LIBR 265-01
Materials for Young Adults
Fall 2014 Greensheet

Jonathan Hunt
E-mail

This course will be available on Canvas beginning August 25th. You will be enrolled into the site automatically.

Course Description

Survey of materials in various formats including fiction, nonfiction, movies, CDs, computer games and other materials, and how they can meet the developmental needs of this age group. Collection development tools and techniques for this material will also be included.

Course Requirements

Course Discussions
Students will respond to questions about the weekly readings in discussion forums on the Canvas website. Class participation points are based on these responses and account for 30% of the grade. Responses must be posted in a timely fashion (i.e. within the week of the discussion) and must contain a thoughtful, articulate response to both the readings and the contribution of other class members.

Course Lectures
Occasional prerecorded lectures are intended to enhance the discussion topics and/or preview upcoming assignments.

Assignments

• Assignment 1: Printz Books SLO #2, SLO #5
  Read five books from the Printz canon (Medal or Honor books) and write a 200-word review for each one that addresses its literary elements. Pick one of your five books and find reviews from four of the following seven review journals (Booklist, Bulletin, Horn Book, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, or Voice of Youth Advocates) and write a one-page paper comparing and contrasting the reviews.
• Assignment 2: Adolescent Development SLO #1
  Research a timely relevant topic--bullying, puberty, body image, peer pressure, gaming culture, piercings and tattoos, gangs, dating, for example--and create a slide presentation with a five minute audio narration.
• Assignment 3: Digital Resources SLO #3, SLO #5
  Select at least three items from each of these categories (for a total of ten): websites, databases, and online video games. Evaluate them and write 200-word reviews for each. Visit a school or public library to observe teens using some of these digital resources (talk with them, if possible), and write a one page summary of your observations.
• Assignment 4: Subgenre Focus SLO #6
  Research a subgenre—steampunk, GLBT, manga, street lit, for example--and create a slide presentation with a five minute audio narration. Include both general information about the subgenre and specific recommendations.
• Assignment 5: Reading Journal SLO #4
  Select and read 50 print items (not websites or databases), video recordings (DVDs), audio recordings (CDs), console video games, or television shows. These items should be spread out among the various genres that are discussed in class. Your entry for each item should include a bibliographic citation, a brief description, notable awards and honors, your personal opinion, and programming/lesson ideas. These items should be different from the books included in previous assignments, and should be items you have not read before, either for your own pleasure or for other classes. This is a survey class and the intention of this assignment is to expose you to a wide variety of materials. The D2L website will have tips and strategies for managing this large reading load.

Course Calendar

• Assignment 1: Due Sunday, September 14 by 11:59 pm.
• Assignment 2: Due Sunday, October 5 by 11:59 pm.
• Assignment 3: Due Sunday, October 26 by 11:59 pm.
• Assignment 4: Due Sunday, November 16 by 11:59 pm.
• Assignment 5: Due Wednesday, December 10 by 11:59 pm.

Course Grading
The final grade is weighted in the following manner.

• 30% is based on Assignment 5 (Reading Journal).
• 30% is based on Class Participation (Discussions).
• 10% is based on Assignment 1 (Printz Books).
• 10% is based on Assignment 2 (Adolescent Development).
• 10% is based on Assignment 3 (Digital Resources).
• 10% is based on Assignment 4 (Subgenre Focus).
• Late work is penalized one full letter grade and only accepted by prior consent of the instructor before the due date.
• No extra credit is available.

Readings
Additional reading will be available on the Canvas website.

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Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

LIBR 200, LIBR 260A or LIBR 261A. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the external (societal) and internal (developmental) forces that influence teens' choices of recreational and informational sources and materials.
2. Evaluate selection tools, and use appropriate resources to develop a collection of materials for older teens, including all appropriate formats (print, nonprint, computer software, music, etc.).
3. Critically examine representative materials designed for older teens, including print and nonprint formats, books, graphic novels, television, movies, music, and a wide variety of computer software, including social networking software; apply criteria to evaluate materials in relation to developmental needs, multicultural concerns, and meeting the informational and recreational needs of this age group.
4. Create an appropriate materials collection for older teens, including print and nonprint materials and a variety of the digital resources currently available for this age group.
5. Exhibit knowledge of published resources about print and nonprint materials for older teens, such as reference materials, selection tools, and Web sites.
6. Assist parents and caregivers with questions about appropriate materials for their older teen children.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 265 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

• "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
  • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
  • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
• "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

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