Overview

Welcome

We are pleased that you selected this independent study course to fulfill your unique educational needs. You are now a member of the Center’s large and diverse student body—a student body that comes from all parts of the United States and many parts of the world.

Although the freedom to choose when and where to study is a privilege, it is also a responsibility that requires motivation and self-discipline. To succeed at independent study, you will need to develop a study plan by setting realistic goals and working toward them. The following paragraphs highlight important course completion information.

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About the Course

This course will allow you to become familiar with the major perspectives on violence in schools. The course will also present effective strategies for violence prevention both within the school and in collaboration with the community at large. In addition, you will be encouraged to apply the course concepts to your own life and work environment. The course readings are drawn from two texts and a variety of Web-based resources.

The format of the course itself follows the structure of the textbook: the first section of the course focuses on the factors contributing to the development of violence, the second section on school based interventions, and the third on community based interventions. Midway through the course, we will move away from the School Violence text for a while to look more closely at the issue of bullying, one of the most common types of violence in schools.

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Materials/Textbooks

Required Textbooks

School Violence and Children In Crisis: Community and School Interventions for Social Workers and Counselors. Joshua Miller, Irene R. Martin, and Gerald Schamess. Denver: Love Publishing Company, 2003.

Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do. Dan Olweus. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1993.

Additional Resources

See also WWWsites/Recommended Readings for helpful online and print resources.

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Lessons

This course is composed of ten lessons. Each lesson contains the following sections:

• the purpose, which states the author’s aim in designing the lesson;

• the objectives, which list the specific kinds of knowledge students should gain from the lesson;

• the reading assignment, which specifies what pages you must read for the lesson;

• the commentary, which consists of the author’s discussion of the important topics covered by the lesson and may offer some additional information concerning the topics covered in the texts.

Note: You must submit all assigned work in sequence (Lesson 1, then Lesson 2, etc.), and you cannot submit more than three (3) assignments in a 7-day period.

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Technical Specifications

Hardware Recommendations: PC

• Pentium 75 processor
• 20 MB RAM
• Hard disk drive with 70 MB free space
• SVGA monitor
• 56k modem

Hardware Recommendations: Macintosh

• Macintosh Power PC Processor
• 20 MB RAM
• System 7.5.3
• Hard disk drive with 70 MB free space
• SVGA monitor
• 56k modem

Please note that WWW browser performance will be enhanced if your system exceeds these recommendations.

Software Requirements

You will need a Web browser that supports graphics and JavaScript (Netscape Communicator/Navigator 4.0 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher). Your browser should also accept cookies, which are used solely to verify your login.

An active e-mail account is also required for instructor-evaluated courses. Some courses may require software for playing or recording audio or video, reading documents in PDF, etc.

It is suggested that you have virus protection software on your system. Norton AntiVirus or Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit are recommended for PC users and Disinfectant is recommended for Mac users. Virus protection software will help to protect your system (and ours) against computer viruses. MU students can download virus protection software at https://ea-front.missouri.edu.

College/University Students: Check with your on-campus computing services office about access to the Internet/WWW. Many colleges and universities offer students e-mail accounts and software as well as Web access. (MU students should check with the Division of Information Technology.)

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Begin Work on the Course

Starting with the first lesson, study the lesson’s purpose, objectives, and commentary. Then complete the reading assignment. Take notes and make sure you understand all the material presented in the readings. Follow this procedure for each lesson. Complete progress evaluations in the order they are presented in this course.

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Make a Plan to Accomplish Your Goals

Use the number of lessons, progress evaluations, and exams to create a schedule that will help you stay on track. You will have nine months to complete this course. As you complete the course, check your schedule often to make sure you’re on track to accomplish your goal.

The following form is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader  (a free download).

Note: Adobe Acrobat 6 is the latest version of Acrobat Reader. If you receive an error message from the link listed below, you may need to upgrade to a newer version of Acrobat Reader (also free).

University Independent Study Planning Sheet (Acrobat 5.0)

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Grades

Your final grade will be based on the number of points you earn in the course. The total points available are listed below:

Progress Evaluations:	200	Points
Total:	200	Points

The grading scale is as follows:

Academic integrity. You are expected to follow CDIS guidelines for academic integrity and freedom. Please review your academic rights and responsibilities.

After completing the course, you will receive a grade report that gives your letter grade for the course. The Center will not mail your grade report until all outstanding balances have been paid.