Course Syllabus

GNST 1065 Convocation Plus

Course Description

Convocation Plus is a companion class for Convocation (GNST 1060). Students in Convocation may take Convocation Plus concurrently for an additional credit, and doing so allows students to further engage with Convocation content and presenters. This engagement includes attending lunch with presenters, doing additional readings, and having opportunities for discussion and reflection. Like Convocation, Convocation Plus is repeatable for credit.

Justification

Convocation has a rich history at Snow College and enriches the campus as a whole as well as the education of students enrolled in the course. It also has unrealized potential to allow students to be more active learners, building on the presentations with their own study. Convocation Plus provides a space for this to happen, and students in the class will have a more engaged Convocation experience.

Convocation Plus students have the same requirements as all Convocation students. However, they also complete reading assignments, engage in small-group discussions with other students and with Convocation presenters, research in response to presentation ideas, and reflect on their learning experiences. The overarching goal of this work is to allow students one more venue on campus for considering both disciplinary knowledge and interdisciplinary connections and for questioning and listening to multiple points of view.

Convocation Plus will have a low enrollment cap so that it can be offered within the current Convocation funding level and course reassignment for the coordinator. If demand for the course increases, additional resources will be needed. However, in the present configuration, the course works within current resources.

While few, if any, USHE schools have a course like Convocation Plus, the value of Convocation has been established. Additionally, a pilot of Convocation Plus has occurred at Snow to learn how to make the course effective.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Explore the disciplinary assumptions, methods, and information of different disciplines.
2. Demonstrate social competency in discussing ideas with Convocation presenters.
3. Be self-directed learners who can integrate knowledge from multiple fields.

Course Content

While precise content will vary from semester to semester depending on what presentations occur during Convocation, Convocation Plus will, each semester, have a three-part structure:
1. Online, introductory modules about the habits of the mind the class will focus on.
2. On-going work during the semester: presenting research reports, attending in-person discussions, and having lunch with presenters.
3. An end-of-the-semester class meeting and final reflection paper.