Winter 2008 - UNST 162A, Design and Society, Syllabus

  Instructor Mentor
name: Tim Sheard Liz Wahlin
office: FAB 120-04 FAB 135-01
email: wahlin@pdx.edu
location: main lecture
Cramer Hall 201
mentor sessions
Cramer Hall 245

Please note that the syllabus will be adjusted during the quarter. I reserve the right to change it at any time for any reason. You will see on the WebCT homepage when a change has been made and are expected to check WebCT and the class web-page before every class. Webct: http://www.webct.pdx.edu/. Class web-page: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~sheard/course/Frinq/

Course Description

Designers influence the creation of products, images, infrastructure and environments surrounding us, both virtual and real. Acting in a deliberate manner, designers engage with the problems facing their communities, and act to solve them by developing pragmatic, creative and innovative solutions. This course will use designers’ activities as an analogy for individuals in other disciplines; in the end, everyone is a designer as they determine the context and direction of their life. Using design as our focus, we will explore individual responsibilities toward society: How can we act to bridge the gap between design and ecological sustainability? How can individuals acting locally compete within the global economy? Using hands-on activities, case studies, and historical investigations, we will explore techniques for design, visualization, and creative problem solving, and share our visions for a future where designing, and by extension all activity, occurs in harmony with natural systems.

Texts for Winter

Available in the PSU bookstore or online.

Other Readings and Texts online

Course Website

There are two pages of interest to the class
  1. WebCT: http://www.webct.pdx.edu/
    This course utilizes WebCT to extend your learning environment beyond the classroom. You will be using WebCT for continuing the discussions beyond the classroom, in creating a digital portfolio, submitting your assignments and accessing additional readings posted by your instructor. All changes to the course syllabus and additional assignments will be posted on the course website. If you have an ODIN account and are registered for the class you will be given a WebCT account. Your name and password are the same as your ODIN account.

  2. Class web-page: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~sheard/course/Frinq/
    The class webpage maintains a "Daily Record" which catalogs every class activity. Activities include lectures, mentor-sessions, reading assignments, writing assignments, projects, etc. These are catalogued by day, both when they are assigned and when they are due. You should check the daily record before every class. Hopefully the material here will be the same as the material on WebCT, except here it is organized by day, not by type of activity.

Things needed

Mentor Sessions

Mentor sessions are an integral part of the course and provide an array of learning experiences that will enable you to succeed in this course. Attendance and participation will be part of your grade.

Term Portfolio

At the end of each term you will submit a portfolio showing your work and demonstrating your progress against University Studies Goals. The final end of the year portfolio must be a web page and will be cumulative. So save ALL your work both electronically and in hard copy at least until the end of the year. The fall portfolio may be waived, however you would still need to do the final essay and need to save your fall work for the winter and spring portfolios.

University Studies Goals

Inquiry based student learning is the cornerstone of the University Studies’ Freshman Inquiry courses. The goals are to develop those skills that will be crucial to your academic success and beyond. The four major learning goals of University Studies are: The goals themselves, as well as grading rubrics used by instructors to evaluate if students have met these goals can be found at: http://www.pdx.edu/unst/goals.html

Design and Society Learning Goals

By the end of this course students should be able to:

Grading and Assignments

In Winter term we will be doing one four units (Collapse, Katrina, Sustainable Design, Robots) and an (on-line) mini portfolio. The products you will produce and be graded on are: 1) a group presentation, 2) a debate, 3) a term paper, 4) a robot project, and 5) an on-line mini portfolio. We'll also have almost weekly reading assignments and reading comprehension activities (quizzes, work-sheets, discussions) and several short (1-2 page) writing assignments. Course grade will be based roughly on the following, however changes to assignments may change this somewhat. Please save your work throughout the year. You will need it for the preparing a cumulative portfolio each quarter. Your Mentor records your mentor session participation and attendance and has direct input in your grade. Final grade is assigned by the instructor.

Work not turned in, unacceptable work or an absence from class when the work was done receives no credit. In addition if more than five classes (main and/or mentor) are missed the quarter grade will be reduced by one full letter grade. You will be marked absent for the day if you miss more than ten minutes of class. You will receive a failing grade if you miss a total of 10 instructor lead classes or mentor sessions or a combination thereof, despite your grades on work completed.

Readiness to learn means that you will come to class with questions and insights to offer to others and be prepared to discuss the assigned reading. We will be learning from each other and your voice is important. Your participation grade will include attendance, participation in class discussions, participation in online discussions, and group work in class on smaller design problems and case studies.

Student Conduct/Plagiarism:

The following constitutes conduct as proscribed by Portland State University for which a student or student organization or group is subject to disciplinary action:

All forms of academic dishonesty, cheating, and fraud, including but not limited to: (a) plagiarism, (b) the buying and selling of course assignments and research papers, (c) performing academic assignments (including tests and examinations) for other persons, (d) unauthorized disclosure and receipt of academic information and (e) falsification of research data.

Source: Office of Student Affairs at Portland State University, Code of Student Conduct and Responsibility. A copy of the full code can be found at http://www.pdx.edu/media/c/o/CodeofConduct.doc. A copy can be obtained from The Office of Student Affairs at Smith Memorial Center Room 433. The Writing Center at Portland State University has prepared PLAGARISM: A Guide for Students to assist students in understanding plagiarism and developing strategies on avoiding it. A copy of this guide is available from Writing Center located in Cramer Hall 188F. Please read it carefully. Or see http://www.writingcenter.pdx.edu/ or http://www.lib.pdx.edu/instruction/survivalguide/index.htm Scholarly work resulting from plagiarism or cheating will receive no credit and all expectations of student conduct code will be strictly enforced in class.

Disability Resources

If you have a disability and are in need of academic accommodations, please notify me (the instructor) immediately to arrange needed support. For more information about the Disability Resource Center, see http://www.pdx.edu/iasc/drc.html.

Writing Resources

The Writing Center - 188F Cramer Hall, 725-3570. The Writing Center is available for PSU students needing relatively minor or specific help with a piece of writing. The Writing Center can also give students advice on citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, etc.

Writing for International Students or Non-Native English Speakers - Classes are available for students with language and/or cultural issues, and need major help with writing. The classes are LING 115, Writing for Non-Native Residents, from the Linguistics Department, or WR 121, College Writing for International Students, from the English Department. The linguistics course emphasizes language and cultural skills and the English course emphasizes the writing process. For additional advice in the Linguistics Department contact Ruth Chapin (725-4147) or Judy Reed (725-8793).

Other: A one-credit supplemental writing course, WR 199, Grammar Refresher, is offered by the English Department for students with more serious writing needs and can be taken concurrently with FRINQ. WR 115, Introduction to College Writing, is for students feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of college-level writing. The English Department also has a number of course offerings dealing with writing research papers and within the disciplines for more advanced writers. For additional advice in the English Department contact Hildy Miller (725-3563).

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