
as described in the Academic Catalog (p):
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://auis.edu.krd/student-
services&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1620068715279000&usg=AOvVaw3VyhT3mgp5foy5Eu_
XoIJC

Revisions to the Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change. It is the duty of the instructor to inform students of changes in
a timely fashion. Students are obliged to be cognizant of any changes.

Expectations of Student Time

Courses of four credit-hours: AUIS adheres to the United States federal definition of a credit
hour, as established by the US Department of Education. As a four credit-hour course, you are
expected to attend four hours of direct instruction per week, and spend a minimum of eight hours
out of class per week in homework, studying, preparing, and otherwise engaging with the
material of this course.

Courses of three credit-hours: AUIS adheres to the United States federal definition of a credit
hour, as established by the US Department of Education. As a three credit-hour course, you are
expected to attend three hours of direct instruction per week, and spend a minimum of six hours
out of class per week in homework, studying, preparing, and otherwise engaging with the
material of this course.

Courses of two credit-hours: AUIS adheres to the United States federal definition of a credit
hour, as established by the US Department of Education. As a two credit-hour course, you are
expected to attend two hours of direct instruction per week, and spend a minimum of four hours
out of class per week in homework, studying, preparing, and otherwise engaging with the
material of this course.

Courses of one credit-hour: AUIS adheres to the United States federal definition of a credit hour,
as established by the US Department of Education. As a one credit-hour course, you are
expected to attend one hour of direct instruction per week, and spend a minimum of two hours
out of class per week in homework, studying, preparing, and otherwise engaging with the
material of this course.

Course Examinations/Assignments Policies

 If there are assessments occurring on a day a student is absent, it is the student’s responsibility
based on the course expectations to follow up with the course instructor as soon as they are able
to do so. The instructor will determine if a make-up is possible. If students are aware they will
miss a class and are able to email, they should tell the instructor as soon as possible.

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Diversity Statement

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important to AUIS, and we are committed to providing a safe
and inclusive environment for all students. The different backgrounds, traits, values, and
viewpoints that students bring to our university are a source of strength and enrich the experience
for everyone. We engage with each other respectfully when we disagree, and we strive to
increase our capacity for understanding others. Disruptive, insulting, or disrespectful language or
behavior will not be tolerated. Together, we can create a positive learning environment for all
members of AUIS.

Academic Support

12 The students are encouraged to make use of an instructor’s office hours. The Department will
provide additional support for students such as tutorials and help sessions.

Disability Accommodations

Students with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations through the AUIS Student
Services.

Attendance Policy

It is the student's responsibility to learn and follow the Attendance Policy in their course syllabi.

Students are expected to return to campus for in-person classes. Instructors / faculty are no longer
required to livestream their classes on Zoom, but they retain the option to do so based on their
classroom needs. Instructors are required to continue the recording of class lectures and making
them available for students after the class.

13 Attendance

Academic success requires class attendance and engagement. Students are expected to attend
classes and to participate when given the opportunity.

All undergraduate students have a set minimum of absences before they incur a penalty in the
course.

A student will incur a penalty after they miss:

○ eight classes for courses that meet twice a week

○ ten classes for courses that meet three times a week

○ twelve classes for courses that meet four times a week.

Students will be notified twice before they are penalized. These notifications should be received
when students have used approximately one-half of the absences and when they have used their
final absence before a penalty is incurred. The Registration Office, the University Registrar, and
the Dean of Students will be included on these notifications.

Assessments

If there are assessments occurring on a day a student is absent, it is the student’s responsibility
based on the course expectations to follow up with the faculty member as soon as they are able to
do so. The instructor will determine if a make-up is possible. If students are aware they will miss
a class and are able to email, they should tell the instructor as soon as possible.

Faculty

Faculty understand how attendance works best based on the demands of their coursework.
Faculty have the flexibility within this system to customize the attendance expectations.

● Faculty that prefer a stricter policy can hold with the minimum as written above. After
students use their permitted absences, faculty can apply a penalty (failing the class, grade
penalty, additional assignments, etc.).

● Faculty that have a more flexible approach can increase the amount of absences students
are permitted before a penalty is incurred. Just as above, they determine what the penalty
should be based on the course they are leading.

● Faculty need to notify students when they have reached 50% and 90% of their absences.
The Registration Office, the University Registrar, and the Dean of Students should be
copied on this email for record-keeping purposes. This is especially important for faculty
that will use a grade reduction or a course failure as a penalty. Having notifications
documented supports AUIS faculty if a student files a grade appeal. (See Appendix A)

● Faculty need to have clearly set and communicated policies for their attendance. This
should be written on the syllabus, included on the course dashboard in Moodle, and
verbally explained with the data displayed on a recorded lecture during Week One of
classes. This multi-modal delivery approach ensures that students have access to the
information and that faculty have recourse when students claim ignorance.

● “Attendance” should not be a solo category on the syllabus. This frequently leads to
students receiving double grade penalties (i.e., a zero on a quiz and a loss in attendance
points) that force sick students to come to class, possibly infecting their classmates and
the faculty. “Class Engagement”, “In-Class Work”, “Class Check-Ins,” etc. are all options
 if a faculty member needs to fill in an Attendance-based grade category. Alternatively,
faculty can eliminate this completely without a replacement and adjust their percentages
on other assessments accordingly.

Exceptions

Students with extenuating or emergency circumstances can submit documentation and a request
for accommodations to the Director of Academic Success and the Dean of Students. Students
have the right to privacy and communications between the members of the Student Services team
and the student will not be shared without consent. Once the student approves how much
information is permitted to be disclosed, either the Dean or the Director will notify the instructor
so accommodations can be put in place.

● Extenuating circumstances are situations that could result in more time away from class
than is permitted due to factors outside the student’s control. Students with chronic health
issues, acting as caretakers for immediate family, or working full-time while also enrolled
in courses are examples of extenuating circumstances.

● Emergency circumstances are unexpected situations that may not disrupt a student’s
physical attendance but may interfere with their learning. Major injuries,
harassment/assault, and mourning/grief are all examples of emergency circumstances.

● Accommodation requests are sent to faculty for approval and implementation. Faculty
that would like to adjust or discuss the request before approval can meet with the Dean of
Students and the Director of Academic Success.

Emergency Evacuation

In case of an emergency or a fire alarm during a class, all students must follow the directions of
the class/laboratory instructor and evacuate the room in an orderly manner to the assembly area.
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Failure to do so is a violation of AUIS Health and Safety Policy on emergency evacuation and
will be subject to disciplinary action.

Academic Integrity Policy

Academic Integrity is honest behavior in a school setting. Academic integrity is more than the
absence of cheating. It is necessary for students to truly learn new skills and develop as human
beings. By struggling with her own studies and by making honest mistakes and discoveries, a
student learns about the world and herself. Using another’s work inappropriately prevents this
intellectual and emotional growth.

Academic Dishonesty (“cheating”) is any form of deceit, fraud, or misrepresentation in academic

work. Academic dishonesty is the opposite of learning, because it prevents the student-writer
from genuinely learning and responding to material. Plagiarism is one of the most serious forms
of academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism is using other people’s ideas and/or words without clearly acknowledging the source
of the information. If a student uses content or grammatical structures from the internet, a
professional writer, or another student and does not inform the reader, he plagiarizes. A student
who allows another student to use his writing without attribution is also guilty of plagiarism.
 Cheating will not be tolerated in this class. All major written assignments completed outside of
class time must be submitted via www.turnitin.com. A student found to be cheating for the first
time will receive a zero for the assignment and the Dean of Students will be notified. In the event
of a second offense confirmed by the Dean of Students, the student will fail the course. A third
instance of cheating will result in that student being dismissed from the American University of
15 Iraq, Sulaimani. Students are directed to the AUIS Student Honor Code and the Academic
Integrity policy section of the Academic Catalog (available online at www.auis.edu.krd). These
documents provide guidance in cases of academic dishonesty, so we should all be familiar with
them.

At the end of each assignment the following statement should be added and signed:

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized assistance on this academic assignment,
exercise, or examination.”

Signed: _____________________________ ID: __________

Section: ______ Date: _______

It is critical for students to remember that there are no “compassionate decisions” or

“clemency” in the AUIS Academic Integrity System. Poor health, personal and/or family
emergencies, or the difficulty of an assessment are not acceptable excuses for Academic
Misconduct. Instructors and the Dean of Students will not accept such explanations from
students as a defense.

Students facing family or personal emergencies and/or emotional or mental distress should
contact their course instructor, the Director of Academic Success, and the Dean of Students
before an assessment deadline or exam.

For additional information on how to prepare assessments that follow the Rules on Academic
Integrity at AUIS, students must review this video presentation from March 2021:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J3X4kulSq8

In line with the above, the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) at AUIS has instituted the
following rules.

(I) Academic Misconduct Severity Levels

(1) Premeditated Academic Misconduct will result in an automatic “F” in the course. Examples
include—but are not limited to—the comprehensive copying of sources or the recruitment of
others for the completion of assignments (including copying another student’s homework).
All faculty must forward such cases to the Dean of Students if they suspect this type of
misconduct. The determination is made by the Dean of Students and may be appealed to the
VPAA, whose decision is final.

(2) Grossly Negligent Academic Misconduct will result in a penalty of the instructor’s choosing
(including and up to an “F” on the assignment). Examples include—but are not limited to—
having prohibited materials or tools on oneself during an examination even if their use cannot be
proven (prohibited materials and tools must be announced by the instructor), or a systematic
use of a source without attribution, or a systematic failure to adequately paraphrase sources.

Students are fully responsible for their work in this course under the “AUIS Student Honor
Code” and “Rules Governing Academic Integrity.”
Assignments/assessments are due in class on the day indicated. Assigned readings are to be read before class. The material
will be discussed in class. Quizzes, Tests and Exams may cover material from the readings that was not presented in class.

Week Start Date Assessments /

Topics
Assignments Due
1 4/09/2022 Psychology: The Big Five Personality Traits

2 11/09/2022 Literature: The Heroes Journey Graded work –

18/9/2022
3 18/9/2022 Debate: Pathos, Logos, Ethos Comprehension
Quiz – 22/9/2022
4 25/9/2022 Comprehension
Debate: Logical Fallacies
Quiz – 29/9/2022
5 2/10/2022 Debate: Debate Skills Assessed Debate –
9/10/2022
6 9/10/2022 Research: Research Skills for Physical Books Comprehension
Quiz – 13/10/2022
7 16/10/2022 Comprehension
Research: Research Skills for Physical Books
Quiz – 20/10/2022

8 23/10/2022 Comprehension
Research: Research Skills for Online Databases
Quiz – 27/10/2022

9 30/10/2022 Research Project –

Research: Research Skills for Online Databases
13/11/2022

10 6/11/2022 Comprehension
Critical Reading: Justifying a Claim
Quiz – 10/11/2022

11 13/11/2022 Critical Reading: Bias Comprehension

Quiz – 17/11/2022
12 20/11/2022 Critical Reading: Tone Comprehension
Quiz – 24/11/2022
13 27/11/2022 Critical Reading: Context Beyond the Text Comprehension
Quiz – 1/12/2022
14 4/12/2022 Course Review

15 12/12/2022 Final Exam Final Exam