Critique my course descriptions

[daijobu]

How do these sound?  

 

(I just noticed that when the instructor of a course is me, I didn't list an instructor.  Should I?)

 

PreCalculus

Introduction and evaluation of trigonometric functions, trigonometric identities, geometry with trigonometry, parametric equations, special coordinate systems, complex numbers, exponential form of complex numbers, De Moivre's Theorem, roots of unity, geometry with complex numbers, two-dimensional and three-dimensional vectors and matrices, determinants, dot and cross product, applications of vectors and matrices to geometry.

Text: Precalculus by Richard Rusczyk (Art of Problem Solving)

 

AP Chemistry

College Board approved online course in preparation for AP Chemistry exam. 

Topics include: mass relationships in chemical reactions, reactions in aqueous solutions, properties of gases, thermochemistry, electron structure of the atom, periodic relationships, chemical bonding, organic chemistry, intermolecular forces, physical properties of solutions, chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium and solubility, acid-base equilibria, entropy, free energy and equilibrium, electrochemistry.

Instructor: Peter Moskaluk
Online Course: PA Homeschoolers/Chem Advantage
Text: Chemistry by Raymond Chang

 

History of the Renaissance and Early Modern World

A survey of world history from the capture of Constantinople until 1800, covering the European Renaissance, the Reformation, European explorations in the New World, the rise of slavery and African resistance, the Elizabethan Age, unification and isolation in Japan and China, the Moghul empire of India, Ottoman threats to the West, the Enlightenment, the American Revolution and establishment of the United States, the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, the foundations of the British empire, and the increasing influence of industrialization.

Instructor:  Jennifer Roudabush, PhD
Online Course:  Well-Trained Mind Academy
Texts: Asia: A Concise History by Arthur Cotterell
America: A Concise History, Vol. 1: To 1877 by James A. Henretta and Rebecca Edwards.
India: A History by John Keay
A History of Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present by John Merriman

[regentrude]

Sound OK.

For courses by an outside provider, I have always used their published course descriptions.

[EKS]

For courses that *you* are giving the initial credit for (meaning that another institution is not giving credit that you are transferring), I would refer to the instructor as though they were a resource.  Here is my course description for a Derek Owens class:

 

The honors option of this course was taken with Derek Owens (www.derekowens.com) who provided video lectures, a course workbook, homework assignments, quizzes, chapter tests, and semester exams.  The course covered material typically studied a second year algebra course and included the following topics:  equations and inequalities; linear functions and equations; systems of equations; quadratic functions; polynomials and polynomial functions; powers, roots, and radicals; exponential and logarithmic functions; rational equations and functions; conic sections; sequences and series; trigonometric ratios and functions; trigonometric graphs, identities, and equations.  The course used materials developed by Mr. Owens that are based on the material in the textbook Algebra 2: Applications, Equations, Graphs by Ron Larson, Laurie Boswell, Timothy D. Kanold, and Lee Stiff.  (1 credit)

[hollyhock]

Thanks for posting these. It's helpful for me to see examples. :)

[Kareni]

Thanks for posting these. It's helpful for me to see examples. :)

 

If you'd like to see more examples, hollyhock, send me a personal message with your email address and I'll email mine.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

If you'd like to see more examples, hollyhock, send me a personal message with your email address and I'll email mine.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Any chance I could get them too?

[Kareni]

Any chance I could get them too?

 

Definitely.  The offer is open to all.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angie in VA]

Five years ago First Born was a high school senior. The transcript didn't scare me, but the course descriptions and counselor letter overwhelmed me. I used several things by Lee Binz, and an angel helped me via email. That angel is a WTMer and her name is Kareni. 

 

I saw the subject line on the main page and could also see that Kareni had responded, so I knew the OP was in good hands. 

 

It's been 5 years and I'm still grateful. I have no doubt I'd have been put away in an asylum w/o the help I got. I  :001_wub:  Kareni!

Edited October 2, 2017 by Angie in VA

[Kareni]

Thanks for the kind words, Angie; you are and were very welcome.

 

I too had the help of many other homeschoolers.  It's nice to now be on the other side of the equation!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angie in VA]

Thanks for the kind words, Angie; you are and were very welcome.

 

I too had the help of many other homeschoolers.  It's nice to now be on the other side of the equation!

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

It is great being on this side!

 

It was truly a breeze for Second Child. Of course, I credit you for that too!

[mirabillis]

I'm another recipient of Kareni's help (as well as many other generous boardies here). I hope that by 2020 when my eldest enters university, I'll have a success story to tell and can share all of what I did to help others too. :-) Thank you too!!

[Pistachio mom]

I have written course descriptions year by year for my hs student. Some have to be long - especially for Veritas Omnibus.  Does anyone know if there is a limit for size for the college applications? I too used Lee Binz' materials as my template.

 

BTW, I do like the idea of including the online teacher as a resource, since technically -  the class was still taken at home.

[llama]

I have written course descriptions year by year for my hs student. Some have to be long - especially for Veritas Omnibus.  Does anyone know if there is a limit for size for the college applications? I too used Lee Binz' materials as my template.

 

BTW, I do like the idea of including the online teacher as a resource, since technically -  the class was still taken at home.

 

Yes, I would be interested in knowing about a size limit as well, particularly for the common application.  Do all (core and elective) course descriptions need to be included?

Thank you

 

[historymatters]

When you combine texts and Great Courses as resources, do you put the course titles with it on the course description or listed on a separate form with other media?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I have written course descriptions year by year for my hs student. Some have to be long - especially for Veritas Omnibus. Does anyone know if there is a limit for size for the college applications? I too used Lee Binz' materials as my template.

 

BTW, I do like the idea of including the online teacher as a resource, since technically - the class was still taken at home.

I kept each of my descriptions at less than a page. Even the history and English courses with lots of books could be trimmed to a half page each. I only listed the most significant works used (not every article, story and poem) and I only have author and title for most texts listed.

 

There may be a file size limit within the Common App. I uploaded course descriptions as a file in one of the slots for transcript.

 

There is also a practical limit for what an admissions officer is willing and able to read. Most I've talked to want some additional info beyond a transcript, but I tried to keep the whole documentation package I provided at 12 pages or less. (Transcript, course descriptions and school profile were 8-12 pages counted together.)

 

A course description tells the overview fornthe content of a class, the length and level, if you used an outside provider and some of the texts or resources used. It doesn't give a daily or weekly schedule of assignments.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

When you combine texts and Great Courses as resources, do you put the course titles with it on the course description or listed on a separate form with other media?

I did not use separate forms. The description (between a couple sentences to a full paragraph) was followed by a list of texts/resources used. None of my descriptions was longer than a half page.

 

I also didn't list every item used. Some great courses were listed and some were not. It varied depending on how essential the GC series was for that course and how many other things I had to list.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Yes, I would be interested in knowing about a size limit as well, particularly for the common application. Do all (core and elective) course descriptions need to be included?

Thank you

 

I had a description for every course on my transcript. Even when than meant I was drawing heavily from outside provider or community college course descriptions.

 

I don't know which schools read everything and which read a couple entries that they wanted more info on.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

There have been some good threads about course descriptions and transcripts over the last couple years.

 

This one has some good detail and isn't too old.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/623515-course-descriptions/

[lisabees]

Yes, I would be interested in knowing about a size limit as well, particularly for the common application.  Do all (core and elective) course descriptions need to be included?

Thank you

 

 

Yes, there is a limit of 2000 KB for each of the four "transcript" uploads. Sometimes I include electives, if it reveals an important element of the big picture. A regular gym class or health class? Nah. 

 

When you combine texts and Great Courses as resources, do you put the course titles with it on the course description or listed on a separate form with other media?

 

Include the titles of the Great Courses under Materials Used, which is part of my course description.

 

As far as length, I typically keep the descriptions to a half page in length.  

 

Another note: Many homeschoolers list course descriptions by subject, rather than date, putting the most "impressive" or "impactful" or "intensive" first.  This is a great way to highlight your student's interests and strengths. In addition, admissions officers may not read through all of them, so it is important to front-load the best ones.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Yes, there is a limit of 2000 KB for each of the four "transcript" uploads. Sometimes I include electives, if it reveals an important element of the big picture. A regular gym class or health class? Nah. 

 

 

Include the titles of the Great Courses under Materials Used, which is part of my course description.

 

As far as length, I typically keep the descriptions to a half page in length.  

 

Another note: Many homeschoolers list course descriptions by subject, rather than date, putting the most "impressive" or "impactful" or "intensive" first.  This is a great way to highlight your student's interests and strengths. In addition, admissions officers may not read through all of them, so it is important to front-load the best ones.

 

FWIW, just in the category of different approaches...  I didn't list PE or health as a course at all.  I didn't try to teach a class in these subjects or count hours.  We just did active things and talked about healthy living as it came up.  

 

The elective slots in my kids' transcripts were more history, literature, and foreign language courses.  The two that didn't fit into a category and were actually marked as electives were Fine Arts Survey and Computer Science.  I did include a course description for these, just to show what the content had been.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Here are a couple sample course descriptions:

 

General Chemistry I (H*** Community College Chem 161, 3 Credits) and General Chemistry I Laboratory (H*** Community College Chem 161L, 1 Credit):  Chem 161 is one semester college course that covers basic principles of chemistry including stoichiometry; introduction to solution phase chemistry; gas phase chemistry; introduction to thermodynamics, including enthalpies of formation and reaction; introduction to atomic structure, periodic trends, chemical bonding, and molecular structure.  Chem 161L is a 3 hr lab session that

provides laboratory experiments illustrating concepts of chemistry discussed in CHEM 161.  This course is being taken on campus at H*** Community College as an Early Admission student (dual enrollment) in Fall 2016.  By taking both lecture and lab together the student will earn 4 college credits and 1 high school credit.

Textbooks:

Burns, Ralph. Fundamentals of Chemistry in the Laboratory, 4e, Prentice Hall 2002.

Tro, Nivaldo. Chemistry: A Molecular Approach, 3e, Prentice Hall, 2013.

 

Biology with Lab: A year-long high school level biology course.  Topics studied include the nature of life, ecology, cells, genetics, evolutionary theory, microorganisms and fungi, plants, invertebrates, chordates, and the human body.  Lab work was incorporated into the course and included microscopy, growing bacteria cultures, genetics exercises and dissections.  Course also discussed bioethical considerations such as stem cell research, genetic engineering, and cloning.  Grade based on lab work and unit tests.

Textbook: 

Miller, Kenneth R., and Joseph S. Levine.  Prentice Hall Biology.  Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008.

 

Fine Arts Survey:  This one year high school level course provides an introduction to art and music.  This course combines art history, appreciation, and analysis with a goal of equipping the student for lifelong enjoyment of art and music forms.  Assessment includes analytical papers.  Field trips include The Getty Villa (Los Angeles), The World of Wearable Art exhibit at The Bishop Museum (Honolulu), and Hawaii Opera Theatre's performance of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Course incorporated online workshops on Greek architecture and Greek sculpture.

Textbooks:

Janson, Anthony F.  A History of Art for Young People.

Reynolds, Carol.  Exploring America's Musical Heritage.

Strickland, Carol.  The Annotated Mona Lisa.

Workshops:

Perfect Proportion:  Greek Sculpture.  The Lukeion Project.

Right Ratio:  Greek Architecture.  The Lukeion Project.

 

AP US History: A one-year, college level survey of US History from 1491 to the present.  Advances the student's understanding of US history by investigating significant events, individuals, developments and processes over various historical periods. Requires analysis and interpretation of primary sources, including period artwork, evaluation of historical scholarship, effective note taking, organization of information, and presentation of clear and concise arguments in writing.  Course includes unit quizzes, homework assignments, short essays and participation in discussions.  This course was approved as an official Advanced Placement course by College Board.

Selected Texts:

Kennedy, David.  The American Pageant, 15e, 2012.

Cobbs, Elizabeth.  Major Problems in American History, vols 1-2, 2006.

Dudley, William. Opposing Viewpoints in American History, vols 1-2, 2006.

Mann, Charles.  1491.

McCullough, David.  1776.

Advanced Placement US History exam (May 2016): Score */5

 

 

Algebra 1: A year-long class that covered the fundamental concepts of algebra.  Problem sets utilized a discovery approach to encourage an in-depth understanding of concepts and facilitate applications to real-world situations.  In addition to regular module tests, students participated in the AMC 8 Math Exam.  Concepts studied included: exponents and radicals, linear equations and inequalities, ratio and proportion, systems of linear equations, working with polynomials, and factoring quadratics.  This course also included an introduction to geometry and trigonometry.

Textbooks: 

Ruscyk, Richard. Introduction to Algebra.  Art of Problem Solving, Inc, 2010. (Chapters 1-11.  This text contains both Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 material.)

 

 

[lisabees]

Adding a couple of different "types" of courses.  First is an audit. Second is using MIT Open Courseware to self study for AP Exam. 

 

Differential Geometry (UPenn Audit) –– 1 Credit

Also known as Math 501 at the University of Pennsylvania, where this class will be taken. It is a graduate course that introduces the study of curved shapes inside of two and three-dimensional space. The course will first look at curves in the plane and study both their local and global properties, culminating in results such as the isoperimetric inequality and four-vertex theorem. Next, it will move on to curves in three-space, proving the Fary–Milnor theorem. The true heart of the course will occur when it studies surfaces in three-space and quantify their curvature. It will conclude with topics on the global differential geometry of surfaces, most notably the Gauss–Bonnet theorem.

 

Course website: http://www.dma.unifi.it/~verdiani/penn2016/guide.html

Official syllabus from previous year: https://www.math.upenn.edu/~brweber/Courses/2014/465_501/CourseFiles/Math501Syllabus.pdf

 

Course materials include:

• Differential Geometry: A First Course in Curves and Surfaces, by T. Shifrin

 

 

Physics: Mechanics (MIT OpenCourseWare) –– 0.5 Credits

This course is an introduction to classical mechanics. It involves watching lectures and supplemental videos, reading lecture notes, and working through problem sets using course materials from MIT OpenCourseWare.

Topics include: straight-line kinematics; motion in a plane; forces and static equilibrium; particle dynamics, with force and conservation of momentum; relative inertial frames and non-inertial force; work, potential energy and conservation of energy; kinetic theory and the ideal gas law; rigid bodies and rotational dynamics; vibrational motion; conservation of angular momentum; central force motions; fluid mechanics.

This course was self-studied in preparation for the AP Physics C: Mechanics exam. Score: 5

Course materials include:

• 8.01SC, MIT OpenCourseWare –– http://mirror.mit-ocw.sbu.ac.ir/courses/physics/8-01sc-physics-i-classical-mechanics-fall-2010/

[historymatters]

What if you use a Great Courses course alongside an online course (under a subject, like Introduction to Formal Logic)? I use the online course description, but that's not the GC description, plus it's a different instructor.

Am I making myself clear?

 

It seems unclear for me to put the GC under the 'resource used' section with the online courses materials. Currently, I have it as an "Additional resources" along with its own description, after the scope and sequence of the online course.

I don't know a better way. Any ideas?

 

Maybe I will post an example when I get to my computer (using my phone to post this).

 

Also, do you put the book chapters under 'Scope and Sequence' of a text that is used? It's mentioned above not to, but I was wondering if anyone did.

Edited November 26, 2017 by historymatters

[Sebastian (a lady)]

What if you use a Great Courses course alongside an online course (under a subject, like Introduction to Formal Logic)? I use the online course description, but that's not the GC description, plus it's a different instructor.

Am I making myself clear?

 

It seems unclear for me to put the GC under the 'resource used' section with the online courses materials. Currently, I have it as an "Additional resources" along with its own description, after the scope and sequence of the online course.

I don't know a better way. Any ideas?

 

Maybe I will post an example when I get to my computer (using my phone to post this).

 

Also, do you put the book chapters under 'Scope and Sequence' of a text that is used? It's mentioned above not to, but I was wondering if anyone did.

 

If the online course provides a grade that you are using as the course grade, I don't think you need to include the GC info.  

If you are using the online course plus the GC series as parts of a course you are grading, then you could use the GC info or not, depending on how much you think it adds.

 

I didn't list all of the text chapter headings, but I did refer to some of them to get brief topic info (see the Algebra 1 example above).

[JanetC]

For AP, you can just say "follows AP syllabus" and be done.

[historymatters]

How about the idea of putting these extra GC courses which are in addition to an online graded course, on a "media list," which I would separate by subject, alongside the documentaries?

Edited November 27, 2017 by historymatters

[Sebastian (a lady)]

How about the idea of putting these extra GC courses which are in addition to an online graded course, on a "media list," which I would separate by subject, alongside the documentaries?

 

I didn't create a separate reading list as part of the course descriptions/transcript packet*.  The works used as part of each course were listed with the course.  I did not have a separate media list.  I did mention Great Courses lectures in the body of a couple descriptions, and I listed some short online workshops as resources for the Fine Arts Survey description.

 

I didn't have any courses where Great Courses series were a main part of the course.  Even the one that used them most heavily had a lot of readings too.

 

I think you would be find to list "Resources Used" and list the online course, the Great Course title and any books you used.  

 

*DS1 did have one school that wanted a booklist.  He submitted that through the student application side, not as part of the counselor provided transcript/course description.  That included non-textbooks used for school (ex. books read for English and history) as well as his independent reading.  He included several magazines and newspapers that he read regularly.

 

This is one of my longest course descriptions.  We used GC lectures from several different series, including the Civil War, Utopia and Terror and Victorian Britain.  I didn't list the courses used, because we picked specific lectures rather than using a full GC series as a spine for the course.  And I already had a lot of books that I thought would indicate more about the level of the course than the GC title (which an admissions reader might not be familiar with). (The company was still mostly going by The Teaching Company rather than Great Courses when I wrote this description.)

 

Modern World and US History: A one-year, high school level course that covered US history in a world context from 1850 to 1991.  Topics included the Mexican War, the Civil War and Reconstruction, industrialization and the Gilded Age, Victorian England, World War I, the Depression, the Weimar Republic, the rise of fascism, World War II, and the Cold War era.  Course included extensive readings in period literature, memoirs, and secondary histories, as well as a lectures from relevant Teaching Company courses.  Field trips included Harper's Ferry, Antietam, Fredericksburg, USS Monitor Center, Richmond and Cold Harbor Battlefield, Gettysburg, National Museum of the Marine Corps, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the US Navy, National Archives, US Naval Academy Museum, National Air and Space Museum, and Underground Railroad Museum.  Assessments included discussion and essay papers.

Selected Texts:

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Kagan, Donald. The Western Heritage.

London, Jack. The Call of the Wild.

McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era.

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front.

Shaara, Jeff. Gone for Soldiers.

Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle.

Solzhenit︠s︡yn, Aleksandr Isaevich. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Wouk, Herman. The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II.

 

What I think you could do is either have a heading of Resources Used and list the GC series there.  Or you could list Texts and then Media.  Remember that you are trying to convey an overview of course content and level of difficulty, not provide a detailed syllabus.  I don't think there is anything wrong with listing the Great Courses series you've used.  Just try to keep your description tight and easy to understand.

 

(FWIW, I did design several courses that I had approved as Advanced Placement courses.  I did specify individual GC lectures on the syllabuses for those courses.  But that went to College Board for course approval, and wasn't part of what I submitted to support college appliciations.)