PELLISSIPPI STATE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE MASTER SYLLABUS
WESTERN CIVILIZATION  II HISTORY 1020 WWW
Class Hours:  3.0						Credit Hours:  3.0
Laboratory Hours: 0.0						Revised:  Fall 2008
Catalog Course Description:
	A survey of the Western world from 1715 to the present.
Entry Level Standards:
	The ability to read with a questioning mind and to write essay answers to exams is essential to performing well in this course.  Students are also expected to be "active learners" in the sense that they should seek to accomplish more than memorization and passive absorption of reading material.  Students should be prepared to spend at least two hours preparation time outside class for the equivalent of each class hour.  No previous knowledge of the history of western civilization is required.
Prerequisites:
	None
Textbook(s) and Other Course Materials:
	The West in the World, Third Edition, by Dennis Sherman and Joyce Salisbury, McGraw-Hill
I. Week/Unit/Topic Basis:
NOTE:   Exact organization of material per week and time allotted to a particular topic may vary slightly from instructor to instructor, but the final thirteen chapters of the text are meant to be taught in the 1020 web section.
	Week				Topic
	1				Introduction to course; Scientific Revolution
	2				Enlightenment
	3				French Revolution & Napoleon
	4				Industrialization & Exam One
	5				Modern Ideologies
	6				Revolution and Reaction, 1815-50
	7				1850-1870
	8				1870-1914
	9				Exam Two
	10				World War I
	11				Interwar Years
	12				World War II
	13				Cold War World
	14				Uncertain Present
	15				Final Exam Period
II. Course Objectives*:
	A.			Survey the political, cultural, and social-economic developments in the Western world from 1715 through the present.  IV. 1, IV. 2
	B.			Establish major political, cultural, social-economic themes and trace their continuity and change from 1715 to the present.  IV. 1, IV. 2
	C.			Analyze how past societies differed from our contemporary world.  IV. 3, IV. 4
	D.			Analyze what past societies have contributed to our contemporary world.  IV. 5
*Roman numerals after course objectives reference TBR's general education goals.
III. Instructional Processes*:
Students will:
	1.			Read the text and use critical thinking skills to relate factual material to the themes of the course.  History Outcome, Communication Outcome
	2.			Analyze the study guides provided in D2L, take notes, and use critical thinking skills to organize their notes in preparation for quizzes and exams.  History Outcome, Communication Outcome, Technological Literacy Outcome, Active Learning Strategy
	3.			Write analytical essays about the past and complete a writing-intensive assignment such as narrative homework or a research paper.  History Outcome, Communication Outcome, Social Science Outcome, Active Learning Strategy
	4.			Through participation in online postings to open-ended questions, exchange ideas with their peers.  History Outcome, Communication Outcome, Social Science Outcome, Technological Literacy Outcome, Transitional Strategy
*Strategies and outcomes listed after instructional processes reference TBR's goals for strengthening general education knowledge and skills, connecting course work to experiences beyond the classroom, and encouraging students to take active and responsible roles in the educational process.
IV. Expectations for Student Performance*:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
	1.			Understand the significant stages of the development of Western religion, rational thought, statecraft, social classes, and economics. A, B
	2.			Understand how different cultures - and even one’s own culture in an earlier era - hold values different from the student’s own.  A, B, C
	3.			Develop a greater appreciation of cultures and beliefs different from the student’s own.  A, B, C, D
	4.			Understand how present assumptions, values, and practices emerged from previous ideas and institutions (i.e., the realization that we are products of our past). A, B, D
	5.			Be more of aware of political, social, economic, and environmental issues in contemporary society.  D
	6.			Possess a fuller capacity for analytical and conceptual thought.  B, C, D
	7.			Demonstrate the ability to write analytical essays about historical issues.  B
*Letters after performance expectations reference the course objectives listed above.
V. Evaluation:
	A. Testing Procedures: 60% of grade
			Western Civilization II is a writing-emphasis course.  Students will be asked to write a series of essays that require them to create a factually based interpretation of past societies.  The majority of the final grade will come from this form of evaluation.  Each web section should have an overall grading system of 500 total points with 300 from essay exams, 100 from quizzes and postings, and a final 100 points from an outside written assignment such as homework questions, a project, or research paper.  Students should be given a range of days for each assignment, but having deadlines for work is paramount.  For example, quizzes should be open over a period of days (3 or 4 in a regular semester probably) and exams placed in the testing centers for approximately a week.  A web course is not to be interpreted, however, as one where the students may do all of the work in a two-week period perhaps or totally at their own pace.  Rather, a course calendar of distinct due dates is necessary. History 1020 WWW contains D2L material from the textbook company including outlines as study guides, short summaries, outside web links, etc.  They also have a quiz bank with numerous questions.  Professors can compose their own quizzes or use questions supplied by the publisher of the text.  However, professors usually do and should design their own open-ended questions for postings, their own preferred written assignments, and their own exams. Exams in the web course will usually follow the first, second, and third hour format (100 points or 20% each of the total grade with an alternative of a comprehensive {covering all of the material from the semester} that can count as 200 points or 40% of the total grade and eliminate an unacceptable 1st or 2nd hour.)  These exams must contain at least 50% essay type answers.  For example, many professors utilize identifications (usually 5 answered out of a possible 10) and either 2 short or 1 long essay.  Only a very limited amount, if any, of short answer questions (multiple choice, true or false, fill in the blanks, etc.) should be included within these exams (less than 50%.)  In the past, several professors have had issues concerning cheating in the web sections so the department requires that local students complete their exams within a Pellissippi testing center.  Distance students will be required to take their exams in a proctored situation unless it is absolutely impossible to do so.  (Pellissippi can provide assistance with securing proctors in most cases.)   In the extremely rare instances when no proctor can be arranged, the professor may permit online testing but only with departmental approval.  However, the students are to be cautioned severely against referring to any notes, text, outside help, etc. during the exam.  Online exams should be graded with some measure of scrutiny by the professor related to this concern of veracity.
	B. Laboratory Expectations:
		N/A
	C. Field Work: 20% of grade
		An outside written assignment is required in the web course.  Some professors like to use homework assignments that call for narrative responses while others prefer a research paper or project of some sort.  No matter the distinct content, this written component helps to bolster the writing-intensive nature of the Western Civilization course.
	D. Other Evaluation Methods: 20% of grade
		In the web sections, 100 points should come from short objective quizzes taken online (for example, 10 taken through the semester worth 5 points each or 50 in total) and postings to open-ended questions (for example, 10 postings through the semester worth 5 points each or 50 in total.)  The quizzes should be simple short answer type questions such as multiple choice, true or false, etc., and the postings should center on some general historical question that requires a paragraph or two in response.  Professors are invited to use their discretion as to any extra credit opportunities within the course.
	E. Grading Scale:
		The history discipline has a standard grading scale that follows:  A=100 to 90, B+=88 & 89, B=87 to 80, C+=79 & 78, C=77-70, D=69 to 60, and F=59 or below.
VI. Policies:
	A. Attendance Policy:
		Although web courses have no traditional attendance requirement, students are expected to access the D2L course on a regular basis, preferably a daily check of class emails.  They also must meet the specific deadlines for individual quizzes, postings, etc.
	B. Academic Dishonesty:
		Web students are to be cautioned periodically to approach all assignments without outside aid.  They are to complete all work themselves under the highest standards of truthfulness.  Personal integrity is to be encouraged consistently.  Any concerns about honesty should follow the PSTCC academic honesty policy stated in the catalog.  In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed as a result of academic misconduct, the instructor has the authority to assign either (I), an F, or zero for the assignment or (2) an F for the course.
	C. Accommodations for disabilities:
		If you need accommodation because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform the instructor immediately.  Privately after class or in the instructor's office.  To request accommodations students must register with Services for Students with Disabilities: Goins 127 or 131, Phone: (865) 539-7153 or (865) 694-6751 Voice/TDD.
	D. Other Policies:
		The Web sections of Western Civilization, History 1020, should be standardized as to content so each student is facing a very similar experience from the class and any professor will feel comfortable as the instructor.  Care must also be taken to insure that other institutions such as The University of Tennessee feel comfortable accepting the web class as academically equivalent to a face to face version of Western Civilization.  Any history professor who commits to teaching an online course should schedule instructional meetings with the resident computer expert to become familiar with the layout and workings of D2L.  A standard skeleton for each course exists that can be personalized for any professor who wants to tackle online teaching.  Professors should be cognizant of the fact that online instruction demands that one stay in close touch with students via the internal email system and that one attempt to connect with the students in as personal a manner as possible.  Online instructors are encouraged to offer extra one on one help if requested in the form of tutoring sessions, etc.  Basically, the goal of online teaching is to approximate the experience of a face to face class as closely as possible while permitting the student the leverage of completing their work within a more lenient time frame.  Online teaching can benefit both the student and the professor if designed in an organized fashion and can present a progressive alternative to traditional teaching.