St. Cloud State University
General Education Goal Area 1
Communicate Orally & In Writing
Academic Affairs Use Only:
Response Date:
Effective Date:
1.
Proposal Number:
Prepared by: Victoria Willams
Phone: 320-308-4743
Email: vlwilliams@stcloudstate.edu
2.
Requesting Unit: Department of Academic Support
3.
Department, Course Number, Title: COLL 120, Power Reading
4.
New Course
5.
Course Focus
6.
Will this course be flagged as a diversity course?
Already Designated as Diversity
7.
Will this course also satisfy another General Education Goal Area?
If “Yes” specify which goal area.
Existing Course
Written Communication
Oral Communication
No
Diversity Proposal Accompanying This Form
No
Yes
8.
Course bulletin description, including credits and semesters to be offered:
Instruction and practice in strategies to enhance critical reading and reading flexibility through the
application of efficient comprehension strategies and vocabulary development. 2 Cr. F, S, SUM.
9.
Indicate the clientele for whom this course is designed. Is the course for general education only, or
does it fulfill general education and other program needs for this or another department? Obtain
signatures from any affected departments.
COLL 120 will fulfill general education needs. Some students elect to take the course, and it is also
required for some students who are placed in the class because of low ACT and ACCUPLACER scores.
10.
Indicate any changes that must be made in offerings or resources in your department or other
departments by offering this course.
None. We already offer multiple sections of this course in all semesters.
11.
For new courses or courses not yet approved for General Education, indicate any other SCSU departments
or units offering instruction that relates to the content of the proposed course.
12.
Courses designated as General Education are included in the assessment plan for the Goal Area(s) for
which they are approved. Courses for which assessment is not included in the annual GE assessment
report for two years will be removed from the General Education Program.
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The Requesting Unit understands and recognizes the above conditions.
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13.
Provide a concise explanation of how the following goal is a “significant focus” of the proposed course.
Goal Area 1: Communicate Orally & in Writing
Develop, convey, and evaluate oral and written communication in various academic, professional and
personal contexts. Use oral and written communication characterized by clarity, critical analysis, logic,
coherence, precision, and rhetorical awareness. Use writing and speaking processes (such as inventing,
organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting) as appropriate for specific tasks and audiences.
Communication isn't purely generative; it's also receptive. The focus of COLL 120 is on active and critical reading,
and students learn to respond to and understand a variety of academic texts. Students work to improve
comprehension, critical reading skills, and vocabulary, selecting strategies appropriate for textual content and reader
purpose. Critical analysis includes understanding purpose, tone, figurative language, point of view, and critical
reasoning. Texts analyzed include expository, persuasive, and web-based writing.
14. In order for a course to be designated as fulfilling Goal Area 1, it must address at least 6 of the 8 student learning
outcomes (SLOs) below. Check the SLOs below that are focused on in the proposed general education course.
1. Use writing and speaking processes (such as inventing, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting) as
appropriate for specific tasks and audiences.
2. Listen, think critically and creatively, reflect, and respond appropriately to group tasks, relationships, and
processes.
3. Locate, evaluate, and synthesize material from diverse sources (print and non-print) and multiple points of view,
using them in a responsible and ethical manner.
4. Evaluate communicative situations and use rhetorical tools appropriate for those situations.
5. Construct logical and coherent arguments, recognizing the role and value of credibility (ethos), point of view,
emotional appeals (pathos), and individual voice and style in writing and in speaking.
6. Employ syntax, usage, and style appropriate to academic disciplines, for professional environments, and for
personal expression and interpersonal exchange.
7. Describe, summarize, and analyze written and spoken discourse, noting how language affects and reflects our
perception of human values, cultural perspectives, and gender identities.
8. Identify and use appropriate skills for diverse types and levels of listening and/or reading.
15.
Discuss how each Student Learning Outcome checked above is achieved in this course. (Note: Although
descriptions of typical assignments or types of assignments may be part of this discussion, it is not
appropriate to submit copies of actual assignments.)
1. Use writing and speaking processes (such as inventing, organizing, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting)
as appropriate for specific tasks and audiences.
Students write reflective essays, present critiques of websites to their classmates, participate in blogs, and engage
in threaded discussions. All are evaluated for content and appropriateness for audience and medium.
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2. Listen, think critically and creatively, reflect, and respond appropriately to group tasks, relationships, and
processes.
Course curriculum is designed to fit with a phases of engagement framework. Consisting of four steps, which take
students from simple community-building exercises to learner designed and learner-led collaborative efforts, this
curriculum is designed to help students become more engaged with each other as they work to become more
active and engaged readers of a variety of texts. For example, early in the semester, students pair up on opposing
sides of the issue of whether background noise aids or hinders concentration. They find research on the web that
supports each point of view, come to a consensus, and report back to the class via an online, threaded discussion.
3. Locate, evaluate, and synthesize material from diverse sources, (print and non-print) and multiple points of
view.
The critical reading portion of the class asks students to evaluate both print and online text, making decisions as to
authority, currency, accuracy, and objectivity. Students analyze print and online news sources, as well as articles
from a variety of sources, presenting their findings as written responses or oral presentations. Students are
presented with texts from multiple points of view and make decisions about the quality and nature of the text.
4. Evaluate communicative situations and use rhetorical tools appropriate for those situations.
Students react to the effectiveness of text and media and respond either through reflective writings, oral
presentations, or small group or online threaded discussions, some of which are student designed and student led.
5. Construct logical and coherent arguments, recognizing the role and value of credibility (ethos), point of view,
emotional appeals (pathos), and individual voice and style in writing and in speaking.
Students evaluate and respond to persuasive text and media. For example, students analyze audience, purpose,
tone, credibility, objectivity, and appropriateness of print ads and advocacy websites.
6. Employ syntax, usage, and style appropriate to academic disciplines, for professional environments, and for
personal expression and interpersonal exchange.
The emphasis of the class is on learning a variety of reading approaches and understanding how those approaches
can appropriately be applied to different types of material in order to read flexibly and efficiently. Students also
learn how tone, source, attitude, and inference affect their ability to read objectively. Written work and
presentations are evaluated through use of rubrics designed to support the use of contextually appropriate
language.
7. Describe, summarize, and analyze written and spoken discourse, noting how language affects and reflects our
perception of human values, cultural perspectives, and gender identities.
The critical reading portion of COLL 120 asks students to reflect on how language affects our attitudes and
perceptions of the world. Students begin the class by writing a reflection paper that describes their early
experiences with reading and how those experiences have impacted their current attitude toward texts.
Throughout the semester, students engage in a series of readings and keep a log of their reactions, especially the
interactions between their responses and the nature of the passage. At the end of the course, students write a
reflective essay incorporating these reactions and the implications for their understanding.
8. Identify and use appropriate skills for diverse types and levels of listening and/or reading.
The goal of COLL 120 is to help students effectively read the variety of academic texts they will encounter as
students and life-long learners. They learn to adjust comprehension and rate to suit purpose and type of text. They
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learn vocabulary appropriate to college-level reading, writing, and thinking. They learn to read a variety of texts
in a critical and evaluative manner.
16.
List or attach the Course Outline (adequately described and including percentage of time to be allocated
to each topic). Curriculum Committees may request additional information. Topics larger than 20% need
to be broken down further. Indicate in your course outline where the Student Learning Outcomes
checked above are being met.
COLL 120: Power Reading
Course Content: Reading efficiency and flexibility through literal and critical comprehension refinement and
metacognitive strategy improvement with a vocabulary and concentration emphasis.
Course Objectives: To model, instruct, and provide practice in applying metacognitive learning approaches to
college level reading material and course content:
1. To help students develop and refine concrete and abstract vocabulary including denotative and connotative
word meanings.
2. To encourage reading textbooks and other reading material in a critical and evaluative manner.
3. To see how language affects our attitudes and perceptions of the world.
4. To learn that a variety of reading approaches may be applied to different types of material in order to read
flexibly and efficiently.
5. To see how tone, source, attitude, and inference affect our ability to read objectively.
Course Outline:
1. Active Reading: This topic is spread throughout the semester and is divided into four sections. First, students
discuss the six levels of thinking, based on Bloom's Taxonomy, and how those different levels are applied in their
college classes. Next, they learn about the importance of concentration to comprehension and retention of
information. Then, they learn why prereading is effective, learning to make predictions of content and making
connections with previous knowledge. Lastly, students learn the importance of asking the right questions to direct
attention and generate interest. (SLOs 1, 2, 4, and 8)
2. Vocabulary: This is a significant portion of the class. Student learn vocabulary words appropriate to college
level reading, writing, and thinking, but they also learn effective methods for learning the terminology that is
important to their other college classes. (SLOs 1, 4 and 8)
3. Reading Rate: Students learn how reading works physically, so they can work on improving reading habits that
might be slowing them down. In addition, students do a long-term assignment that asks them to track their reading
rate and comprehension for a variety of college-level texts, with the goal of helping them understand the
conditions under which they read most effectively. (SLOs 1and 8)
4. Reading for the main idea: Students learn to focus on the main idea and major support for that main idea as
ways to become more efficient readers. They learn how to focus on the main idea and recognize major support in
a variety of texts, including textbooks, essays, and scholarly articles. SLOs 4, 6, and 8)
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5. Textbook Reading Techniques: Students learn a variety of strategies to help them more effectively read
academic texts. Students learn the impact of design, specialized vocabulary, and their own prior knowledge.
(SLOs 4, 6, and 8)
6. Critical Reading: Students learn the role of connotation, pupose, tone, and inference in defining and
understanding meaning, and how those elements affect our ability to read a variety of text and media objectively.
They learn criteria for evaluating print and electronic text for authority, currency, accuracy, and objectivity.
Students critique websites and present their findings to their classmates by taking students through the sites and
demonstrating how they arrived at their evaluation. Students examine a variety of print sources and discuss how
to formulate a stance in light of potentially conflicting written evidence. (SLOs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8)
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St. Cloud State University
General Education Transmittal Form
Academic Affairs Use Only:
Response Date:
Effective Date:
Proposal Number
Department:
Course or Course(s):
Department or Unit Chair Signature
Date
Department forward to Academic Affairs for publication and electronically to Chair of General Education Committee, Chair
of College Curriculum Committee, College Dean
Recommendation of General Education Committee:
Approve
Remarks:
Disapprove
Chairperson
Committee
Signature
Date
Recommendation of University Curriculum Committee:
Approve
Remarks:
Disapprove
Chairperson
Committee
Signature
Date
Recommendation of Faculty Association:
Approve
Remarks:
Disapprove
FA Senate
Signature
Date
Action of Academic Vice President:
Approve
Disapprove
Signature
Entered in Curriculum Data File
12/11/2009
Remarks:
Date