Hutchinson Central Technical High School

Course Syllabus

Course Name: Electricity/Electronics 1,2

Instructor: Paul R. Morley            Contact Time: 8:12-8:53         Phone Ext: 1516

Grading Policy
The grades are based as follows:

10 points - Homework assignments
20 points - Notebook/Journal
20 points - In-class written quizzes
20 points - Lab assignments
30 points - Classroom participation -- This includes oral in-class quizzes (5 points), lab assignments (5 points), discussion participation (5 points) and daily theory and on-line assignments (5 points) attendance and behavior (20 points)

The end of Semester 1 and 2 have a final exam session. This constitutes 50% of the quarterly grade. Homework, in-class quizzes and other assignments are incorporated into the class participation grade when there is a final exam.

This policy has been revised effective October 2009


Electricity/Electronics Semester Exams

This course has a comprehensive exam for each semester of instruction. The Semester final exams are open-book exams.

The final course grade is considered with three criteria. The written exam is 50% of course grade computation, the project assigned is 30%, and the quarterly grades are averaged for the remaining 20%

A student's Hutch-Tech grade is a compilation of those items listed in the beginning of this section. It is the Hutch-Tech grade and diploma that colleges and universities review, especially for final admissions and award/retraction of scholarships. The class participation grade adds tremendous weight to the Hutch-Tech diploma. Furthermore, failure to successfully complete this course can result in denial of graduation ceremony participation and other privileges, and, depending on sequencing, may require summer school in other Science courses to satisfy New York State graduation requirements.


Course passing requires a 65% or better grade.

GENERAL COMMENTS

ALL students will be expected to practice a high degree of safety at ALL times. Any unsafe act or behavior will be referred to the appropriate administrator for disposition.


Attendance is considered in accordance with current district policies. Each student has the responsibility to be in my class at the appropriately scheduled time, to be prepared for said class and to participate meaningfully. Failure to attend a sufficient percentage of classes results in students missing invaluable material, with only limited make-up time available.


Students will be expected to behave according to established district, school and my classroom standards--WITHOUT EXCEPTION! Students shall practice common rules of courtesy that are necessary in group settings to avoid disruption of the learning environment and necessary to avoid offending others in any manner, shape, or form. This includes, but is NOT limited to, loud talking, inappropriate gestures, behavior, language or dress, and inappropriate public displays of affection.

ALL my classroom rules MUST be followed without question. This is necessary to establish proper order and a good place which is conducive to technical learning. It will also help instill a sense of personal responsibility in all students and help prepare them for higher education and/or employment in the "real" world

All computer usage will be governed by the Buffalo School District's Internet Usage policy and WILL be adhered to by students in my class at all times. Failure to follow this policy explicitly will result in a student being denied classroom computer usage for a MINIMUM of 10 academic days and will result in a ZERO for a grade for any assignments during the 10-day time frame. It may also result in a course failure.

Two (2) suspensions due to violations of course computer usage policies WILL result in quarterly and/or course failure.


A few words should be mentioned at this point on academic dishonesty and plagiarism, as they have a SEVERE impact on grading. ALL students have the responsibility to complete and submit their own work. Dishonesty and plagiarism is defined as follows: copying or stealing another person's work and submitting as one's own; allowing another person to copy one's own work and submit it as their own; doing another person's classwork, creating more than one copy of one's work and allowing it to be used by someone else as their own; copying or stealing teachers' answer keys, test keys, or teachers' edition texts; cheating or providing another person with the answers on tests or quizzes; altering any document already assessed; altering any records/grade book; or any other method used in not being honest with the work one does. In short, if you get caught---you get a ZERO!



The work in this class can be extremely demanding. You, as students, can communicate with me in a couple of ways, and I will give you all assistance which I can muster. First, you can see me in my classroom (Rm 516) anytime between 7:15 AM and 7:50 AM daily. I can also be reached occasionally after school hours in my classroom. The other method is to contact me via e-mail at pmorley@buffaloschools.org . I can give you assurance of a reply prior to the next class meeting with me. In any case, I am here to help YOU become a successful Hutch Tech student. These are my expectations of you, and should be yours also. I look forward to a productive year.

Homework Policy
Homework is an integral part of the course, as the volume of material can, at times, be voluminous and challenging. Thus, a percentage of grade is assigned to it. Furthermore, it is invaluable as a reinforcing learning tool. I expect that each student will strive to accomplish all assigned homework in a timely manner. A good percentage of the course requires reading the curriculum at home. THIS IS HOMEWORK. You are expected to be prepared for class based on previously assigned readings. If, for some reason, a student is absent on days in which homework is assigned or due, it is his/her responsibility to contact me for appropriate work and a revised due date. If a student has already been assigned the homework, and is absent on the due date, I expect the assignment to be turned in the FIRST day of arrival after the absence. Other late submissions will not be accepted.

Test Policy
There are end-of chapter exams throughout the course. These end-of chapter exams are open-book, open-notes variety and students are usually given 2 academic periods to complete each exam, depending on material difficulty. Traditionally, it takes about 1 to 1 1/4 periods to accomplish them. Each test is worth 100 points. As with all tests, absolute silence is maintained as long as there is someone testing, whether you have completed the test or not. Warnings need not be given. A grade of zero can and will be administered to students who violate this policy, especially if a warning has been issued prior.

The Semester final exams are open-book, open-notes exams and are graded in accordance with the policy listed in the grading section of this syllabus. It usually takes almost the entire two assigned periods to complete the exams.

It is the student's responsibility to inquire about making up any quizzes, labs or tests he/she misses due to excused/unexcused absences. Written test/quizzes and practical labs not made up within a reasonable amount of time will be marked as a zero. A reasonable time is generally considered to be a week or less, though this may be extended under unusual circumstances. Generally, there is no makeup sessions for final exams, but circumstances beyond student control (hospitalization etc) and/or exam availability will be taken into account. This is done on a case-by-case basis. ALL MAKEUP TIMES ARE FROM 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM MONDAYS THROUGH THURSDAYS.


Absolutely no makeups will be done in class or study hall through the day.

Quiz Policy
Quizzes provide both teacher and students feedback as to mastery of subject matter. This course uses a combination of oral and written quizzes, given at occasional intervals, to ascertain student comprehension and to assist the teacher in providing further clarification of specific topics and sub-topics. Students are encouraged to use any and all academic resources available (notes, on-line curriculum, textbook) to enhance their learning.

Projects
There is a variety of laboratory assignments, both written and hands-on, to further the theoretical material presented in the classroom and on-line. These assignments include, but are not limited to:


Residential electrical drawings
Electrical component identification
Electrical network configuration and testing
Troubleshooting procedures
Computer electrical workbench setup and operation



Each student is required to maintain a notebook of their own handwritten notes. I do NOT consider the downloading and re-printing of curriculum as being sufficient for an acceptable notebook. Although invaluable to you if a computer is unavailable, it does not take the place of appropriate diagrams, examples and research material presented in class.


Furthermore, NY State mandates an "exit portfolio" of tech and vocational students. The exit portfolio consists of a problem-solving scenario, a formal paper and an electrical floor plan of a two (2) story residence which incorporates their studies throughout the year. These are due the final meeting week of the school year.