Final Showcase Syllabus
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Roles
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Commented On
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Jessica Duncan
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Course Objectives and Course Description, Schedule, and
Rationale
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Luther Prater
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Course Content, Policies, Schedules, Assignments
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Myrna Martin
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Assignments
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Michelle Martin
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Introduction
The need for first year seminar courses is something that has been
researched over time. According to the Goodman & Pascarella, the
functionality and need for first year seminars vary from each
institution. However, there is a need for these courses as they lead to
persistence and retention of the student. (Association of American Colleges
& Universities, 2014) In order for students to have a better understanding
of their goals in the first year of college, they will also create a study
habit schedule within this course which will enhance their ability to
It will be important for the instructor to take into consideration
that each student taking this course is a unique and individual learner that
will have their own learning style. A combination of hands-on activities,
independent reading and writing assignments, and scheduled meetings with
coaches will allow the student to have a variety of ways to learn the
information for the course. The hands-on activities will be beneficial to
the visual learners, while working with the coaches will help those that are
more self-reflective with learning.
While drafting the course objectives, it was important to refer
back to The Trainer’s handbook reviewing the components of our course
objectives and ensuring that they would have criteria that fell into each of
the three categories of performance, condition, and criteria. For
students beginning college through taking this course, there could be a lot of
stress for the student in the beginning.
Rationale
The central nervous system consists of the
brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves all of which have approximately one
trillion nerve cells. (MacKeracher, 2004, pg.93) Within the central
nervous system there are axons which are the main form of transmitted information
received to nerve cells. (MacKeracher, 2004, pg.93) There are three
levels referenced within the triune brain which are the reticular activating
system, the limbic system, and the neo-cortex.
The reticular activating system is the lowest portion of the brain and
it is the main relay system between the nerves with information coming in and
exiting. The limbic system is the first
portion in which meaningful patterns are recognized within the brain. In those patterns are the consequences for
our behavior. The limbic system also has encompasses much of the interactions
with short-term memory. The neo-cortex
refers to the divide between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. (MacKeracher, 2004, pg.95-97) The left and
right hemispheres are connected through the corpus callosum. Each hemisphere is responsible for different
functionalities such as sensory information received in one side is output
through the other side.
Cognition encompasses information, which is
perceived, received, remembered, thought process, problem solving, and decision
making (MacKeracher, 2004). Brain-based learning focuses on the instructor understanding how
the learner learns. If the educator has a base knowledge of how the student
learns then they will be able to create and identify lessons throughout the
class. Each learner will have a unique way
of perceiving and storing the information received. Creating a syllabus that
provides clear expectations but that allows for flexibility of the learner is
key.
MacKeracher discusses that some of the thoughts
of brain-based learning is understanding the concepts, and one of those
concepts is that the brain is a parallel processor and also works best when
information is presented in a sequential manner. (MacKeracher, 2004, pg.
100) Assignments are designed in an orderly fashion using time and sequences of
events so that learners will process the information in a more efficient
manner. Caine and Caine (1990) states that there is not a single teaching
strategy that will encompass all of the processes of information but
understanding a variety of methods for presenting the information will be
beneficial. By presenting information through a variety of resources and
maintaining open resources the learner has multiple ways to process the
information.
The
brain’s prefrontal cortex is responsible for planning and envisioning the
future. It makes decisions based on context and foreseeable consequences. Caine and Caine (1990) also stress
the importance of embedded context and state that “teaching must fully
incorporation stress management, nutrition, exercise, drug education, and other
facets of health info the learning process.” (Caine and Cain, 1990,
pg.66) This is the embedded social context designed into the syllabus
through the interactive sessions with the financial counselor. These sessions
are designed to connect multiple ways for the student to engage physiology in
learning. MacKeracher (2004) discusses that the brain processes information
from all forms of context and creates meaning to these interactions. The
activities designed within the syllabus allow for the information to be
processed and received through multiple avenues.
The brain likes to make sense of information through
patterning. Caine and Caine (1990) present that facilitators should
create lessons that support learning through patterns. By creating a
schedule that has a flow and pattern, the learner will potentially be able to
obtain the information. As stated by Caine and Caine (1990) ‘for teaching
to be really effective, a learner must be able to create meaningful and
personally relevant patterns. (Caine and Caine, pg. 67) Creating a study
schedule for the student not only allows for the success of the student but
also allows the student to create a pattern for their learning while also
taking personal responsibility for when they will extract the time to complete
assignments.
By the end of the course, students will have the skills and
attitudes needed to create an environment for their success in college and
beyond. The skills that the student will be obtained based on the budget
will allow the student to have more understanding on where their money flows
and how to manage their money better.
Course Title:
Student Success In Financial Management
Phone: 555-555-5555
Email: professorballstate@bsu.edu
Dates & Times for Course: Online
via Canvas
Textbook: No textbook will
be provided with this course as it will utilize open resources.
Course
Description:
Throughout this
eight-week course students will learn to create and maintain a budget.
Emphasis will be placed on individual student development and key strategies to
success within the college environment.
Course
Objectives:
·
Students will improve
upon study habits to become successful students.
·
Students will
create a written financial budget
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Maintain a
financial budget through a series of activities
Learning Activities & Schedule
Grading Criteria
Students will be
graded on completion of each assignment. Individual assignment rubrics are
located on Canvas.
§ Time Management Grid 10pts
§ Peer Feedback 5 pts
§ Completion of Holland Code Assignment 5pts
§ Self-Reflection Paper 20pts
§ Personal Reflection on relationship with money 10pts
§ Analyze Budget Tracking Game 10pts
§ Budget Analysis and Completed Budget using Excel 20 pts
§ Reflection on Budgeting Strategies 20pts
_______________________________
Total: 100pts
Grading Scale
A
(93% - 100%)
A- (90% - 92.9%)
B+ (87% - 89.9%)
B (84% - 86.9%)
B- (80% - 83.9%)
C+ (77% - 79.9%)
C (73% - 76.9%)
C- (70% - 72.9%)
D (69% and below)
ATTENDANCE
POLICY:
It is the
responsibility of the student to complete each assignment on the day it is due
no later than 12:00 A.M. Not turning assignments in on time will result in a
“1” point deduction in total points possible for each day the assignment is
late. For partially complete assignments, the student has until the last day of
class to turn in complete work
ADA NOTICE:
If you need course adaptations or
accommodations because of a disability, please contact Ball State’s Disability
Services office. Documentation of a disability needs to be on file in that
office before any accommodations can be provided. Disability Services can be
contacted at 765-285-5293 or dsd@bsu.edu. Further online information for
students may be found at the BSU Disability Services web page.
ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT
Students are expected to adhere to University guidelines as
presented in the Code of
Student Rights and Responsibilities as outlined in the
student handbook. All students are
required to be aware of and abide by Ball State University’s
Student Academic Ethics
Policy: “Honesty, trust, and personal responsibility are
fundamental attributes of the
university community. Academic dishonesty and other forms of
academic misconduct
threaten the foundation of an institution dedicated to the
pursuit of knowledge and will
not be tolerated.” For more detailed information, please
visit the following website: https://www.bsu.edu/
Table 1. Summary
of Syllabus Design
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Aims you
wish to achieve in your design
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Main
theoretical ideas (You can cite some ideas from your Theory Review)
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Main
activities in your syllabus (should reflect the rationales)
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Main
methods/tools/strategies in your syllabus (should reflect the rationales)
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Incorporating
brain-based learning into syllabus design
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Students
need to practice creating a desirable and
obtainable vision of thier future self.
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Main
activities include research of goals that create a vision for the future.
Students study investments and realize common pitfalls such as leasing and
credit card interest rates.
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Students
are given time to design a financial plan that realizes their vision for the
future. They begin with the vision and then the class works backwards to
determine daily behaviors that allow students to realize their plan.
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Apply
the knowledge of how stress affects the brain and behavior to create a course
that teaches personal finance fundamentals in a way that allows the students
to learn and retain information
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Students
employ a variety of learning strategies which build strong relationships and
support within the classroom. Journals provide an opportunity for students to
express themselves in a safe enviroment.
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Students
“dive deep” using journals to better understand their own relationship with
money and spending.
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By using journals, students will understand
their own advantages and challenges when working toward a goal. They will
better understand themselves and so be better coaches to thier own
behavior.
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Use
technology in a way that is effective and memorable.
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Students
need to experience stressful situations in a safe environment. Technology
provides tools that enhance learning and reinforce the concepts taught in class.
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Students
use VR to simulate stressful situations that may cause lapses in judgement.
(dinner, shopping, casino, etc)
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The main
strategy is to allow students to experience stressful situations in a safe
environment. These experiences will give them the discipline to make better
choices.
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Demonstrate
how to manage behavior and spending.
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By using
repetition, students get the confidence to make better decisions under
stressful situations. s.
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They use
role-play exercises to better practice real-world situations. Positive peer motivation is used to enhance the
lesson
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The main
strategy is to provide students with real-world experience. The syllabus
reflects the how the brain learns by adding variety, such as role-play to the
lesson, in order to make the information memorable.
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Reflection
In the process of constructing
the syllabus assignment, our group found it difficult to incorporate
brain-based learning into a personal finance class but we proved it can be
done. Using Brain-Based Learning theory, we know that it helps students to be more alert. It increases comprehension and
recalling skills. Our syllabus layout is simple as it identifies the expectations for the quality of
work, it shows the students how they should prepare for class and provide
assignments that help students to retain, recall and comprehend budgeting
skills. We included creating a budget and making a budget plan by identifying
spending behaviors. Group and individual activities were included to measure
the student’s learning along with activities that are designed to train the brain to recognize and utilize emotion,
sensory, thinking and comprehension.
This assignment came
with challenges as our group lost one group member without warning. The
remaining members rallied together to deliver an assignment reflective of what
we have researched about Brain and Learning theory. We found some difficulty
with including items on the syllabus that we thought would be effective but
turned out to be more misleading. We do know that brain learning activities and
assignments should include brain training activities that focus on and
strengthen fragile thinking while working to improve comprehension. Our goal
for this assignment was to demonstrate our understanding of that idea.
Implementing brain theory and learning into teaching is very important.
Overall, the assignment and activities should include one on one mental drills
that offer activities that are challenging but fun. I do believe that as a
group, we were able to demonstrate that we understand that concept and create a
syllabus with that in mind.
References
Caine,
R., & Caine, G. (1990). Understanding a Brain-Based Approach to Learning
and Teaching. Educational
Leadership.,
48(2).
Goodman, K., & Pascarella, E. (2014, December 29).
First-Year Seminars Increase Persistence and Retention: A Summary of the
Evidence from How College Affects Students. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/first-year-seminars-increase-persistence-and-retention-summary.
Elauer,
L. (2003) The Brain-Compatible Classroom: Using What We Know About Learning
to Improve Teaching: Alexandria, Va. ASCD
Lawson, K. (2016). The trainer’s
handbook. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Jensen,
E. P. (2008). A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education. Phi Delta Kappan, 89(6),
408–417. doi: 10.1177/003172170808900605
MacKeracher, D. (2004).
Making sense of
adult learning (2nd
ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN-10: 080203778X ISBN-13:
978-0802037787
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