© Dr. Loren R. Schmidt, 1999-2023
No part of this syllabus may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission.
Elements of Assessment:
The following assignments will be factored into your course grade. In addition, these will also help assess your progress in mastering the outcomes noted above.
(1) Class Attendance & Participation (10 points + 5 for the Check-In Tasks): The nature of this class demands that students attend the class meetings (if any) and contribute regularly to the on-line discussions. For ONLINE STUDENTS, this means one or two WEEKLY responses to other students' Forum posts beyond your own required posts AND/OR regular attendance/participation at online Elluminate sessions (including synchronous sessions). Both quality and quantity will be considered, with an emphasis on the former.
(2) Reflective Forums (25 points): All students will respond to a series of reflective forums concerning the course readings and presentations. Some of these questions will be created by your fellow students as part of their demonstration of a language teaching method.
(3) Advanced Phrase Structure Tree Worksheet (5 points). After review and practice, students will complete the Phrase Structure Tree Worksheet and post it in the Unit IV Forum.
(4) Seminar Leader/Teaching Demonstration (20 points): Students will work individually to prepare section from the text for in-person or on-line discussion. The seminar leadership will include the following:
—pointing out or clarifying important ideas and concepts by way of synthesized outline or PowerPoint presented in class or on Elluminate and posted on MyHeritage
—demonstrating the teaching method covered in the section either in class or on Elluminate
—preparing a Forum question(s) to be posted on MyHeritage
—leading the discussion by responding to online responses to question(s) as applicable.Verification Activity: This assignment also serves to verify or authenticate the work of online students. Online students will be expected to produce positive ID to the instructor at the time of the online presentation.
(5) Article Review (15 points): Students will write a short paper (approximately 2-3 pages) summarizing and commenting on a journal article in applied linguistics related to your real-life needs or interests and ideally connected to your Field Research Project. Possible topics for this paper will be discussed in class and workshop sessions will be scheduled to assist students in writing the review. The review will be worth 15 points.
(6) Field Research Project (20 points): Students will conduct a team or individual field research project in linguistics (observation and/or experiment). Each individual or team will then report the results of their field research to the class. Afterwards, each individual member will write a paper of 750-1000 words (2.5-3.5 pages) detailing their research method, their results, and then discussing the theoretical and practical issues in linguistics connected with their research project. Teams are encouraged to share sources and ideas but submit individually-written conclusions (methods and results sections can be identical, of course!). The project paper and presentation will be worth 20 points total.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: Papers will include a bibliography of three sources related to your research project, one of which must be cited in the paper.
GRADUATE STUDENTS: Papers will include a bibliography of three sources related to your research project, two of which must be cited in the paper.
(6) Figuring Course Grades:
Check-In Tasks (1 + 4) 5 Participation and Attendance 10 Reflective Forums 25 Phrase Structure Tree Worksheet 5 Seminar Leader/Teaching Demonstration 20 Journal Article Review 15 Field Research Project 20
Total Possible: 100 (98+ = A+; 92+ = A; 90+ = A-; 88+ = B+; 82+ = B; 80+ = B-; 78+ = C+; 72+ = C; 70+ = C-; 68+ = D+; 62+ = D; 60+ = D-; 59- = F)