ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN
FIRST-YEAR COLLOQUIUM
SYLLABUS
CPSP 118C - SPRING 1999
WEDNESDAYS, 3:15-4:45 PM
1140 CUMBERLAND HALL


INSTRUCTORS

Elizabeth Brenden 301-[removed 1/'00] (home), x4-5909 (Advocates office)
    e-mail: eeza@earthlink.net (home); elizb@wam.umd.edu (office)

Jill Engel x4-7925 (office)
    e-mail: jengel@accmail.umd.edu ("umdacc" account outdated)

Stephen Wright 301-[removed 1/'00] (home), x4-5909 (Advocates office)
    e-mail: sw125@umail.umd.edu ("wam" account will work but prefers this "umail" account)

Albert Gardner x4-5909 (Advocates office), x5-2814 (Benjamin office), 301-[removed 1/'00] (home)
    e-mail: ag5@umail.umd.edu

Advocates office: 1120 Cumberland
Advocates web site address (url): http://www.inform.umd.edu/SCHOLAR/ac/


CLASS SCHEDULE

[Bullet] February 3
ALL STUDENTS MEET: Break into four groups for planning, organizing, explaining, and determining student interests.

[Bullet] February 10
ALL STUDENTS MEET: More of the above; assign students to groups; focus groups meet; representatives from Camp Nock-A-Mixon to speak on summer opportunities for work and internship possibilities (4:15 P.M.)

[Bullet] February 17
ADVOCACY & POVERTY GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (1): Choice and Equity in Education
Assignment: Bring to class a typed, one-page (at least), double-spaced paper on your reactions, feelings, reflections, concerns, questions on issues closely related to those raised in an article on the discussion topic. We will make a choice of articles available to you, so you don't have to find your own article (no other references will be required for this paper). The paper, which is to be handed in, is to prepare you for the discussion in class. Students will be randomly mixed for discussion. Time will be available for focus group meetings.

[Bullet] February 24
RESEARCH & SERVICE LEARNING GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (1): Choice and Equity in Education
Assignment and format as above (Feb. 17).

[Bullet] March 3
POVERTY & RESEARCH GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (2): Teen Sex and Parenthood
As above (Feb. 17), except the assignment is to bring a hard copy item(s) from the Internet to be handed in with your one-page paper which is an account of the relationship of the article to the topic. You may also include other reactions or comments about the topic in your paper.

[Bullet] March 10
ADVOCACY & SERVICE LEARNING GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (2): Teen Sex and Parenthood
Assignment and format as above (Mar. 3).

[Bullet] March 17
ALL STUDENTS MEET
Activity TBA

[Bullet] March 24
Spring break.

[Bullet] March 31 (Passover begins at sunset)
ADVOCACY & RESEARCH GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (3): Media - Effect on Children and Potential for Advocacy
As above (Feb. 17), except the assignment is to bring an article (or copy) from a newspaper, magazine, video or video excerpt, or other item from popular media, to be handed in with your one-page paper reaction to it.

[Bullet] April 7 (concluding day of Passover)
POVERTY & SERVICE LEARNING GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (3): Media - Effect on Children and Potential for Advocacy
Assignment and format as above (Mar. 31).

[Bullet] April 14 RESEARCH & SERVICE LEARNING GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (4): Crime - Children as Victims and Children as Perpetrators
As above (Feb. 17), except the assignment is to bring an article from a professional journal to be handed in with your one-page paper.

[Bullet] April 21
ADVOCACY & POVERTY GROUPS MEET
Discussion topic (4): Crime - Children as Victims and Children as Perpetrators
Assignment and format as above (Apr. 14).

[Bullet] April 28
ALL STUDENTS MEET
Activity TBA

[Bullet] May 5
ALL STUDENTS MEET
Focus group presentations: Advocacy & Poverty

[Bullet] May 12
ALL STUDENTS MEET
Focus group presentations: Research & Service Learning


EXPLANATORY COMMENTS

Regarding the articles or material required for class, you are expected to find your own, that is, do not merely copy that of another student. The learning that takes place when searching for an article is one of the desired outcomes of these assignments. We do encourage students to share and exchange articles that they have found, but all students are expected to do their own work.

Late papers will be penalized one letter grade for each day that they are late, unless the student has an excused circumstance as explained in the university policy elsewhere in this syllabus.

Field Trip and Service Learning Requirements: There are no blanket course requirements that all students perform service learning or take a certain number of field trips. However, while the approximate number of out-of-class hours in each of the focus groups is 20, it may be that a given focus group will have some service learning or field trips as part of its requirements.

GRADING: Each of the following four factors will be given equal weight in grading:

1. Class attendance.
2. One-page papers and articles for the four discussion topics.
3. Focus group participation (20 hours) and presentation.
4. Focus group (a) reflection /journal/lab book: an account of what you did, the outcome, and your reflection (include dates and hours worked on project); and (b) a product, that is, a description, a report, or a collection. (These requirements will be determined by the focus group leader in consultation with his/her students.) THIS MATERIAL IS DUE ON OR BEFORE MAY 12. (Penalties for late papers as described above).

An open-ended evaluation of the colloquium, two-pages/typed/double-spaced, is to be handed in on or before May 12...this assignment is not to be graded.



1125 Cumberland Hall University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-9331

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