INFO 265-01
Materials for Young Adults
Fall 2017 Syllabus

Joni Richards Bodart
E-mail
Phone: (408)924-2728

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning August 23rd, 6 am PDT 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

This course will allow students to take an in depth look at materials in a variety of formats for teens, including fiction, popular nonfiction, graphic novels, movies, computer games, websites, other media, and determine how they can meet developmental needs.

Course Requirements

Office Hours
I will be in my office by appointment, Clark Hall, 418H, and will be on campus some weekdays, however, without an appointment, there’s no guarantee I will actually be IN my office.

I will answer e-mail on a daily basis or as quickly as I can. I will also be posting email responses to the FAQs section of the discussion board when questions are asked that are of interest to the whole class.

Please feel free to use BBIM to contact me. I will respond immediately if I am at the computer, and as quickly as possible if I am not. If I am writing or in the middle of something, my response may be quite brief. Such brevity is not intended to be construed as rudeness or lack of willingness to help you. Complex questions may be more efficiently handled via the FAQs or email.

If you need to speak to me by phone, I will do all I can to be available to you, but scheduling that call in advance to make it convenient for both of us, and ensure that I have enough time cleared to respond to your questions or problems.

DISCLAIMER
I make every effort to proofread the Syllabus and the Canvas website, but errors can occur. Please contact me with any errors you see or any questions or may have so I can correct or explain them.

Instructional Philosophy
I want each of you in this course to succeed, and I will do everything I can to help you do so, but this is a partnership. Please make sure that communication is your top priority during the semester. Ask questions when you have them, seek clarifications when you need them, and take responsibility for understanding all expectations, content, and assignments for the course. You are responsible for your own learning experience. I do not make you succeed. YOU make you succeed. You also make you fail. Understanding the contents and expectations explained in the Syllabus is critical for a student’s success in the class.

Collaborate Sessions
There will be four Collaborate sessions. The first one, on 9/5, will be an introduction to the class and will include information on what to expect from it, explanation of assignments and discussion of the Syllabus and Canvas site. It is mandatory asynchronous, but you are strongly advised to attend, so if you are confused about something, you can ask for clarification.

The others will be used for guest speakers and student presentations or discussions. All are mandatory asynchronous attendance. The dates for these sessions are 10/17, 10/26, and 11/16. All sessions are from 630-900 Pacific Time. Details on the content of each session will be on the Canvas site for this class. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATE OF THE FIRST SESSION HAS BEEN CHANGED TO EARLIER IN THE SEMESTER, AND THE LAST DATE CANCELLED. I did this so the Intro session would occur earlier in the semester. Since all classes are mandatory asynchronous, this change should not overly impact your scheduling of activities.

Course Assignments
This course requires a number of assignments designed to introduce students to the concepts covered in class and in the texts, as well as to practical applications of methods. Students will work individually and participate in group discussions on the Canvas website. Detailed descriptions of assignment requirements are on the Canvas website. Please feel free to ask me about any assignment you do not understand. There are reasons for each assignment, and I will be happy to explain them in more detail if necessary.

• Literary Criticism Paper: 15% of grade, due week 7, 10/1 at 1159 pm
• Write a critical essay (literary criticism) on a title by one of the Margaret A. Edwards Award winners listed in the detailed assignment description. You must read the novel and do research on your own to create your essay. You will need to explain why you chose the title, examine critical information on the title, including review sources and selection tools, essays by/about the author, biographical information, author interviews, challenges to the title, and any other relevant information. (Objectives 2 and 3)
• Digital resources: 20% of grade, due week 9, due at 10/23 at 1159 pm
• Examine and use digital resources used by older teens, and write an essay based on your experiences and research on digital technology, that compares how you and they interact with the resources in similar and different ways (Objectives 3 and 5)
• Group research paper: 20% of grade, due week 13, 11/20, at 1159 pm
• Working in groups of two, research a topic of interest to or about teens and present your findings to the class (submit to appropriate discussion forum IN ADDITION TO submitting it in the appropriate dropbox) in the format of a research paper. Please see the Google signup doc on the website for suggested authors/topics/genres and dates for the discussions on each paper. All students will read, discuss, and critique all 4 of the research papers. If there is an odd number of you, one group will have three people in it. (Objectives 1, 5 and 6)
• Mini Collection Assignment: 30% of grade, due weeks 8 and 16, 10/15 and 12/3, at 1159 pm
• Develop a collection of materials including at least 35 items (reduced from 50, in response to student comments), with detailed information on each, including both print and nonprint sources that reflect your knowledge of the informational, recreational, and developmental needs of this age group. This assignment will be submitted in two sections, each with 17 or 18 title entries in it. (Objectives 1, 2, 3, and 6)
• Participation: 15% of grade due week 16, 12/6 at 1159 pm
• Participate in Canvas website discussions, group work, and peer evaluation as described in this Syllabus and on the Canvas class site. (Objectives 5 and 6)

Discussion Thread Topics (2-3 posts are required per thread)

• Introductions Week One
• Memories
• The Adolescent Brain Week Four
• Teens and Digital Technology Week Six
• Controversial Fiction and Its Value Week Eight
• Crossover Titles Week Ten
• Censorship and Intellectual Freedom Week Twelve
• Top Ten Titles Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen

Course Outline DATES AND CHAPTERS OF ASSIGNED READINGS WILL BE ON THE CLASS WEBSITE

• Week 1
  Defining older teens or adolescents
• Societal perspectives
• Psychological perspectives
• Information processing styles
• Social interaction styles
• Weeks 2-3
• Adolescent Psychology—Understanding the Teen Brain
• Week 4
  Defining literature/materials for older teens
• Impact of technology
• Print and online materials, including but not limited to books, magazines, websites, blogs, and wikis
• Multimedia materials, including but not limited to computers, movies, television
• Developing trends
• Radical or controversial titles
• Adult titles
• Week 5
  Selection tools and reviewing
• Defining quality in materials for older teens
• Publishers’ imprints for older teens
• Mock Printz Committee
• Mock Alex Committee
• Evaluating selection tools for print, nonprint and online materials and resources
• Writing reviews
• Collection development
• Week 6
  Developing trends in technology
• Computer games or programs, including but not limited to social networking software, blogs, and wikis
• Audiobooks
• DVDs
• CDs
• Television programming
• Movies and book tie-ins
• Other digital resources, including but not limited to iPods, cell/camera phones, other MP3 players, and handheld games
• Week 7
  Censorship and intellectual freedom
• Selection policies
• Reconsideration policies and procedures
• Hot button topics
• Resources for IF
• Week 8
  Types of materials
• Realistic fiction
• Controversial materials
• Week 9
  Types of materials
• Romance
• Adventure
• Week 10
  Types of materials
• Mystery
• Thriller/suspense
• Week 11
  Types of materials
• Verse novels
• Multicultural materials
• Week 12
  Types of materials
• Short story collections
• Historical fiction
• Week 13
  Types of materials
• Fantasy and science fiction
• Graphic novels and comics
• Award winners
• Weeks 14-15
  Types of materials
• Nonfiction
• Materials specifically designed for teens, such as sexual information, social interaction, sports, careers, college prep, psychology, religion and other topics.
• Poetry
• Biography
• Magazines

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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

INFO 200, INFO 260A or INFO 261A. 

Course 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)

INFO 265 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Cart, M. (2010). Young adult literature: From romance to realism. ALA. Available through Amazon: 0838910459

• Chance, R. (2014). Young adult literature in action: A librarian's guide (2nd ed.). Libraries Unlimited. Available through Amazon: 1610692446

Recommended Textbooks:

• Hahn, D., & Flynn, L. (2008). Ultimate Teen Book Guide. Walker. Available through Amazon: 0802797318.

• McElmeel, S. L., Wrenn-Estes, B., & Loertscher, D.V. (2015). Young adult literature and multimedia: A quick guide (10th ed.). Learning Commons Press. Available from publisher: LMC Source

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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 or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — 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 if you wish to stay in the program. 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.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs' Syllabus Information web page at: https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php. Make sure to visit this page, review and be familiar with these university policies and resources.

In order to request an accommodation in a class please contact the Accessible Education Center and register via the MyAEC portal.

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