US Government and Politics  PSCI 100

About the Textbook

American Government 

Description:

From Florida Atlantic university Department of Political Science comes an exciting new book that explores the role of government, politics, and policy ion American lives. Full of real life applications and scenarios, Lenz and Holmans provide a text intended to encourage and enable political thinking (a reflective stance toward the world that helps a person to critically consider and participate in politics). Numerous hyperlinks send students into real world websites for illumination and exploration.

One of the compelling things about the American Government text by Lenz and Holman is that it covers many of the basic elements needed in any introduction U.S. Government course. The text has concise chapters covering Congress, The Presidency, The Judiciary, and Federalism. As well as chapters highlighting The Media, Political Ideology, Public Policy, and Global Affairs. Information provided in American Government is an excellent review for those familiar with the U.S. Political System, and those who are studying our system of government for the first time. 

Authors:

• Timothy O. Lenz - Florida Atlantic University
• Mirya Holman - Florida Atlantic University

Formats: 

The book is only available in PDF format.

Supplemental resources:

I was using a supplemental pamphlet by the United States State Department, but the link is no longer available. 

Cost savings:  

I previously used We the People by Ginsberg, et al., which currently retails for $108 on Amazon. Since I teach around 500 students on an annual basis, this is a potential savings for students of $54,000.

License:

This work is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. This means you are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:  You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

About the Course

PSCI 100: US Government and Politics 

Description:  

The principles of the U.S. Constitution, and a survey of political institutions and processes that developed under it, including the legislature, the executive, the courts, state and local government, federalism, and civil liberties.

This course is designed to provide an overview of the principles of the U.S. Constitution, and a survey of political institutions and processes that developed under it, including the legislature, the executive, the courts, state and local government, federalism, and civil liberties. In addition this course will provide an overview of the workings of California State government.  It also serves as the key prerequisite for all of the upper division courses in political science that are American in focus.

Prerequisites: None

GE credit: 3 units

Learning outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course the student will be able to:   

• Develop an understanding of the political processes and institutions of U.S. and California government. 
• Develop an understanding of relationships between governmental institutions and nongovernmental actors such as political parties and interest groups as well as the effects of these relationships on political processes and outcomes. 
• Develop an understanding of constitutional rights, including landmark cases that address religious freedom and racial and gender equality as well as due process rights. 
• Develop strong written, critical thinking, and oral communications skills. 

Curricular changes:

I did change my textbook to an OER American Government text. This required me to read and review the text, rewrite the course syllabus, redo and modify the learning activities, and course assessments to coincide with the new OER text. However, instead of following the chapters as outlined in the text, I sequenced them to the order that I prefer to teach and present the material in. 

Teaching and learning impacts:

Collaborate more with other faculty: Yes
Use wider range of teaching materials: No
Student learning improved: No
Student retention improved: No
Any unexpected results: Yes

I find myself discussing with fellow faculty that teach the introduction to US Government course their options of switching to the OER text, instead of having their students purchase a selected textbook. So far the reception by fellow faculty has been lukewarm. 

After using the OER text for two semesters in different sections of the same course (enrollment varying from 45 to 120 students) I have not noticed a drastic difference in their overall grades. Student grades have stayed relatively the same throughout the semester.

Based on end of semester (Fall 2016) survey results approximately 40% to 45% of those students surveyed still preferred a hard copy text, but because of the cost savings with the OER text would continue to opt for the free online textbook. I also found out from the survey that about 1/3 of the students would print out the chapters as needed and read the printed copy instead of reading the PDF copy on their personal device.               

In focus group interviews with students it was also found that most of them did not use downloadable (PDF) textbooks in high school, but still used hardcopy texts. This would probably account for the high number of students that still preferred using a hardcopy text. 

As each new group of 1st year students enter the university it will be interesting to see if the favoritism for hardcopy textbooks decreases. I am currently waiting for the survey results from this semester (Spring 2017) to see if the results are the same or different from (Fall 2016) survey results. 

Students:

The vast majority of students taking US Government and Politics are First Year Students and Sophomores. However, I do occasionally get the Junior or Senior level student who has put off taking the course until the latter part of their undergraduate career. There is no particular academic major, but a wide arrangement of disciplines, which adds to the diversity of the student body within each class. As with most public universities the students come from a wide range of socio-economic, political, gender, and ethnic backgrounds. On average the classes are made up of about 60% female and 40% male students. I also tend to have a well-represented portion of each class that are international students. There are no prerequisites for the introductory US Government course. The limited amount of prior knowledge students have concerning US Government comes from past courses taken in High School. 

Sample assignments and syllabus:

Assignment 1
This is an assignment for a critical book review.

Assignment 2
This is an assignment for a small group daily news review.

Syllabus
This is the syllabus I used for Spring 2017.

Textbook Adoption

OER Adoption Process

I had been concerned for quite sometime about the rising cost of textbooks for my introductory course, and had been looking for ways to help reduce the overall cost of textbooks for my students. I had heard about the CALM program at CSUSM several times through workshops I took with the Instructional Development Department at the university. The workshop instructors would always belay the benefits of the CALM program and how much it helped reduce the cost of textbooks for students. Finally, I was also receiving campus emails encouraging me to apply for the program. Then last summer (2016) I met with Susan Wilson, a Senior Instructional Developer and member of the university’s CALM team. She explained the program to me and helped me locate several free OER textbook resources that would work for my course. She had me convinced that OER sources were the way to go for my students. I applied for the CALM program, adopted an OER textbook, and the rest is history. 

There were no major challenges in terms of support for switching to an OER textbook. However, as with switching to any new textbook there was a great deal of time (hours) spent preparing new material, syllabus, assessments, and projects to support the new OER text.

Student access:  

Most students used the PDF online. However, about one third of them printed out copies of the PDF so they had a hard copy to work from.

Student feedback or participation:

Actual student comments include the following:

• We should get more affordable textbooks not just for this class, but for others too.
• The electronical version of the textbooks was more economic but by it being online instead of a hard cover, made it much easier to get off task.
• The PDF textbook was so much easier to use and it helped a lot because I didn't have to carry my textbook around and I just needed by laptop or any computer
• Greatly appreciate not having to pay for texts when free PDF available online. So much easier
• The texts were clear and not complicated to keep up with. Alowed me to follow the course easily.

Sharing Best Practices:

My main suggestion to those just getting started with an OER textbook, is to take their time and not rush the process. Don’t take the results of using an OER textbook from one semester, but try it over several semesters. Find out what works for you and your students. Talk to and collaborate with other faculty that are using an OER textbook, especially if it is for the same course as you are teaching.

Starting next semester (Fall 2017) I plan on contacting fellow faculty in the department that teach the PSCI 100 US Government and Politics course, and going over the benefits of CALM(ing) down their course and using a free OER textbook. I plan on putting myself out there as a resource to assist fellow faculty in applying for the CALM program and helping them select an OER textbook. 

Jerry D. Breckon, M.P.A.

I am a political science professor at the California State University San Marcos. I teach US Government and Politics, Making Public Policy, US Immigration Policy: A Public Policy Perspective and Presidential Policy and Immigration.

As I reflect on my over twenty-six years in the field of teaching the one thing that sticks out most in my mind are the numerous students I have had the opportunity to teach, and the many things they have in turn taught me about life and learning. It did not matter if I was teaching high school; working as an administrator, or teaching college and university classes, my number one priority has always been the education and welfare of my students. It is the students that bring the pulse of life into the classroom as they explore the issues with the natural desire to learn and embark upon life’s journey. It is my responsibility to act as their facilitator, their guide if you will, on their road to becoming life-long learners. 

My research interests are Presidential power/policy and how it aligns with U.S. Immigration policy.