LIBR 271A-01
Genres and Topics in Youth Literature
Fall 2014 Greensheet
Dr. S. Higgins
E-mail
Cell: 520 465 8281
Office Hours:I am happy to meet individually with students and/or answer questions by email, by telephone, or in the practice classroom by appointment, Monday through Friday. Students can also request to stay in the online classroom after the evening session for a conversation. Post general questions to the general discussion board.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks SLOs Competencies Prerequisites |
Resources Canvas Login and Tutorials iSchool eBookstore |
Canvas Information: This course will be available beginning August 25th. You will be enrolled into the site automatically.
Course Description
This class is a survey of social and cultural trends in literature for children and young adults. Resources in print and digital formats, service to diverse and underserved populations and reading in social context are addressed. Safety policies are studied.
Course Requirements
| Points | Due Date | Learning Outcomes | |
| Scholarly Critique 1 | 10 | September 16 | 1, 3 |
| Scholarly Critique 2 | 10 | September 30 | 1, 3 |
| Top Trends in Children’s fiction or Top Trends in YA fiction | 20 | October 14 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Author/Illustrators Biographies | 10 | October 28 | 1, 2, 4 |
| Policy Report | 10 | November 18 | 5 |
| Reading Materials Selection Log | 25 | December 9 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Participation | 15 | Ongoing Assessment | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Total | 100 |
Course Calendar
Class will meet in Canvas iSchool Collaborate classroom from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday evenings, Pacific Time, beginning with an orientation session on August 26th. Thereafter, meet Tuesday nights throughout the semester unless notified otherwise.
Class will not be held September 2, 2014.
Class will not be held November 11, 2014
Students are expected to lead one online session by narrating a PowerPoint based on the textbook readings assigned. If at all possible, attend the night you are scheduled to present. If you cannot attend, record your presentation in the Collaborate Student Meeting Room #2.
Attendance is optional. All Canvas Collaborate sessions will be archived. Write a brief, one to two page double spaced report on the archived session if you are unable to attend class. Email your dated report to your instructor. Summarize the session and give your opinion. The same credit for the report on the archived recording is assigned as is synchronous attendance. Reports are in lieu of attendance. If you miss the first twenty minutes of a session, write a report. There is no point penalty for non-attendance in synchronous sessions.
Students will be expected to keep current with readings, class materials, and discussions throughout the semester. The schedule for powerpoint presentations is also the reading schedule. Please purchase a headset to speak and hear others speak in the Collaborate classroom.
Assignment Policies
- Completed assignments will be submitted via the designated Canvas drop box unless otherwise specified.
- Assignments will normally be commented on and graded and returned to students via the drop box within 7-10 days.
- Assignments will be expected to be submitted by the dates specified, with the date ending at 11:59 pm.
- The instructor will be willing to negotiate alternative dates as needed but only if such negotiation takes place prior to the due date.
- Late assignments that have not been negotiated beforehand will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor.
- Assignments are expected to be professional in appearance; that is, they are neat, grammatically correct, with no spelling or typographical errors. Citations may be in any recognized format as long as they are consistent. APA format is preferred. Use Times New Roman 12 point font and double space your work.
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:
- Demonstrate an understanding of social and cultural trends in literature for children and/or young adults.
- Critically examine representative materials designed for the child and young adult including books, television, movies, and the Internet.
- Apply criteria to evaluate resources in relation to child or YA developmental needs, multicultural concerns, and the ability to meet the informational and recreational needs of this age group.
- Create an appropriate materials collection for the age group selected including print and nonpoint materials.
- Analyze established policies and recommendations for high quality educational facilities and collections for children.
Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)
LIBR 271A supports the following core competencies:
- F Use the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of physical and digital items and collections.
Textbooks
Required Textbooks:
- Chance, R. (2014). Young adult literature in action: A librarian's guide (2nd ed.). Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1610692446
- Hintz, C., & Tribunella, E. (2013). Reading children's literature: A critical introduction. Bedford/St. Martin's. Available through Amazon: 0312608489
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:
| 97 to 100 | A |
| 94 to 96 | A minus |
| 91 to 93 | B plus |
| 88 to 90 | B |
| 85 to 87 | B minus |
| 82 to 84 | C plus |
| 79 to 81 | C |
| 76 to 78 | C minus |
| 73 to 75 | D plus |
| 70 to 72 | D |
| 67 to 69 | D minus |
| Below 67 | F |
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.
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to access PDF files.
More accessibility resources.