Effective Spring 2025

WEEKLY LEARNING MODULES:  Each week you will have a learning module with multiple assignments and opportunities to participate in class.  The modules open Monday at 8am and close Sunday at 11:59pm.  If you do not fully complete a module, you will lose participation points.

DISCUSSIONS:  You will have two types of discussions each week.  One is a written discussion and the other is an asynchronous video discussion via FlipGrid. There are two parts to each discussion.  The first part, your initial response to the discussion question, is due by Thursday at 11:59pm each week.  The second part of the discussion, responses to peers, is due by Sunday at 11:59pm each week.

HOMEWORK:  Title V regulations mandate that “degree applicable” courses require “A minimum of 3 hours of work per unit, per week, including class time, prorated for short-term, lab, and activity classes.”  Students need to be aware of homework requirements.  For accelerated classes, this weekly amount is doubled since the class is half-term and proceeds at twice the usual rate. So, this class should occupy 18 hours of your week. This is a half-time job, but it is only for a half-a-semester. Block out your time and use a calendar to manage your schedule. Falling behind is often the beginning of the end. Stay on task. Ask for help if you don’t understand an assignment, have tech problems, or need to be connected with the many student resources that Shasta College offers. You can do this. Don’t quit because you’re reluctant to seek help! College can be complicated! But there are helpful people here.

ASSIGNED READINGS:  All readings for the course are listed on the class calendar.  You are expected to have assigned readings completed when you attend class each day.  

INTRODUCTION:  Introduce yourself!  Tell us something cool about you.  Speak for two minutes about you and who you are. This will be done via FlipGrid. You’ll need to create a free account. Don’t delay.

HOT TOPICS:  You will research the news pertaining to different cultures and find a “Hot Topic” issue or story that is currently taking place.  You will present the article to the class via FlipGrid and discuss the implications of the story and why it is important culturally to that specific location. This assignment is not just you reading the news article to the class, but putting this information in your own words and offering additional analysis to the class. Each presentation/video recording should be 4-8 minutes.

JOURNAL ENTRIES: Throughout the semester you will write online the equivalent of two 2-3 paged typed (double spaced) papers based on an intercultural prompt provided to you. You will be particularly responsible for raising relevant issues and making connections with the readings, class discussions, etc. Each section of the journal will be turned on assigned due dates.  Your thoughts should be developed and your paper should be clearly written. 

LIBRARY RESEARCH PROCESS JOURNAL: The purpose of this assignment is to have you document the steps, decisions, and rationale behind your research methods. You should keep track of this as the paper will be due near the end of the term..

FACTS ONLY:  Throughout the course we will watch several movies to guide you through different cultures.  You will write out 10 facts you learned from the movie.  Each well-written and complete fact is worth one point.  You can write an additional 5 facts for 5 points of extra credit and a total of 15 points out 10 possible points. The page length is 1.5 to 2 pages, or 300-500 words.  

FINAL PRESENTATION: The purpose of this assignment is to share both a written analysis, submitted as a formal, APA-style paper, and an effective public speaking presentation. Your presentation is NOT a reading of the paper! Your informative presentation which is a deep-dive into a specific culture that you’ve chosen, subject to the instructor’s approval.  You may work individually or in groups of up to three students.  Each part of the presentation will need 5 oral citations per student. The overall length of this presentation will be between 10-15 minutes, total, depending the team’s and class size. If you work alone, you can expect to take 7-9 minutes, again, depending on class size. This time will be announced several weeks in advance.

QUIZZES:  Each module will have quizzes associated with the readings in the module.  Quizzes must be completed by Sunday at 11:59pm.  There are no make-ups for quizzes.