Instructor:          Dr. Joy Wolf                        

Class time:         T, Th:  11:00 - 12:15 p

Phone:                595-3221                             

Email:                  wolf@uwp.edu

This is a General Education Course in the natural sciences designed to facilitate student learning about the physical diversity and processes on our living planet.  Specifically, students will apply critical thinking skills to conceptualize the interrelatedness of dynamic systems on Earth including Earth-Sun relationships, weather and climate, landforms, river processes, glaciers and the biosphere.   My primary goals for this course are to encourage you to develop ways to learn the concepts that explain physical and living systems on Earth

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Class Activities

In-Class Labs are hands-on activities to help learn about concepts such as Earth/Sun relationships, rock dynamics, map skills, or fire ecology. Critical thinking questions will challenge you to think about the consequences of your own activities in the natural world and how the subject matter applies to your daily life.   These activities will take approximately 40-50 minutes and cannot be made up or substituted.  You are required to interact with each other to complete these exercises; however, you are responsible for your own work (cheating results in a really low grade!).  You might be “pop-quizzed” during a lab – make sure your group members understand the answers. 

Test questions are derived from my lectures, class discussion, group questions, lab exercises, and the textbook.  Test questions are multiple choice and require problem solving, so read them carefully and completely.  Students with special needs should speak with me as soon as possible!

Your attendance in this class is important.  Lab exercises, group discussions, critical thinking questions, and quizzes will help make the concepts both tangible and applicable to your life.  You will be challenged in this class, so read the assigned readings on the syllabus:  COME TO CLASS PREPARED! It is your responsibility to get any announcements via email regarding exams, syllabus changes or other course activities.   The teaching assistant, Justin Chappell, (chape001@uwp.edu), will hold study sessions on T: 10-11am and W: 5-6pm.  These sessions are designed to help you understand concepts that other students have found more difficult – come with questions!  Students who attend them find that their overall grade increases.  

Text (Required):  Christopher son, R.W. 2007. Elemental Ecosystems (5^th edition), Prentice Hall, New Jersey.  I strongly encourage you to check out the web page for helpful links and study questions: http://www.prenhall.com/christopherson)

Grading:  Your final course grade will be based on the following:

25%     In-class lab exercises, thought sessions, and other activities (not including tests)

68%     Four Exams (including Final):  17% each toward final grade.     No make-up tests will be given

7%     Participation and Attendance

I encourage you to talk to me if you have trouble or something isn’t working for you, and we’ll try to work it out.  To succeed in this class, you should have a high level of commitment and respect, come to class regularly, participate, and take copious notes.  Except for participating in class discussions, I will not tolerate talking in class - you will be asked to leave and this behavior can result in a lowered grade. 

Lectures, Exercises, and Reading Assignments – LAB DAYS SUBJECT TO CHANGE!!!!

To satisfy the goals of a General Education Course, students in this class will have competency in (at least) the following three areas.  Grading Scales are based on scores of 1 (left blank), 2 (weak answer, no effort), 3 (adequately answers question, but little to no critical thinking, 4 (includes reasoning, answer is beyond what is asked).

1.  Goal/Competency: A: Communication, Information Technology Competence - using modern   information technology to retrieve and transmit information

 

Learning Outcome: Students can use maps to read contour lines, landforms, river systems, and decipher several grid systems. They also learn about technologies of geography, such as GIS and remote sensing as ways to analyze the physical environment. 
Grading:  In the map lab, students are graded on their ability to use topographic maps, convert map scales, quantify azimuth, and understand contour lines, latitude/longitude, symbols, landforms, magnetic declination, grid systems, and use critical thinking regarding remote sensing and GIS with aerial images.  

 

2.  Goal/Competency: B: Reasoned Judgment, Analytical skills - understanding how to produce and interpret quantitative and qualitative information

Learning Outcome: As an example, students can analyze atmospheric adiabatic heating and cooling, determine atmospheric temperature at different lapse rates, or explain differences in surface temperatures and humidity, using the principles of latent heat and compression.

Grading:  In a lab on atmospheric moisture dynamics, students are graded on their use of math / science skills to quantify humidity based on scenarios and interpret data graphs, illustrate temperature and humidity changes and lapse rate with elevation, understand orographic processes in saturated and unsaturated air, and draw conclusions using critical thinking skills.  

3.  Goal/Competency: C: Social and Personal Responsibility - Individual accountability – to understand what a responsible choice is and that education and learning is a personal responsibility

Learning Outcome: Students understand that their own actions have effects on our dynamic Earth and realize the impact they have on the ozone hole, habitat destruction, soil erosion, and global climate change.
Grading:  Students participate in debates that help them identify their accountability to the natural environment.  For example, students could be assigned as ‘pro’ or ‘con’ to creating dams.  They might be on a side they don’t want to defend, but learn to listen more openly and understand more clearly both sides.   This format encourages students to consider alternative actions to their own lifestyles.    In this case, they would be graded on their level of preparedness, understanding of physical and biological systems connectedness, ability to recognize cause/effect between environment & human activity, ability to see both sides of the issue/problem, consideration of alternative activities, and use of critical thinking in the final writeup which may include an understanding of one’s own actions that influence the natural world.