English 5030: Pedagogical Grammar

 

fall 2017

General Course Information

 

Instructor: Dr. Robert S. Carlisle
Section: 60; January 25, 2021 to May 17, 2021
Email Address: rcarlisle@csub.edu

Required Texts:

Klammer, T. & Schulz, M. (2014).  Analyzing English Grammar, (7^th Ed.).  Boston:  Allyn and Bacon.

 

Catalog Description

 

Systematic and intensive examination of the morphology and syntax of Modern English.  Stress on modern methods for teaching grammar. 

 

Prerequisites

 

English 5030 does not have any course-level prerequisites.

 

 

Course Description and Purpose

The major purpose of this class is to extensively examine two major components of modern English:  morphology and syntax.

The first section of the class examines morphology, the system for forming and pronouncing words.  During this section of the class students will learn about morphemes and how they are systematically combined to form complex words.  Students will also learn how to use inflectional and derivational morphology to recognize the form classes of English.  The second section of the class covers syntax, the system for forming phrases and clauses in the language.   In this section, students will learn how to identify the different types of phrases and clauses in English and how to discriminate among them.  Students will also learn the distinction between form and function, which plays such a vital role in language.

The Structure of the Course

English 5030 Online is mostly an asynchronous course that allows students to study at their convenience and to work at their own pace, provided that they take all examinations on the scheduled days. The course is divided into four major sections, which are in turn divided into seven modules. Students are expected to follow the order of course content and to take the examination for each module only after they have completed all of the lectures, readings and exercises for that part. To do well in the course, students should precisely adhere to the order of course content and follow the procedure below.

• Listen to the lectures in Blackboard, and complete any readings that may be assigned.
• Do the online exercises, which may be taken as many times as the students wish.

Students will also find some 'Readings' and 'Summary Outlines' in Blackboard. Students should become familiar with the titles of these readings and read them at the appropriate point in the class.

Because the examinations are online and programmed to be released on specific dates and times, I must ask students to take their exams on the scheduled dates (see the table below); I have experienced quite a few problems trying to schedule individual examinations. Students will take the seven module examinations and the final examination.

 

Course-Level Objectives

Course Objective 1:  Students will demonstrate knowledge of how morphemes systematically combine to form words and how to distinguish word classes from one another using morphological and syntactic information.

Course Objective 2:  Students will demonstrate knowledge of the structure of phrases and sentences and how to discriminate among them.

Course Objective 3: Students will demonstrate an ability to systematically identify, describe, and categorize the constituents of sentences and their grammatical functions, thus empowering them to conduct independent linguistic analysis.

 

Course Objective 4:  Students will demonstrate knowledge of the structure and function of finite and non-finite clauses and how to discriminate among them.

 

Course Objective 5:  Students will be able to explain how to teach selected morphological and syntactic structures to students.

 

 

To determine whether the students have attained the general course objectives presented above, the instructor has created specific student learning outcomes. Each of the student learning outcomes will be associated with its appropriate module in the course. Students have the opportunity to fulfill the student learning objectives by completing the exercises for each module. Students will then demonstrate their level of knowledge of the learning objectives by taking the examination for the module. The content and form of the examinations are directly related to the exercises, so students must complete the exercises if they expect to do well on the examination.

 

Technical Requirements and Support

 

Minimum Technical Skills Requirement:

 

Students enrolled in online classes must be able to use the World Wide Web and are responsible for acquiring the skills outlined below if not already proficient in those skills. Ask yourself if you are able to perform these tasks and if not, be sure to acquire these skills prior to the start of class.

 

1.     I know how to use the CSUB Blackboard email system to send and receive email and attachments.

2.     I am able to check email daily or every other day Monday through Friday.

3.     I know how to create attachments for email.

4.     I know how to open, save, and manage files in Word and PowerPoint.

5.     For word processing, I am able to edit: copy, cut, paste, find, replace; format: set margins, set headers, set tabs, set automatic page numbering.

6.     I am able to create and back up important files related to coursework.

7.     I have access to a computer and the Internet at home.

8.     The access speed to the internet which I use is through a TV cable or high speed line.

9.     I am able to operate the Firefox web browser.

10.  I know how to use my browser’s Help function for additional assistance.

11.  If a plug-in or other software were required for the course, I would be able to download and install it.

12.  I am able to manage bookmarks (favorites) for sites I visit on the Internet.

13.  I know how to write papers using Microsoft Word including skills such as cutting and pasting.

14.  I am able to perform basic computer system maintenance, operation, and troubleshooting.

15.  I understand a computer problem is not a legitimate excuse for falling behind in assignments.

 

All of the lectures in this class were created using PowerPoint, and students must use a computer with that software installed. Fortunately, PowerPoint is available on every computer on the CSUB campus and on the daughter campus at CSUB-AV. Students who do not have PowerPoint on their personal computers may purchase it at a reduced cost by going through the university bookstore.

If students have difficulty with the content of the class, they need to contact the instructor, preferably using 'Discussion Topics' so that other students can see both the question and the answer.

If students are having any technical problems with Blackboard, they need to contact the Blackboard Help Desk, either by telephone (661) 654-2307 or by email Helpdesk@csub.edu. Students may also go to the E-Learning Services Building on the east side of the Walter Stiern Library.

Accessibility

California State University, Bakersfield attempts to guarantee access to all classes by all students. Students can find CSUB's accessibility policies and services by going to the website for the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities. In addition, E-Learning Services at CSUB has its own policy for guaranteeing access to students in online classes:

"California State University, Bakersfield is committed to providing equal access to Web-based information for people with disabilities. This is in accordance with Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendment of 1998 and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, and Executive Order 926 of California State University."

To achieve the goal of universal accessibility, CSUB uses Blackboard as its Learning Management System (LMS), the first LMS to receive the Nonvisual Accessibility Gold Certification by The National Federation of the Blind. Students can read more about Blackboard's guarantee of accessibility and its accessibility programs at its website.

 

Navigation Video and Pretest

All students in English 5030 must watch the navigation video, located at the beginning of Course Content in Blackboard. Students can watch the navigation video as soon as they have access to Blackboard. The navigation video will cover the structure and content of the class and how to complete course requirements. The video does not last long and will make the online experience a lot more enjoyable.

From the video, students will learn how to take the pretest, which is also a requirement for completing the class. The pretest is in Blackboard and will be available to students from 8:00 a.m. on the first day of class to 10:00 p.m. on the first Sunday after classes begin.  The score on the pretest does not count as part of the students' final average in the class, so students should not study for it. The pretest is an assessment tool to measure student achievement over time from an initial score (the pretest score). After the students take the final examination, which is also the posttest, the instructor can then compare the two scores to determine how much students learned during the quarter. Students can expect to do poorly on the pretest. The average score over the last five years in a similar class is 38.2. In contrast, the average score on the final exam, which covers the same material as the pretest, is 82.6.

Students must complete all 25 sub-sections of the pretest.  I will remove all students from the class who have not completed the pretest by the deadline stated above.

Before students can view the pretest, they must accept the contract in Course Content.

Evaluation

Students are required to take eight exams during the semester, seven module-level exams and a comprehensive final.  Because all exams are online, most of the questions will be objective. However, in some sections students will have to write in a few specific words and at times entire sentences.  In addition to taking examinations, students must also complete five group assignments in which they will write short essays on how to teach grammar.

The final average will be calculated according to the information in the tables below. The table below also contains the dates, times, and location of each examination.

 

 

 

Students will be able to see their grades immediately after the open period for the exam has expired.

As indicated in the tables above, examinations are given on specific dates and times, and students must take the exams on those dates. Also note that students may take all the examinations at any site, including home. During the examinations students may use books and notes; however, all sub-sections of the examinations are strictly timed, so students really do not have time to look up answers.

The Structure of Examinations

All examinations are online in Blackboard, and the sub-sections of the examinations cover the same material as do the online exercises. However, whereas students can retake the online exercises as many times as they wish, they do the sub-sections of exams only once. In addition, on all examinations students will see only one item at a time, which they must complete before moving on. Once students have completed an item, the system will not allow them to go back and change the answer. During the hours of the exams, students will not have access to the online exercises. Consequently, students need to complete the exercises before the exam begins. Each subsection is also timed, but I have given students more than enough time to finish. In fact, a statistical analysis of the exams given over the last several years reveals that the average time that students need to finish is less than half of the time provided. Students who have permission from Students with Disability Services to have time and a half to take an exam already have more than that amount of the time built into the exam. All of these procedures are designed to guarantee the academic integrity of the examinations.

Preparing for Examinations

Students essentially learn the material for this course by doing a large number of exercises. Over the years, I have discovered a direct correlation between doing the exercises and scores on the examinations; students who complete the online exercises and the exercises in the exercise book do much better on the examinations than those who do not. Also, students who have higher averages on the exercises do better than those with lower averages. Students may take the online exercises as many times as they wish to increase their knowledge of the subject matter and to improve their grades.

Because doing well on the online exercises is so important for success in the class, all students must achieve a minimal average score of 75 for the exercises in each module.  Students who do not attain an average score of 75 on the total number of exercises for each module will not have access to the exam for that module.  Consequently, students will not be able to take the exam and receive an automatic grade of zero, meaning that they will likely fail the class.  In addition, I will remove any student who does not take the exam for Module 1 from the class.

Before students can take the final examination, students must take the practice exam and earn a score of at least 75. Students may take the practice exam as many times as they wish until they earn that score.  Students will have access to the practice exam one week before the actual final exam.

In this syllabus I have explained quite a few rules for students to follow and their responsibilities in the online/hybrid environment. I suggest that students become quite familiar with these rules and responsibilities.

Grading

The instructor will follow the schema below for assigning grades:

 

 

Policy on Incompletes

Because this is an online class, which goes down after the last day of classes, students may not receive an incomplete grade. Students believing that they cannot finish the class should request to drop.

Communicating with Other Students and the Instructor

Students can communicate with one another by using the Discussion Topics, Mail, and Chat functions in the Communications folder in Blackboard.  When writing any questions or comments, students are expected to follow the rules of netiquette by avoiding profanity, sarcasm, and ridicule.  All entries under Discussion Topics are public, and students should place all questions about course content in the appropriate folder in Discussion Topics.  If students do not answer a question posted by another student within 24 hours, the instructor will reply.  Postings in Mail are private, and by using this feature, students may communicate with one another without fear of anyone else viewing what has been written.  Students may also communicate privately with one another using the Chat function, which the instructor with never enter.

Because Blackboard does not announce that email messages have arrived in the system, students should use the instructor’s campus email account to communicate with him (see email address at the top of the syllabus).  The instructor makes a dedicated effort to respond to all student email inquiries within 24 hours.

Contract

During the orientation, all students will be asked to sign a contract in Blackboard. By signing the contract, students acknowledge that they must take the examinations on the specific dates and times stated in the syllabus. Students can find the contract in Blackboard under "Course Content".  Students will not be able to see most of the course content until they have agreed to the contract.

 

Getting to the Course

The course is located on a CSUB server running Blackboard , the web-based teaching software used to design the course. To get into Blackboard, students need a userid and a password. The userid for all students will be the same as that of their Runner accounts. The initial password for all students is the last five digits of their Runner identification number. However, students can change their passwords once they get into the system.

Important University Dates

February 19, 2021: Last date to withdraw without a "W" being recorded.

April 16, 2021: Last date to withdraw for a serious and compelling reason.

Welcome to the class, and I hope that you enjoy your online experience.

Syllabus for English 5030 Online