INFO 287-02
Seminar in Information Science
Topic: Adult Literacy
Spring 2016 Greensheet
Professor Tiffany Curtin
E-mail
Other contact information: Available by phone or text at 720-982-3281
Office Hours: Available for live chat/video conference by appointment
| Greensheet Links Textbooks CLOs Competencies Prerequisites |
Resources Canvas Login and Tutorials iSchool eBookstore |
Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning January 28th, 6 am PT unless you are taking an intensive or a one unit or two unit class that starts on a different day. In that case the class will open on the first day that the class meets.
You will be enrolled into the Canvas site automatically.
Course Description
In this course we will cover the scope of Adult Literacy services in public and community college libraries. Adult Literacy Learners (ALLs) include individuals over the age of 16 who are engaged in an adult education program to develop their literacy skills in reading, writing, and/or basic numeracy. This population includes adults who are preparing to take a High School Equivalency Exam (HSE) or may be preparing for the challenges of higher education or entering a trade school. This population also includes adults who are learning English and many are also preparing for their citizenship exam.
We will discuss current issues and best practices in serving our patrons with these needs in a variety of communities and library settings.
Regular participation in discussions is required for the course.
Course Requirements
Assignments
- Identify the need for adult literacy services in libraries. Paper. (CLO 1)
- Create an Adult Literacy Collection Development Plan. Paper or Lib-Guide. (CLO 3, 5)
- Adult Literacy Program Services Evaluation and Proposal. Presentation. (CLO 2, 4, 6)
- Discssion participation is required and graded.
Course Calendar
(Subject to minor changes with advance notice.)
Week 1 - Introductions
Week 2 - Understanding the Scope of Adult Literacy
Week 3 - High School Equivalency
Week 4 - Immigration and Citizenship
Week 5 - ESL with Guest Lecturer
Week 6 - ESL (cont.) with Guest Lecturer
Week 7 - Adult Basic Education and Family Literacy
Week 8 - Collaboration with Department of Correction
Week 9 - Review and Mid-Term check in
Week 10 - Spring Break
Week 11 - Program Evaluation and Recommendations (assignment intro.)
Week 12 - Program Models
Week 13 - Collaboration with Library Management, Staff, and Community Stakeholders (guest lecturer).
Week 14 - Advocacy and Community Engagement
Week 15 - Final Presentations
Week 16 - Final Presentations Critique and Response
Week 17 - Wrap up.
Grading
- Discussion participations = 20% of grade; Assignment completion = 80% of total grade.
- 5 points of extra credit will be offered to those who attend synchronous lectures with guest lecuturers
- Late or missed work will not be accepted without approval of the instructor.
Other Relevant Information
Responding to two classmates in the discussion thread is required for full credit on the discussions.
In addition to the required textbook, other articles and PDF documents will be considered required reading each week.
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
INFO 287 has no prequisite requirements.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to identify the need for Adult Literacy services in public or community college libraries.
- Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to evaluate adult literacy program models.
- Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to create a collection development plan or lib guide for an adult literacy collection.
- Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to identify the needs of and resources for immigrants seeking US citizenship.
- Upon successful completion of this course, students will identify ways to engage adults with low literacy levels in the library.
Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)
INFO 287 supports the following core competencies:
- C Recognize the diversity (such as cultural and economic) in the clientele and employees of an information organization and be familiar with actions the organization should take to address this diversity.
- I Use service concepts, principles, and techniques to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information.
- K Design instructional programs based on learning principles and theories.
Textbooks
Required Textbooks:
- Weibel, M. C. (1992). The library as literacy classroom: A program for teaching. ALA. Available through Amazon: 083890596X
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.