ENVS100-2021A syllabus PDF

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ENVS100: Introduction to Environmental Science Syllabus – Spring 2021

Course Description This course will explore the physical science of the Earth's environment and human interactions with it. Coverage will include the Earth’s various environmental systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere), various environmental problems (land use, energy use and its consequences, air and water pollution, and biodiversity), and the direct and indirect causes of these environmental problems (human population, urbanization, economics, risk assessment and ethics).

Course Goals This course is designed to stimulate thought and action about how the world around you works, how human existence affects the Earth and the organisms living on it, and how to build a sustainable society based upon scientific principles. The goal is not necessarily to make you an environmental scientist (though I hope some of you do consider it), but at a minimum to make you environmentally literate. By the end of the course, I hope you will be able to: 1. Explain how fundamental principles of physics, chemistry, and biology relate to the interaction between humans and the environment. (understand) 2. Describe the natural environment as a system of interacting components such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere, operating at different spatial and temporal scales. (understand) 3. Examine various environmental processes and problems using quantitative data analysis skills. (analyze) 4. Assess the causes and actors involved in various environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, environmental degradation and resource depletion. (evaluate) This course will go beyond memorizing “just the facts”. An environmentally literate person makes informed decisions concerning the environment, both individually and together with others (i.e., as a collective) based on: (1) an understanding of the Earth as a physical system and the living environment, including humans and their societies within the landscape, (2) a familiarity with some basic modes of inquiry, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and an ability to interpret and synthesize information, and (3) an understanding of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in order to participate in resolving issues.

Instructor:

Prof. Alain Plante (001, 201, 301)

Learning Support Team: Jaydee Edwards (203, 204, 205) Toni Farmer (206, 208, 209) Charli Klein (201, 206, 207) John Ruck (202, 203, 205) Maura Slocum (202,209) Neal Wang (204, 207, 208)

[email protected] TBA via Zoom, or by appt via Calendly [email protected] Mon, 10:30-11:30am via Zoom [email protected] Tues, 2:30-3:30pm via Zoom [email protected] Tues, 10-11am via Zoom [email protected] Fri, 10:30-11:30am via Zoom [email protected] Mon, 3:30-4:30pm via Zoom [email protected] Thurs, 6-7pm via Zoom

Learning Resources • Textbook (ebook or paper), Mastering Environmental Science (online via Canvas), Learning Catalytics (online via Mastering) • Available directly from publisher via Canvas • If the purchase of these materials represents a substantial financial burden, please contact me or the PennFirst+ office. • Handheld scientific calculator, or equivalent smartphone or computer app • Microsoft Excel (recommended, free here), Google Sheets or equivalent • Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (not Acrobat Pro DC) (free to download here) • Recitation “handouts” and supplemental materials via Canvas

Course Structure and Activities The course will be taught as a combined lecture and recitation course with a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activities. Normally, the course involves two in-person lectures (T/R for 80min each) and an in-person recitation (50min) per week. However, the Spring 2021 offering will be exclusively online due to the COVID-19 pandemic and public health concerns associated with large groups. In the new online model, a typical weekly cycle will consist of (times approximate): • • • • • • •

complete reading assignment(s) from textbook view recorded lecture videos asynchronously complete asynchronous learning activities (Mastering DSMs) attend synchronous active learning session Thursdays review recitation materials prior to meeting attend weekly recitation meeting via synchronous Zoom session complete recitation homework assignment

(60-120 min) (60-90 min) (25-30 min) (90 min) (30 min) (60 min) (120 min)

Recorded Lecture Videos: In-person lectures will be replaced with 2-4 pre-recorded lecture videos that can be viewed on Canvas. Video content will highlight, summarize and supplement textbook content from the assigned readings, and along with the textbook will represent the core content of the course. Videos will be available on a weekly basis and can be viewed at any time during the week. I do not make all videos available at the same time for two reasons: 1) this is not a fully asynchronous course and the content is paced to help maximize your learning, and 2) I’ll likely be recording content as we go. Lecture Slides and Notes: Lecture slides will be posted to Canvas along with the videos. However, do not assume that lecture slides and videos are effective study tools as-is. It will be essential for you to create your own lecture notes . You can take notes in the Panopto viewer, but know this: a study showed that students who took notes by hand tested better on average and were able to better retain information long after the exam than students who typed out their notes. Asynchronous Learning Activities: In addition to recorded lecture videos, you’ll work on Dynamic Study Modules on MasteringEnvironmentalScience that help you engage with textbook content before, during or after your textbook readings. These activities should take 25-30 minutes to complete, will essentially replace the Tuesday lecture of a normal in-person offering of the course, and allow for more in-depth active learning during the Thursday sessions. The lowest score in the semester (including zeros) will be dropped from your final score.

Synchronous Active-Learning Sessions: In lieu of in-person lectures, we will have one synchronous, active learning session per week. I recommend completing your textbook readings and the Dynamic Study Modules before Thursday because these sessions will consist of Q&A, small group discussions and other activities that focus in on that week’s topic. We’ll use Learning Catalytics, an interactive student response tool that encourages learning through interactive activities using your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. It’s included in the purchase of your textbook. Each session will include 5-8 questions/activities. Each will be worth 1 point, 90% for participation and 10% for correctness (when appropriate). The lowest scoring session (including zeros or missed sessions) will be dropped from your final score. Piazza Discussion Boards: Open and transparent lines of communication are important to your success in this course – particularly with online/remote learning. We will be using Piazza to generate an online community of ENVS100 students for questions, ad-hoc discussions, comments, and announcements. Important class announcements will be made through Piazza, so check regularly. All questions concerning course content should be posted to the appropriate topic/folder on Piazza. This allows everyone in the class to see and respond to the question so that everyone can benefit from the conversation and everyone gets the same information. That being said, waiting for a response just before an assignment deadline or exam is not a good time management strategy. Issues of a personal nature (e.g., course absences, personal struggles, etc.) should be directed to your TA or me via email. Recitations: The recitation is an integral part of this course, but might not be the kind of recitation that you are used to in other disciplines of study. This recitation is designed to be a workshop where you will apply quantitative skills to course content to develop a deeper understanding of the course material. This recitation is not a review of lecture material, and attendance is required. Recitations are where you will develop your data literacy skills (and thus fulfill your QDA requirement). The skills you will develop will include: data acquisition: find and download real-world (sometimes real-time) data from online sources; data processing: “cleaning” data to put in usable form and remove unnecessary or incorrect items; data analysis: manipulate data using numerical or statistical analyses to answer specific questions; data visualization: represent data in meaningful visual forms (e.g., graphs and tables). These are the kinds of knowledge or skills that you can only acquire by doing. Weekly synchronous recitation sessions will consist of a brief review of previous work (5-10min), a short introductory demonstration to highlight important methods to completing the current assignment (10-15min) and small group workshop time to begin the assignment 25-40min), and a quick closing Q&A period (5-10min). Weeks without a quantitative assignment may involve more intensive review of completed assignments, small group discussions and debates, etc. Weekly recitation assignments will be posted to Canvas the week before the synchronous session (typically on Friday). In order to make the most effective use of your synchronous time, you are expected to thoroughly read the recitation materials before the session, but do not begin the assignment. Assignments will be started during the synchronous session, completed as homework, and will be due at 11:59pm the night before the following recitation session.

Grading Distribution of scores Asynchronous learning activities (Mastering Dynamic Study Modules) (11 out of 12) Synchronous active- learning activities (Learning Catalytics, etc.) (11 out of 12) Recitation homework assignments (7 @ 5% each) Midterm Exam Cumulative Final Exam Total

11 22 35 10 22 100

% % % % % %

Grading policies • Because of the large class size and our desire to provide feedback through the grading of assignments and exams in a timely manner, there is no make-up for the mid-term exam and no late submissions of recitation assignments. However, extenuating circumstances such as illness, family emergency or other traumatic events do happen. Such events are unwelcomed, unforeseen and challenging. o If you are unable to submit a recitation assignment on time due to extenuating circumstances, submit a course absence report and schedule a meeting with your TA or me (within 24-48 hours of the deadline if possible) to discuss if the assignment can be dropped or made-up. o If you are unable to write the mid-term exam due to extenuating circumstances, submit a course absence report and schedule a meeting with me (within 24-48 hours of the exam if possible). We’ll discuss if the weight of the mid-term can be loaded onto the final exam. o If you are unable to write the final exam due to extenuating circumstances, submit a course absence report and schedule a meeting with me (within 24-48 hours of the exam if possible). I typically use the College’s policies in this case and we’ll discuss the schedule for a make-up exam (which is in the week before the following semester). • Because of the large class size and the limitations of Zoom, it is impossible for me to confirm your presence in a synchronous session, so if something goes wrong with Learning Catalytics, it cannot be undone. However, if the problem persists for multiple sessions, please make sure to check in with me. • It is your responsibility to monitor your scores being posted to Canvas. Any omissions, errors or discrepancies should be reported to your TA or me as soon as possible. Evidence must be provided for corrections.

Grade dispute policy During the course of grading assignments and examinations, it is possible that a mistake could be made, particularly when trying to return submissions and feedback to students in a timely manner. 1. Errors of addition/subtraction in compiling individual student scores: If you find such an error, please bring it to your TA’s attention. 2. Errors in not assigning credit to correct answers: In some cases, automated grading may incorrectly assign no credit to a response that is demonstrably and patently correct. If you find such an error, please bring it to your TA’s attention. 3. Judgment in assigning full or partial credit to specific answers: All students are given the benefit of any legitimate doubt in determining the “correctness” of an answer to any question. We are far more likely to award more credit than an answer is worth than we are to award less credit. If you think you have suffered from one or more errors of this category, you can schedule a meeting with me to discuss it. 4. Questions generating very low correct response rates: I will assess these for confusion or ambiguity due to how the question is formulated. In such cases, these “bad” questions may be dropped from the assignment or exam.

Extra credit There is no extra credit available in this course. Fairness is very important and it is essential that all students in the course are assessed on the same set of assignments and exams.

How you will be graded Numerical answers must be accurate/correct and come with appropriate units and significant figures. These are as important as good grammar and spelling in a language class. Graphs must be properly formatted. Data visualization has its own standards for correct and rigorous communication of information in scientific visual form.

Recitation assignments will be graded on a “good faith effort” basis. That is, each component of the assignment (table cell, blank, question response, graph, etc.) will be scored on a scale of 0, 1 or 2, where 0 represents an incomplete or no response, 2 represents a complete response, and 1 represents an unacceptable response. In assigning scores for qualitative exam questions, I use some of the concepts of mastery learning and standards-based grading that you might be familiar with from earlier in your school career. In this framework, mastery refers to the demonstration of an exemplary, complete and comprehensive grasp of the concept or idea, while proficiency refers to the demonstration of a basic level of understanding. Proficient responses to questions that include only the most basic information, are not incorrect but are perhaps incomplete, typically receive a score of 70-75%. Proficient answers do not fully address all elements/components, lack precise diction and/or specific examples. Exemplary responses, with corresponding better scores, demonstrate a more complete mastery, are precise and concise. And deficient answers, with corresponding lower scores, are incorrect, have flawed logic, are substantially incomplete, or are overly verbose and contain substantial amounts of irrelevant information.

Assignment of final grade Historically, the class average for ENVS100 has been a B with some variability, but it is important to note that this course is NOT graded on a curve, nor is any exam or assignment. Technically, grading on a curve means there is a fixed quota of As, Bs … and Fs. That’s not fair! Instead, each student in ENVS100 will receive a grade that reflects their assignment and assessment scores. Cumulative scores will be converted to final letter grades using the following approximate scale: A/A- = excellent/outstanding (>85%), B+/B/B- = good/average (70-85%), C+/C/C- = fair/below average (55-70%), D+ = passing (50-55%), F = fail (...