Instructor Contact

Elizabeth Zarubin

• Canvas Inbox is preferred.
• Email: ezarubin@ccsf.edu
• CCSF Phone: (415) 742-7033 (I do not check my work phone regularly! It's better to use Canvas messages).
• Office Hours: Wednesday 10-11 by Zoom (use the CityZoom hotlink), and by arrangement. Message me in Canvas to set a different time.
• I will respond to all course email within 48 hours Monday-Friday, exclusive of school holidays and weekends. Once the course begins, I prefer to get messages through the Canvas "Inbox."

Course Communication

• Your work will be reviewed, and I will often comment on it within 48 hours of the close date for the assignment unless you are informed otherwise. Please note that you may receive private comments on your discussion posts, essays, and midterm exam. There will also be essay self-assessment quizzes.
• I will participate in the weekly discussions but will not respond to each individual student. You may receive private comments on your discussion posts.
• If you do not log in to the course,  you may receive a message to remind you to come back to the course. It is best to keep up as the semester goes quickly and because life happens! Non-participation may result in being dropped if you don't let me know what's going on.
• If you have questions about a specific assignment, please PUT THE EXACT NAME OF THE ASSIGNMENT either in the RE line or in the body of the message. Otherwise I will not know how to support you.
• I will post a weekly update going over assignments and answering questions during our optional homework time in Zoom. Please be sure to watch this recording. Zoom usually has recordings available within 1/2 hour of the time it's made.

Course Community

The heart of this class is the discussion forum. In other words, each of you is the heart of the class. You will analyze and discuss issues that come up in the reading or writing assignments. We learn from each other, from our varied experiences, from our different world views. I look forward to reading and participating in discussions and hope you will too!

What determines good participation in discussions?  

I respect your minds and your futures.   I don't like busywork, and you don't, either. All of your work is actually prewriting for your paper. When we start drafting, you will have a wealth of summarizing, connecting, and reflecting that is ready to be used for essay drafting. Great school habits translate directly into the workplace – which often means jobs kept and raises given.  To maintain your seat in class, it’s important to do assigned homework.  Because this is a process course, missing work has an impact on essay performance.

I know you can succeed and that you want the best future possible, so I expect a lot of you.  But maybe your work schedule changed or your computer is down or…?  Let's talk to see if we can find solutions. Conferencing is one of my favorite parts of the job.

Taking an active role in your learning and in class – stretching your leadership skills – makes the environment more energetic and teamwork based. Your leadership also makes up a good part of your participation grade. 

Working together outside of Canvas

As you get to know classmates in the discussions, you may feel more inspired and challenged (in a good way) by some others. You may want to connect outside of assignments to discuss our reading or homework. I personally don't use Chat, but students seem to like it.
Can you start a learning group with classmates? Heck yes! As well, our many campus learning communities may offer formal or informal study groups.  Check out the CCSF learning communities!

Instructor Announcements 

The instructor will post announcements on the “Instructor Announcements” page in Canvas throughout the semester. Canvas notifies students according to their preferred Notification Preferences as soon as the instructor creates an Announcement. 

TO DO: Please go into your account preferences now and input a phone number and email address that you use, and as well turn notifications on and off according to your preferences. You can always adjust these later, but you should at minimum turn on instructor announcement and feedback.

Q&A Discussion

• A “Q&A Discussion” is available on the home page as a quick link. The Q&A Discussion is for you to ask for the assistance of your classmates or to chat. I do not read this page; it's like the conversation you might have among yourselves before, after, or during class.

 The official outline.

Advisories and Sequence

English or ESL grammar classes may be advisable.

A final grade of C or higher allows the student to progress to English 1B or 1C

Student Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes for English 1A

1. Analyze college-level texts.
2. Compose source-based, organized essays that are driven by an effective thesis.
3. Apply the major conventions of standard written English.
4. Research and integrate relevant and credible sources for support, using appropriate citation format.

Student Learning Outcomes for English 1AS (your section may not have an AS component).

Course Web Site

Students will use the Canvas Learning Management system [for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, viewing classmates' work, sharing resources, and viewing grades].  I can help with the course material and with some Canvas issues. But, if you need help uploading an assignment or with the mechanics of Canvas, Canvas help is the number to call.

You can visit my CCSF instructional website outside of Canvas.

Textbooks

Our textbooks relate to achieving success in school and life. Unfortunately, these books are not open sourced (free). If you are ordering your texts, do not wait, if you want to get the best price you can on a used copy. You will be working with Carol Dweck's book, mindset, the first week of school. Be cautious about whom you download files from. Or go to the school or a public library and get this book right away while you are waiting for your copy.

• mindset: the new psychology of success, Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., 978-0-547-56465-4 or
  978-0-544-10440-2

You can also listen to this book in YouTube. There are many slight revisions that have been made to the text of the audio book, so listening and reading simultaneously may be challenging. But listening on the bus or when walking or doing dishes will help reinforce comprehension. All citations must be from the ISBN listed above.

• The Upside of Stress, Kelly McGonigal, ISBN 987-1-101-98293-8
• American Heritage Dictionary, 4^th, or the equivalent college dictionary
• How Children Succeed, Paul Tough, ISBN 3206-22-640-356220
• Current student ID card necessary for doing library research or accessing campus support resources

Canvas

Students will use the Canvas Learning Management system [for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, viewing classmates' work, sharing resources, and viewing grades].  I can help with the course material and with some Canvas issues. But, if you need help uploading an assignment or with the mechanics of Canvas, Canvas help is the number to call.

For 24/7 help with Canvas, call 1-833-249-3993

Zoom Video Conferencing

If you schedule a conference with me through Canvas messages, I will send you a Zoom link. Please let me know if you encounter a problem. 

Required Software

• Adobe Reader (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Update your browser (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Important Dates

This table shows tentative dates to give you an idea of the pace of the course.  A note about paper length: papers must fully reach the bottom of the page of the minimum assigned page length. This does not include the Works Cited Page.

School dates can be found in the Instructional Calendar or in the online Schedule of Classes by hovering over the deadlines link next to your class listing. Here are the important registrar dates.

• Day Class Begins: August 28. Homework is due on that day.
• Last Day of Classes: December 11. Final exam week follows this date.
• Final Exam Date: I have scheduled our exam for December 15. If you will be leaving town and want to take the exam earlier, please contact me.
• Please be familiar with the academic calendar.

Dropping the Class

If you decide to discontinue this course, it is your responsibility to officially drop it to avoid getting no refund (after 10% of course length), a W symbol (after 20%), or a grade (after 60%). Also, for several consecutive, unexplained absences, the instructor may drop a student.

In college, legal responsibilities such as adding and dropping a course are technically your job to manage. If you don't participate and an instructor drops you, you may end up having to repay financial aid, for instance.  Here's my drop policy, just so you won't accidentally get into problems.

If you don't participate for the first week of school by making any posts or doing other assignments, you may be dropped if there is a wait list.  If you don't participate by the end of the second week, you'll definitely be dropped. During the semester, if you don't participate for a week, I will probably reach out to you. If you remain unresponsive, I will probably drop you. So for your own peace of mind, let me know if something is up -- if you move or get sick or have some other issue arise that keeps you from participating.

Here's my drop policy, just so you won't accidentally get into problems.

• • If you don't participate for the first few days of school by making any posts or doing other assignments, you may be dropped, especially if there is a wait list. 
  • If you don't participate by the end of the first week, you'll be dropped.
  • During the semester, if you don't participate for a few days, I will probably reach out to you.
  • If you remain unresponsive, I may drop you. For your own peace of mind, let me know if something is up -- if you move or get sick or have some other issue arise that keeps you from participating. 
  • A missed midterm may be made up with a doctor’s excuse. A missed final exam cannot be made up.
  • An incomplete can be granted when a student provides a doctor’s excuse for a medical emergency during the last two week of school. Please stay in touch with me if your life gets interrupted; things happen.

If you decide to discontinue this course, it is your legal responsibility to officially drop it to avoid getting no refund (after 10% of course length), a W symbol (after 20%), or a grade (after 60%).  So participation is something to make decisions about.  Check out these articles for more information. 

• • Is Dropping a Class in College Bad? (Links to an external site.)
  • Should I Drop a Class?

Pass‐NoPass (P/NP)

You must decide before the deadline and add the option online with WEB4 or file the P/NP form with Admissions and Records. With a grade of C or better, you will get P. If you hope to do well in order to transfer to a four-year school or to keep your GPA up in order to get into a certificate program requiring a GPA minimum (such as nursing), taking a course P/F may work against you. Talk with a counselor if you have questions.

*If taking Pass/No Pass, you still need to have passed the assigned papers and essays with an average of 70% in order to be eligible to pass.

Attendance

Your homework is your attendance. I respect your minds and your futures.  Great school habits translate directly into the workplace – which often means jobs kept and raises given.  To maintain your seat in class, it’s important to do assigned homework. Missing work has a great impact on essay performance since this is a process class where we start building toward our papers in the first reading assignments.

I will post a weekly update going over assignments and answering questions during our optional homework time in Zoom. Please be sure to watch this recording. Zoom usually has recordings available within 1/2 hour of the time it's made. The content in these recordings is required knowledge.

ESSAYS WILL BE ACCEPTED and GRADED AFTER A MINIMUM OF 70% of the HOMEWORK FOR THE UNIT IS DONE.

If you know you have a high level of commitment, you can probably skip some or all of the below.  But if you’re not sure, and for those who like to know the details:

If you know you have a high level of commitment, you can probably speed read the following.  But if you’re not sure, and for those who like to know the details:

• Here's my drop policy, just so you won't accidentally get into problems.
• If you don't participate for the first week of school by making any posts or doing other assignments, you may be dropped if there is a wait list. 
• If you don't participate by the end of the second week, you'll definitely be dropped.
• During the semester, if you don't participate for a week, I will probably reach out to you.
• If you remain unresponsive, I will probably drop you. So for your own peace of mind, let me know if something is up -- if you move or get sick or have some other issue arise that keeps you from participating. 
• A missed midterm may be made up with a doctor’s excuse. A missed final exam cannot be made up.
• An incomplete can be granted when a student provides a doctor’s excuse for a medical emergency during the last two weeks of school.
• Students not doing, or doing little or poor, homework may be dropped before midterm if the grade looks too low to be saved. This is a process course—the purpose of homework is to rehearse reading, discussion, critical thinking, and writing skills so that you will be well thought out and prepared to write essays. I will reach out to you before dropping you; be sure to have an e-mail you use daily in your Canvas user profile so you know when I message you.

Taking an active role in your learning and in class – stretching your leadership skills – makes the environment more energetic and teamwork based. Showing leadership also improves your participation grade. Showing leadership, reaching out for help when needed, and in general being proactive are what the participation element of the grade is based on. Self-motivation is super important in an online or remote class where you don't have the face-to-face class energy and personal connections to keep you inspired. I encourage you to connect with classmates  through Pronto or messages or other ways in order to support each other!

Late Policy

Almost all assignments are due at 11:59 p.m. PST on the due date. A late submission will receive a points deduction. Most weekly homework assignments close on Sunday nights.  Late work will not be graded unless the student sends me a message and makes prior arrangements.

Methods of Evaluation

Each week you will complete graded assignments. There are two to three discussions and usually one Guided Learning Activity throughout the week. Any quizzes should be completed after reading assigned reading material. 

Exams

There will be online quizzes throughout the course and an online midterm and final exam. Most of the material comes from the textbook and supplemental materials, but the midterm and final exams are thoughtful reflections on your own performance. If an exam is missed, a zero will be recorded as the score. It is your responsibility to take the online exams by the due date. 

Grading Policy

Discussion posts that come in when assigned are eligible to earn full points, which will be between three and five. Late posts will have late deductions of one point per day (most original posts are worth three points).

Replies are due as assigned; at the top of each assignment, you will see the day replies are due. You may choose to work in Canvas daily, but you will post a minimum of three times a week. Replies are worth two or three points each. An assignment will make the points possible clear.

Each week in Canvas is set up as one "module" in our course. The next week's module opens on Saturdays at 10AM if you like to do homework on weekends or get ahead.

This is a process course—the purpose of homework is to rehearse reading, discussion, critical thinking, and writing skills so that you will be well thought out and prepared to write essays. Please stay in touch with me if you are struggling. I love conferencing and supporting students! If you can't make a deadline:

• • Let me know what happened, by Canvas message or in a Zoom conference.
  • Let me know if you need an extension on homework.
  • A missed midterm exam (but not a missed final) may be made up with a doctor’s excuse.

Homework is not to be posted as a link to an outside document. This makes it difficult for students to have to have two screens open and go back and forth in order to make comments, and not all links can always be accessed. Work in Google or Word, and copy and paste the assigned work into the discussion box.

  How do I view my grades, teacher comments, and an assignment rubric as a student?

Grades will be assigned as follows: 

If taking Pass/No Pass, you need at least 70% of the total class points and have an average of 70% on all papers and exams to pass the class.

An “F” grade indicates that a student attended, participated, and completed the course but failed to master the course curriculum.

An “FW” grade indicates the student stopped attending a course after the “last day to withdraw” deadline and subsequently did not submit any work or participate in any exams. Please check with your counselor and financial aid advisor for possible implications of the FW grade on residency and financial aid status.

Grade Composite

If you need classroom or testing accommodations because of a disability, or have emergency medical information to share with me, or need special arrangements in case the building needs to be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. My office hours are by appointment either on the Ocean Campus (9-4 p.m., Monday through Friday) or by Zoom video-conferencing.

Students seeking disability-related accommodations are encouraged to also register with Disabled Students Programs and Services located in Room 323 of the Rosenberg Library (415) 452-5481. Please see the DSPS website for more information and alternate locations.

The school has conduct guidelines; did you know that?  They pretty much relate to common sense: treat others the way you want to be treated. No one wants to be embarrassed, suspended, or kicked out of college, so it’s important to know what’s allowed and what's not.  An important item to note is that "Threatening behavior, hostility, outbursts or other completely inappropriate behavior will result in immediate suspension, and/or being dropped".

Collaborating on or copying of tests or homework in whole or in part will be considered an act of academic dishonesty (plagiarism) and result in a grade of 0 for that test or assignment. The incident will be reported to administration. I encourage students to share information and ideas, but not to copy others' work. See these links on Plagiarism:

Encourage Academic Integrity and Prevent Plagiarism

Citing Information Sources

To avoid or defend against plagiarism suspicion, please install the draftback extension in Google doc's. and only compose your drafting process and final essay drafting work in Google doc's.

Academic Dishonesty Violation 

Academic or intellectual dishonesty such as cheating, plagiarism, or the use of generative tools (including but not limited to GPT-4, Chat GPT, Claude, Cohere), without the permission of the instructor to produce responses to school tasks or activities. Cheating is defined as taking an examination or performing an assigned, evaluated task in a dishonest way.  Plagiarism is defined as the unauthorized use of the written language and thought of another author/tool without proper quoting or citing and representing the author's/tool’s work as the student's own.  A student may not use generative tools to produce content that the student submits as the student’s own thoughts and/or language.

Due to the prevalance of opportunities to produce AI-generated work, I highly suggest you work in Google doc's, which keeps a track of your work history. That way, if there is a question about your submitting AI-generated work, we can look at your composition and editing history as well as your homework posts. Word app does not provide a work or edit history. If a plagiarism report gives an AI-generated score that you can't disprove, and I don't see similarity of writing style, tone, and vocabulary in discussion work and final submissions, there will likely be a problem.

Reciprocity

Homework

You will have several weekly discussion assignments, so you will want to make sure you plan time for that.  In order to earn full credit for discussions, you will make thoughtful and well-developed contributions that follow assignment directions, and make a minimum of one reply to a classmate per discussion assignment. I encourage you to draft work outside of Canvas because occasionally things get lost. Be sure to check back to make replies for full credit. Your thoughtful work in discussions is actually pre-writing for your papers. When it is time to outline and draft essays, much of your material may already have been produced in discussions, and you will have been discussing ideas and brainstorming with group mates. Multiple replies and continuing to participate in a discussion will earn extra credit points and will also make you much more ahead of the game when you start drafting papers.