August 25/26: Course Overview and Introduction

• Lecture:

    - Brief overview of Canvas Modules
    - Course Policies and Procedures
    - Study suggestions

• Tophat Representative

August 27/28: Introduction to the topic of government

• Lecture:

    - What is government? Part I 
    - Canvas, Inquizitives, and Top Hat overview

Due Dates

• Module 0 - September 10

    - Syllabus Quiz
    - Preliminary "Mythbusters" Quiz
    - CASA Registration Verification Quiz

• Module 1 - Due September 22

• Module 2 - Due October 13

• Midterm Exam - October 13 to 16

Lecture vs Textbook

• The lecture is not a substitute for the textbook
• The textbook is not a substitute for the lecture
• The textbook provides a description of institutions and concepts in the American system
• The lecture will focus on why these things matter
• Both are testable

Major course expectations

• I do not expect you to be experts on the course material at the end

• I do expect you to:

    - Respect other people, starting with your classmates and myself
    - Do the work
    - Do your best
    - Take responsbility for the work you did or not do
    - Take some time to seriously consider the implications of the material for your own life and the lives of people you care about
    - Come to class prepared

Come to class prepared

• To receive full credit for the in class work each day, you must come to class prepared by reading/reviewing the material for the day
• You may review textbook items by doing the chapter homeworks called Inquizitives
• This will put you ahead of schedule for the due dates as well
• There will be daily Top Hat quizzes, half on the readings and half on the lectures

Course Outline/Procedures

• Please visit the Canvas Homepage for the Course

Course Outline/Procedures

• Please read the Canvas Homepage for the Course
• Please read the Syllabus

Course Outline/Procedures

• Please read the Canvas Homepage for the Course
• Please read the Syllabus
• Textbook homework, quizzes, and much other information are in the Canvas Modules

Course Outline/Procedures

• Please read the Canvas Homepage for the Course
• Please read the Syllabus
• Most of your work outside class will be done through the Canvas Modules - this includes accessing the textbook
• Complete Modules in order or you will be locked out of later assignments

Course Outline/Procedures

• You must pass the Syllabus Quiz with a perfect score to continue with the rest of the course!
• You can retake it as many times as necessary

Course Outline/Procedures (Continued)

• Check Canvas Announcements for any updates, further instructions, etc.
• If class is cancelled, I will post this in Canvas Announcements and send to your official college email emding in @cougarnet.edu

Module 0 Quizzes

• The Syllabus Quiz is required and you must get all the points

• The Preliminary “Mythbusters” Quiz is required

    - Even if you miss everything, you get 1 point for taking it
    - I will add the extra point after everyone finishes

• CASA Registration is a 3 question quiz where you verify that you have registered for CASA, submitted your biometrics, and understand the procedures

Course Policies: Basics

• Number 1 Rule: Respect for other people

Course Policies: Basics

• Number 1 Rule: Respect for other people
• The policies exist to help me help you succeed
• I may update policies if things are not working
• You are responsible for keeping track of due dates and assignments

Time Commitment

• UH is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)

Time Commitment

• UH is accredited by SACSCOC
• Without accreditation a UH degree is worthless - not good for graduate or professional school, not considered a valid degree by employers

Time Commitment

• UH is accredited by SACSCOC
• Without accreditation a UH degree is worthless
• Without accreditation UH students can not receive federal or state financial aid

Time Commitment

• • According to SACSCOC for a fully face-to-face class:

    - 1 credit hour = 1 hour in class + 2 hours out of class

Time Commitment

• • According to SACSCOC:

    - 1 credit hour = 1 hour in class + 2 hours out of class per week
    - This is a 3 credit hour course
    - 3 credit hour class = 3 hours in class + 6 hours out of class per week for a face-to-face class
    - This is a minimum, but the institution (UH) may set a higher standard!

https://sacscoc.org/app/uploads/2019/08/Credit-Hours.pdf

Commitment

Professionalism

• Professionalism is a graded component of this class.

Professionalism

• Professionalism is a graded component of this class.
• Everyone starts with full points for this and can lose points for unprofessional behavior

Professionalism

• Professionalism is a graded component of this class.
• Everyone starts with full points for this and can lose points for unprofessional behavior
• Major hallmarks of professionalism are taking responsibility for doing what is expected of you and accepting the consequences of your actions.
• At minimum, don’t be a jerk to anyone.

Professionalism

• In other words:

    - If you don't attend class and pay attention...
    - If you don't put in two hours a week of real work outside class...
    - If you don't do the textbook assignments...
    - If you don't do the in class assignments...
    - If you don't do the Module Study Guides...
    - If you don't study for the exams...

Who is responsible for the consequences?

Your responsibilities

    - Time management
    - Your own learning
    - Doing the assignments (or accepting the zero)
    - Doing the assignments on time (or accepting the consequences)
    - Showing up and engaging
    - Applying brainpower
    - Working on the material
    - Following through on commitments
    - Taking responsibility for your own work and results!
    
    

My responsibilities

• I am responsible for

    - Providing you a structured environment to learn
    - Providing alternate explanations to help you understand the material (lecture, discussion, and question-answer)
    - Setting standards and goals
    - Challenging you to do your best
    - Holding you accountable
    - Providing you with resources to succeed
    - Assessing you fairly based on the standards and goals provided
    - Alerting you early if your work is not up to standard, so you can fix the problem
    - Offering suggestions to help you improve your work

My responsibilities

I am not responsible for:

    - Forcing you to work
    - Doing your work for you
    - Anything your other professors require of you that may interfere with this class 
    - Giving credit for work that is not submitted 
    - Granting extensions, makeups, or other exceptions to the syllabus
    - Negotiating excuses 
    - Negotiating grades 
    
    
    

Course Policies: Grade Points

• Exams: 402 points

    - Midterm 201 points
    - Final Exam 201 points

• Top Hat Quizzes

    - Minimum of 260 points

• Inquizitives

    - 250 points (425 available)

• Professionalism

    - 100 points

• Syllabus and Intro Quizzes

    - 100 points

• Simulations

    - 50 points

Course Policies: Grade Points

Total: > 1300 points

• 900+ = A+
• 800-899 = B
• 700-799 = C
• 600-699 = D
• 0-599 = F

Course Policies: Late Work and Makeups

• Late textbook homework is automatically accepted with penalty of 5% per day
• Makeups for exams - the final is the makeup, automatic!
• No makeup for in class work participation exercises, etc.

Course Policies: Late Work and Makeups

• Late textbook homework is automatically accepted with penalty
• Makeups for exams - the final is the makeup, automatic!
• Makeup for in class work participation exercises, etc.

Course Policies: Grades, Late/Missed Work, Professionalism

• This is already a very generous policy - No exceptions

• Asking for special treatment is asking me to do something unethical and may affect your professionalism grade

Course Policies: Attendance and Participation

• There will be daily Top Hat quizzes, sometimes including short bonus quizzes
• These will only be done in class
• Points will be part correctness and part participation
• Because of the number of points available, there will be no excused/dropped/makeup days
• No exceptions

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication:

    - Office hours are your main communication to me outside class

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication:

    - Office hours are your main communication to me outside class
    - There will be a question period every class

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication:

    - Office hours are your main communication to me outside class
    - There will be a question period every class
    - Any important announcements will always be made in class

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication:

    - Office hours are your main communication to me outside class
    - There will be a question period every class
    - Any important announcements will always be made in class
    - There may be opportunities for extra credit or even regular credit that are only announced in class.

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication

• Announcements: Canvas

    - Since class cancellations can't be announced in class, you'll find them here if they happen
    - These are a good written place for recording important information - reiterating class announcements
    - That said, you still need to be in class. There may be opportunities for extra credit or even regular credit that happen in class with no advance notice.

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication

• Announcements: Canvas

• Email announcements

    - go to your official @cougarnet.uh.edu email address

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication

• Announcements: Canvas

• Email announcements

• Emails to me - to ensure your privacy! - must:

    - come from your official @cougarnet.uh.edu email address
    - come to my official tlhanna@central.uh.edu email address
    - I will not even give a courtesy reply if they do not to protect your privacy

Course Policies: Communications

• Face-to-face is the best communication
• Announcements: Canvas
• Email announcements
• Emails to me - to ensure your privacy!
• There will be little to no need to email me because…

Course Policies: Communications

• Exam makeup is automatic
• Late assignments are automatically accepted
• Points are so generous that there are no exceptions or excuses
• Asking for special treatment is asking me to commit an ethical violation and is an academic integrity violation on your part

Course Policies: Academic Integrity

• Academic integrity is non-negotiable
• Do your own work

Study suggestions: The forgetting curve

The Forgetting Curve

Conquer the Forgetting Curve

• Study a few minutes a few times a week instead of 6 hours right before the test

• Start the Inquizitives early (see Syllabus for suggestions)

    - You have several weeks to do each set of 3 to 6 chapter assignments
    - Finish them ahead of schedule then use them to study by...
    - Revisiting the Inquizitives several times between finishing them and the exam to review

• Use the Flashcards a few minutes, a few times a week

Use a good notetaking system

• Use the lecture slides to organize your notes

    - Do not take pictures of the slides - they are published in Canvas with a PDF download option available

• Try rewriting concepts in your own words

    - If you don't understand something, use the index in the book to find more
    - Use a reputable dictionary such as https://www.merriam-webster.com/ or https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/ to look up words you don't understand
    - Come to office hours and ask
    - Ask in class

Use a good notetaking system

• Use a good notetaking system such as Cornell Notes

• Make a study guide: Making a study guide yourself (using a system like Cornell Notes) is much more effective than staring at a study guide prepared for you

• Take advantage of the Practice Exams after you do these other things

Questions

Authorship and License

• Author: Tom Hanna

• Website: tomhanna.me

• License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.