Washington School for the Deaf

 

Instructor Information

Professor: Daniel Swartz, Ph. D., CI, CT, SC:L, ED:K-12 
Office Hours:   By Appointment
Phone: (928) 277-9910  (Personal phone/text)
Email: daniel.swartz@yc.edu 

 

Textbook and Course Material

Required Text

• Here is the text you will need for this class.  We will be using it from Day One! 
  
  

  Signing Naturally Level 1 Units 1-6 workbook and video by Cheri Smith, Ella Mae Lentz, and Ken Mikos. ISBN:9781581212105

  
  As a hint to shopping for books, if you copy and paste the ISBN (the unique ID number) into a search field in your favorite search engine, you will be presented with a choice of different places and much different prices from which you can find the book. 
  DO NOT BUY USED COPIES OF THIS TEXT – YOU MUST HAVE THE DVDS AND ACCESS CODE THAT COME WITH THE TEXT
  
  

Recommended Texts & Other Readings

• LifePrint is a good source for practicing your ASL - free
• SignLanguage101 is a good site with lots of practice videos - free
• theASLapp is a free mobile app for iOS.
  
  

Course Requirements

• DVD player to view the DVDs from your textbook every day.  In lieu of a DVD player, you can get by with the access to Dawn Sign Press's website, which has all videos online.  Note: In the rear of the text is an access code you can use to view the videos online.

 

Course Description

Principles, methods, and techniques of American Sign Language skills, with emphasis on developing visual/receptive skills and basic communication.

Course Content

• Historical events within the deaf community
• Signed communication systems used in America
• Causes of deafness
• Receptive and expressive skill development
• Topicalization
• • Classifiers
  • Eye gaze
  • Nonverbal expressions
  • Gestures
  • Sign vocabulary
  • Fingerspelling
  • Number systems
  • Time indicators
  • Directional verbs

Learning Outcomes

• Outline the role of ASL in the deaf community.
• Describe various communication systems.
• Explain the importance of non-manual grammar in ASL.
• Employ the appropriate techniques within ASL with respect to attending, attention-getting, turn-taking, interrupting, and maintaining appropriate signing space.
• Engage in simple conversations in ASL about topics such as family background, routine activities, and occupations.
• Apply various forms of non-manual grammar and correct syntax for yes/no questions, wh-word questions, simple topical sentences, assertion, and negation.
• Use head, eye gaze, and body shifting to indicate direct address, comparisons, contrasts, and topic shifts.
• Use and comprehend descriptive, pronominal, and plural classifiers in context.
• Use and comprehend eye gazing in referencing.
• Use personal and possessive pronouns in context.
• Use space when referencing.
• Identify the object and subject when directional verbs are used.
• Use and comprehend specified core vocabulary in context.

 

Student Success

To succeed in this class, a student should:

• View all video lectures
• Use their workbook/text everyday
• Practice with their ASL videos daily.

 

Course Communication Expectations

Yavapai College provides enrolled students with an official username@scholar.yc.edu email address. Yavapai College requires enrolled students to utilize the YC email system for official college-related communications. Students are expected to check their Yavapai College email account as directed by their instructor. If you need assistance, go to Information Technology Services or 928.776.2168 (www.yc.edu/its).

Students will be provided every opportunity to exchange ideas and express concerns with the instructor.  As such, communication will be achieved as follows:

• Activity Feedback: I will use the activities you complete to create opportunities to discuss the learning objectives you are attaining.  If for some reason your homework misses the mark, I will leave you feedback identifying what you can do in order to rework and then submit your assignment again.  Please be sure to look for that feedback; you will be glad you do!   My goal is to assess your submissions within a week of the assignments’ due dates.  That is my goal… 
• Computer Commons: Check the different Commons for their hours as they are different in their various locations.  The phone numbers are listed later in this document.  Bear in mind, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, Computer Commons hours may be extremely limited or non-existent.
• Office Hours: To see instructor contact information and office hours, please review the contact information on the top of this page.
• Announcements: I will use the Announcements area in Canvas to broadcast course related information to everyone in the class. Please check the Announcements frequently.  I strongly recommend checking at least every other day if not every day; I often post questions that your classmates have asked with the answer I sent.  I find students will have similar questions- you never know what you will find!  I will not automatically email all announcements to you- you must take the initiative and see the Announcements posted.
• E-Mail: This is the primary method through which I will communicate with you, and with which you should communicate with me. You should check your YC e-mail account each day as important course information might be waiting for you. During weekdays, I will do my best to respond to student messages within 24-36 hours. Over weekends, my goal is to respond to e-mails within 48 hours. Students should make every effort to respond to instructor messages within two business days.
• Do you know your Netiquette?  For a refresher, click here: https://www.yc.edu/v5content/teaching-and-elearning-support/students/best-practices.htmLinks to an external site.

 

 

Grading Policy

Grades

Percentage	Description
15%	Attendance/Required Zoom/WebLive Class Meetings:  You are required to attend all class meetings, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:30-7:30 PM (MST).  Attendance will be taken.
25%	Homework Assignments:  Unit assignments will let you practice and prepare for unit assessments (exams).  They will also let your instructor know if you fully understand the material before you will take your assessment (exam).
30%	Unit Exams:  We will cover approximately one unit every two weeks.  At the conclusion of each unit (with the exception of unit 6), you will take your assessments, which are three (3) exams per unit:  grammar; expressive; and receptive.  These exams are meant to measure your ability to express and comprehend the material that was covered in each unit.   The lowest exam grade will be dropped and not calculated into your final grade.
20%	Final Exams:  At the conclusion of the semester you will take two (2) exams on Canvas:  knowledge-based; and receptive skill.  These exams will measure your understanding of the grammar and Deaf Culture covered during the semester, as well as your ability to understand ASL as it is signed to you.  In order to receive a final/course grade of C or better, you must taken both of these final exams.
10%	Final Expressive Video:  The final expressive video will be signed in ASL.  You will be given explicit directions that you must follow to submit your final video, as well as your glosses.
100%	Total Percentage Possible

 

Late Work

Late lecture attendance and homework assignments are accepted, but are deducted 10% per day that they are late.  So, if they are 10 days late, that results in a zero.

Late unit exams will not be accepted, with very rare exceptions.  Rare exceptions are:

• Illness confirmed with doctor's note
• Hospitalization
• Death in the immediate family
• Death of your pet

 

Grading Timeframes

Grades will be posted on Canvas immediately after you complete each assignment, with the exception of those that require instructor review.  Grades for exams will be posted on on Canvas immediately upon completion, with the exception of your expressive (signed) exam, which must be evaluated and graded by your instructor.  

 

Letter Grade Assignment

Final grades assigned for this course will be based on the percentage of total points earned and are assigned as follows:

Grade Percentages

Letter Grade	Percentage	Performance
A	93-100%	Excellent Work
A-	90-92%	Nearly Excellent Work
B+	87-89%	Very Good Work
B	83-86%	Good Work
B-	80-82%	Mostly Good Work
C+	77-79%	Above Average Work
C	73-76%	Average Work
C-	70-72%	Mostly Average Work
D+	67-69%	Below Average Work
D	60-66%	Poor Work
F	0-59%	Failing Work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Institutional Policies and Instructor Procedures

Faculty Response Time:

I will do my best to address student correspondence within 24 hours.

COVID-19:

All students need to be aware of and comply with the safety and operational protocols for COVID-19 while on Yavapai College’s campuses or centers. Safety protocols can be found at https://www.yc.edu/v6/college-police/covid-19/reentry/.

Student Email:

Yavapai College provides enrolled students with an official username@scholar.yc.edu email address. Yavapai College requires enrolled students to utilize the YC email system for official college-related
communications. Students are expected to check their Yavapai College email account as directed by their instructor. If you need assistance, go to Information Technology Services or 928.776.2168 (www.yc.edu/its).

Attendance for Zoom and WebLive Class Meetings

Students are expected to attend and participate in all class meetings, laboratories, and field trips. A student who expects to be absent due to a school-sponsored activity must make prior arrangements with the instructor. A student who does not adhere to the instructor’s and College’s attendance and participation requirements should be dropped/withdrawn from the course as defined in the Yavapai College General Catalog. If the student is not withdrawn from the class, a grade will be entered on the student’s permanent record. The last date of attendance will need to be documented.

Withdraw:

A student initiated withdrawal deadline is established by the College. If a student has not withdrawn from a class by the deadline, a student will receive the letter grade earned in the course at the end of the semester. An instructor can choose to withdraw a student from the class after the deadline depending upon the instructor’s withdrawal policy. If a student does not follow official procedures for withdrawing from a course, earned grades will be posted on the student’s permanent record. Faculty initiated withdrawals for non-attendance are in place for both the benefit of the college in assuring compliance with financial aid requirements and to benefit students. When students do not participate in classes during the first week of the semester, faculty will withdraw them from their classes unless they have been in contact with faculty member. At FTSE date, faculty should withdraw students that have not been attending. Academic Calendar: https://www.yc.edu/v6/registrar/calendar.html

Academic Integrity:

Honesty in academic work is a central element of the learning environment. It is expected that students will submit their own work.  The presentation of another individual’s work as one’s own or the act of seeking unfair academic advantage through cheating, plagiarism or other dishonest means are violations of the College’s Student Code of Conduct.  Definitions of plagiarism, cheating, and violation of copyright and penalties for violation are available in the Yavapai College Student Code of Conduct.

Student Code of Conduct:

All students need to be aware of and comply with the safety and operational protocols for COVID-19 while at Yavapai College’s campuses and centers. Safety protocols can be found at https://www.yc.edu/v6/college-police/covid19/reentry/.  Respect for the rights of others and for the College and its property are fundamental expectations for every student. The Student Code of Conduct outlines behavioral expectations and explains the process for responding to allegations of student misconduct.

Students are expected to respond and write in a respectful, professional, and appropriate manner in all forms of communication and when activities are assigned to create scenarios, discuss opinions, present on a selected subject, or post to the web board. Inappropriate language or objectionable material will not be tolerated and could result in disciplinary measures and/or a failing grade for the class. (www.yc.edu/codeofconduct) 

Academic Complaint:

A student may appeal an academic or instructional decision by faculty if s/he deems the decision to be made in error. The appeal must be made in a timely manner in accordance with established procedures.  (http://www.yc.edu/academiccomplaints)

Civil Dialogue Statement:

Regardless of venue or delivery method, faculty must ensure and maintain an environment appropriate for higher education. To promote a positive educational experience, appropriate and civil communication is an expectation of all students. All communication must remain respectful. Language or behavior that is threatening, intimidating, harassing, defamatory, libelous, or obscene is unacceptable. Hate speech is prohibited. Failure to abide by these standards may result in disciplinary measures. Please see policy 10.10 for further detail.  

Acceptable Use: 

Yavapai College technological equipment and resources must be used in accordance with the Technology Resource Standards (5.27), Copyright Use (2.28) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing (5.26) policies.  Use of Yavapai College equipment and resources to illegally copy, download, access, print or store copyrighted material or download pornographic material is strictly prohibited. For example, file swapping of copyrighted material, such as music or movies is strictly prohibited. Users found to violate this policy will have their privileges to use Yavapai College technological equipment and resources revoked. (http://www.yc.edu/policies)

Mobile Devices:

Yavapai College is committed to providing a quality learning environment.  All cell phones and mobile devices must be placed in silent mode while in classrooms, computer labs, library, learning center, and testing areas.  Cell phones must be used outside these facilities. 

Smoking and Tobacco Use:

Yavapai College is committed to limiting exposure to the harmful effects of primary and secondary smoke to campus students, visitors, and employees. In order to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco use and to maintain a healthful working and learning environment, the College prohibits smoking, including vaping, on all campuses except in designated smoking areas as per the Smoking & Tobacco Use Policy (10.09).  (www.yc.edu/v6/policies/docs/1000d/1009-smoking.pdf)

Drug-Free Environment:

Yavapai College’s policy is to provide an environment free of drugs and alcohol. The use of il­legal drugs and abuse of alcohol pose significant threats to health and can be detrimental to the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the user and the entire Yavapai College community, and is prohibited. Campus Safety will be notified if a student exhibits an impaired state in the classroom environment.

Title IX - Sexual Misconduct:

Yavapai College does not deny or limit any student or employee the ability to participate in or benefit from any program offered by the institution on the basis of sex or gender. Sexual harassment, which includes acts of sexual violence such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual coercion, unwanted touching,  dating/relationship violence and stalking, are forms of gender-based discrimination prohibited by Title IX.  

The college encourages students and employees to report incidents of sexual misconduct as soon as possible to the Title IX Coordinator or to a Deputy Title IX Coordinator. Contact information for Coordinators can be found at Sexual Misconduct Resources. 

 

Accessibility and Privacy Statements

Disability Resources ensures qualified students with disabilities equal access and reasonable accommodations in all Yavapai College academic programs and activities. YC supports disability and accessibility awareness and promotes a welcoming environment to all. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and requires Yavapai College to make reasonable accommodations for those otherwise qualified individuals with a disability who request accommodations.  (http://www.yc.edu/disabilityresources)

Yavapai College is committed to providing educational support services to students with documented disabilities. Accommodations for a student must be arranged by the student through Disability Resources by phone 928.776.2085 or email disabilityresources@yc.edu.

Yavapai College and Accessibility Statements Click here

 

Technical and Academic Support

Free WiFi Locations in Yavapai County

Visit here to find free WiFi locations.

Internet Services for Students

A listing of offers from internet providers for students as a response to COVID-19.

Services and Facilities

An updated list indicating the status of Yavapai College services and facilities.

Hardware and Software Recommendations for Online Learning:

All course participants must possess the basic browser configurations necessary to learn online. While users do not need the most powerful or the most expensive browser available, they will require equipment that meets or exceeds the following specifications as outlined in the document found at the following link: https://www.yc.edu/v5content/teaching-and-elearning-support/students/hardware-software.htmLinks to an external site. 

• Additionally, you may need some of the following browser plug-ins:
• Adobe Acrobat Reader http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html (Links to an external site.)
  Apple Quick Time: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/index.html (Links to an external site.)
  Microsoft Media Player https://www.microsoft.com/en-pk/download/windows-media-player-details.aspx (Links to an external site.) 
• Real Networks RealPlayer http://www.real.com/player/index.html?src=downloadr (Links to an external site.)
• Shockwave, Flash & Authorware http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/ (Links to an external site.) 

Minimum Technical Skills: 

Since you're going to be using a computer to interface with the class, you have to be ready to use the machine to the best of your ability. This includes using the operating system well and becoming familiar with Canvas' various functions.  To review the minimum technical skills strongly suggested for all online learners, please go here: https://www.yc.edu/v5content/teaching-and-elearning-support/students/best-practices.htmLinks to an external site.

Student Support for Online Learning- Technical Support:  

We want you to be successful in every class you take at YC, and that includes the classes you don’t take on campus. Along with the guides below, there are video resources on this page and contact information for our Teaching and eLearning Department (TeLS). Please use the resources found following this link and please let us know how we can help:  https://www.yc.edu/v5content/teaching-and-elearning-support/students/default.htmLinks to an external site.

Student Academic Support and Student Services: 

The Student Development Division at Yavapai College supports the learning and development of all YC students through educational, cultural, and social programs, services, and opportunities. Whether you are taking classes for the first time, coming back to advance your career, or enjoying life-long learning, we are here to help you reach your educational goals.  To learn more, follow this link: https://www.yc.edu/v5content/registrar/student-academic-support.htmLinks to an external site.  Yavapai College offers free tutoring services for all currently enrolled YC students. To find out how to get further support go to the following link: https://www.yc.edu/v6/learning-center/tutoring-services.html

Acceptable use of equipment and resources: 

Yavapai College technological equipment and resources must be used in accordance with the Technology Resource Standards (5.27), Copyright Use (2.28) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing (5.26) policies.  Use of Yavapai College equipment and resources to illegally copy, download, access, print or store copyrighted material or download pornographic material is strictly prohibited. For example, file swapping of copyrighted material, such as music or movies is strictly prohibited. Users found to violate this policy will have their privileges to use Yavapai College technological equipment and resources revoked. http://www.yc.edu/policiesLinks to an external site.  

 

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Image License CC0, "Washington. School. For. T-H-E. Deaf." by daveynin is licensed under CC BY 2.0