Dr. Chasta Parker
Chem 104: Chemistry & Problem Solving
Fundamentals (3 credit hours)
Fall 2015 Section 003 and 004
Office: Sims 109A
Email: parkerc@winthrop.edu
Phone: 323-4923
Class Meeting
Time: Section 003 Friday 8:00 - 9:15 am Sims 105
Section 004
Friday 11:00 12:15 pm Sims 112
Office Hours:
Held in Sims 109A
Monday 9:30 - 11:30 am, Wednesday and
Friday 9:30 10:30 am
Other
times by appointment only.
Required
Materials:
1)
ALEKS
Online Learning System You must purchase and register for our course
ASAP. Please see the course blackboard
site for further information.
2) Daily access to internet. You are responsible for:
a.
Working with ALEKS.COM
to complete course objectives.
b.
Checking
your WU email account.
c.
Checking
the course Blackboard site - online.winthrop.edu
(Login instructions and Blackboard
tutorials:
www2.winthrop.edu/webct/Blackboard_Training_Tutorials.html)
3) Calculator
(NO CELL PHONES) Any scientific calculator is appropriate however, I highly
recommend TI-30XIIS or TI-30XA series.
Recommended
Materials:
Text Book Introduction
to Chemical Principles, 11th ed., by H. Stephen Stoker
Purpose:
To prepare you to study general chemistry by focusing on problem-solving
strategies and application of chemical concepts such as modern atomic structure, chemical
equations and reaction stoichiometry, solutions, chemical reactions, and
chemical nomenclature.
ULC:
Winthrops University-Level
Competencies (ULCs) identify learning outcomes that apply across all
undergraduate programs and that all Winthrop graduates attain. These capacities
are essential preparation for working productively and living meaningfully in the
contemporary and emerging world.
Competency 1: Winthrop graduates think critically and solve
problems.
Winthrop University graduates reason logically, evaluate and
use evidence, and solve problems. They seek out and assess relevant information
from multiple viewpoints to form well-reasoned conclusions. Winthrop graduates
consider the full context and consequences of their decisions and continually
reexamine their own critical thinking process, including the strengths and
weaknesses of their arguments.
Competency 4: Winthrop graduates communicate effectively.
Winthrop University
graduates communicate in a manner appropriate to the subject, occasion, and
audience. They create texts including but not limited to written, oral, and
visual presentations that convey content effectively. Mindful of their voice
and the impact of their communication, Winthrop graduates
successfully express and exchange ideas.
Attendance:
You are expected to be on time and attend ALL classes for the entire class period. You cannot
make-up any of the in classwork (which will be a part of your
participation grade). If you do miss a
class, it is your responsibility to obtain all information/notes from another STUDENT in the class.
Cell
Phones: Use of the cell phone in class for ANY purpose is strictly
prohibited and will result in a loss of 5 points from the overall course grade
each time you use your phone during class.
Academic Misconduct:
Plagiarism and cheating of any kind
will result in severe penalties.
Depending on the situation (at the discretion of the instructor), a
student can expect at a minimum to receive an F (0 points) on the
assignment. More severe penalties can
include an F in the course and/or institutional penalties. This course is a hybrid course; therefore the
guidelines for cheating are a little different than those in a traditional
classroom setting. You should be
completing all online work by yourself.
You should not be working with anyone else as you complete the online
assignments. You may work with others on
problems from the textbook or other assignments as noted by the
instructor. All students will sign a code of conduct that will
be turned in prior to receiving any
grade in the course. You should
carefully read the Winthrop University Student Conduct Code printed in the
Winthrop University Student Handbook: www2.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/StudentHandbook.pdf
Students
with Disabilities: Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education. If you
have a disability and require specific accommodations to complete this course,
contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 803-323-3290. Once you have
your official notice of accommodations from the Office of Disability Services,
please inform me as early as possible in the semester.
Grades: Grades will
be posted on the course blackboard
site. ALEKS will keep track of
some of the grades, but will NOT
accurately reflect your overall course grade.
If you have questions regarding a grade, please contact me immediately,
do not wait!
COURSE
GRADE COMPONENTS AND BREAKDOWN
ALEKS will conduct an initial assessment in order to
determine your background in Chemistry and what you are ready to learn and what
you need to learn prior to moving to new topics. Be certain that you take time to complete the
assessment carefully WITH NO OUTSIDE HELP.
If you use help then ALEKS will not be able to accurately gauge your
preparedness for the course work. There
is no grade associated with this assessment and therefore you should focus
solely on completing the assessment to the best of your ability.
12% ALEKS On-Time Completion of Topics:
This grade is for completing assignments on time and keeping up with
course topics. You should complete as
much of the current topic as possible prior to covering the topic in
class. The completed topic will be due
several days after we cover the material in class. It is critical that you keep pace with the
course although the beauty of an online course means that you can move as
quickly through the topics as you wish.
25% ALEKS Mastery of Topics: In ALEKS, your progress is monitored by a pie
chart. This chart has all of the topics
to be mastered this semester. As you
master a topic, you will complete parts of the pie. Mastery requires retention. Therefore, you must master the topic and then
prove retention through the successful completion of the assessments (see
below). Whatever percentage of the pie
you master, will be worth 25% of your grade in this course.
12% Participation: We only meet once a week. Therefore it is imperative that you attend
classes, for the entire class. Classwork
assignments will be due at the end of almost every class and will be used to
ensure attendance and participation. No
in class assignments can be made up.
Blackboard discussions, the completion of the course evaluation (at the
end of the semester) or other assignments will also be a part of this grade.
24% Progress
Assessments (4 @ 6% each): Four progress
assessments will be conducted in ALEKS.
These will occur after chapters 5, 8, 11, and 13. You will not be able to continue through
ALEKS until these assessments are completed.
They will test your knowledge on all prior material. Your grade will be based on the number of
topics mastered after the assessment is complete. This means that even though you may have
mastered a topic prior to the assessment, if you are unable to answer a
question correctly on a topic, the topic will be removed from the list of
mastered topics. You will have an
opportunity to go back and re-master topics prior to the end of the semester to
increase your Mastery of Topics grade.
27% Final Exam:
The final exam will be comprehensive and will be conducted in a computer
lab and monitored. The final for this
course will be held on:
Final Exam:
The final will be comprehensive
and held in CARROLL HALL 221/222:
SECTION
003: Monday, December 14th
from 8:00 am 10:30 am
SECTION
004: Saturday, December 12th
from 8:00 am 10:30 am
*Grade
Assignments:
93 100% A
90 - 92% A-
87 - 89% B+
83 86% B
80 82% B-
77 - 79% C+
73 76% C
70 72% C-
67 69% D+
63 66% D
60 62% D-
<59% F
*The instructor reserves the right to alter the lower limit of a grade
assignment.
To succeed in this course you must:
1. Consistently check due dates in ALEKS.
2. Go to our course blackboard site and
review three items:
a. Under the weekly tab review all
materials.
b. Review and take notes on the chapter
PowerPoint slides.
3. Work in ALEKS at least 9 hours per week.
4. Get help early and often. Dont wait until you fall behind to seek
help. ALEKS will help you determine the
topics you need additional help on.
Please do not wait!