GEOG2221 Outline PDF

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Course Description This course examines the physical, human and economic geography of Canada, from a regional context. Students focus on the many interconnections and relationships between the different regions, between different areas in the regions, and between cities and the rural areas in each region. The distribution patterns of people, cultural groups, and economic activities is explored to illustrate how the regions are part of larger interconnected systems (e.g., Canada, North America, or the Pacific Rim). The course is designed to promote an understanding of the similarities and differences between different areas across Canada, and to develop students’ skills in recognizing and analyzing the salient geographical features of those regions and the country as a whole.

Prerequisites None

Exclusions: GEOG 2220: Regional Geography of Canada

Learning Outcomes After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:     

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Define four “fault lines” that characterize Canadian regions. Identify issues significant to each region. Identify the distinguishing physical, historical, and socioeconomic characteristics of each of the regions. Summarize the similarities and differences from region to region and from place to place in Canada. Interpret, analyze, and utilize maps to locate physiographic features, places, economic activity, and urban areas for each region. Analyze the functions, effects, and significance of human activities and patterns of resource development and usage.

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Describe and explain the relevance of the core-periphery model for understanding regionalism and identify its relation to the Staples theory and heartland-hinterland models. Interpret the development of geographical patterns from physical, historical, and socio-economic forces, and explain the significance of these forces to the future development of Canada.

Course Materials This section describes the course materials that you will need for GEOG 2221.

Required Textbook The following textbook is required for this course: Bone, R. M. (2018). The regional geography of Canada (7th ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780199021291

Additional Resources The other resource that you need for this course is the following:

Stadel, C. (2009). Core areas and peripheral regions of Canada: Landscapes of contrast and challenges. In J. L. Luzon & M. Cardim (Eds.), Estudio de casos sobre planificación regional (pp. 13-30). Barcelona, Spain: University of Barcelona. Unit Completion To complete GEOG 2221, it is suggested that you finish the first three units in sequence. Afterwards, when you get into the regional units, you can choose the order in which you complete them. There

is no particular order that you need to learn about each of the regions; however, the quizzes do correspond with particular regions, so you will need to finish the appropriate ones before attempting a quiz. Refer to the quiz map below to see which content is covered in which quiz. Specifically: Quiz 1 covers material from Units 1 and 2. Quiz 2 covers material from Unit 3. Quiz 3 covers material from Ontario and Québec. Quiz 4 covers material from Atlantic Canada and the Prairies/Western Canada. Quiz 5 covers material from BC and the Territorial North. You should start Unit 10: Conclusion after you have completed the other nine units.

Course Topics Regional Geography of Canada is divided into 10 units, and the title of each describes its topic: 1.

Introduction

2.

Understanding Regions

3.

Defining Regions

4.

Ontario

5.

Québec

6.

Atlantic Canada

7.

Prairies (Western Canada)

8.

British Columbia

9.

The Territorial North

10. Conclusion

Unit Completion To complete GEOG 2221, it is suggested that you finish the first three units in sequence. Afterwards, when you get into the regional units, you can choose the order in which you complete them. There is no particular order that you need to learn about each of the regions; however, the quizzes do correspond with particular regions, so you will need to finish the appropriate ones before attempting a quiz. Refer to the quiz map below to see which content is covered in which quiz. Specifically: Quiz 1 covers material from Units 1 and 2. Quiz 2 covers material from Unit 3. Quiz 3 covers material from Ontario and Québec. Quiz 4 covers material from Atlantic Canada and the Prairies/Western Canada. Quiz 5 covers material from BC and the Territorial North.

You should start Unit 10: Conclusion after you have completed the other nine units. Assessments To successfully complete this course, you must achieve a passing grade of 50% or higher in the overall course and 50% or higher on the mandatory Final Project. The following table illustrates how your final grade will be determined for this course. Assessment Quiz 1 Quiz 2

Assignment 1: Why Regions? Quiz 3 Assignment 2: Core/Periphery, Faultlines, and Identifying Regions Quiz 4 Quiz 5 Assignment 3: Regional Analysis Mandatory Final Project Total

Learning Activities Below is a description of the main activities you’ll be guided through in the course:

Reading You will read chapters of your textbook and occasionally other supplied materials.

Learning Journal The learning journal is a private document that you will use to reflect on questions or ungraded activities posed in the course. All readings are accompanied by guiding questions designed as an

opportunity to reflect on your own geographical location and issues. This learning journal is for your use and can be created using the format of your choice, such as a Word document or a notebook. While these responses are not graded, they do provide an opportunity for you to clarify your thoughts, which can help you achieve better marks in the graded assignments.

Student Café An informal discussion space called the “Student Café” has been set up for you to easily communicate with other learners in the course about matters of mutual interest regarding your studies and professional development. This is an informal gathering area to help build a learning community, and you will not be graded on these postings. For more information about online discussions and netiquette see http://www.tru.ca/distance/services/studentorientation/online-discussions.html.

Assignments (40%) This course has three written assignments that together are worth 40% of your final mark. The first assignment is worth 5%. It provides you with an opportunity to practice your research, grammar, and citation skills before you submit your longer written assignments. Assignment 2 is worth 15%, and Assignment 3 is worth 20% of your final mark. While you can submit your assignments in any order, we recommend the following: Submit Assignment 1 after you have completed Unit 3. This assignment counts the least towards the final grade, and is designed to enable you to demonstrate and receive feedback on some technical writing skills that will be expected in the later assignments. Complete Assignments 2 and 3 after you have studied the content that enables you to answer the questions provided in the assignment instructions. Because you may complete the regional units in the order you choose, you may submit Assignment 3 before Assignment 2.

Quizzes (15%) This course has five required quizzes in total. Each quiz is worth 3% for a total of 15% of your final grade. The quizzes are at the end of Units 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Each quiz has 30 questions—10 true/false and 20 multiple-choice. The quiz questions are designed around the textbook readings and are geared to ensuring that you have a solid foundation in the distinctive physiographic, historical, and demographic characteristics of each region. In keeping with the course objectives, these questions are not just a collection of facts, but have been developed to encourage you to contrast and compare regions, as well as to cultivate an understanding of some of the key aspects of each.

Final Project (45%) The Final Project requires you to provide information and analyze this information for different regions of Canada. The project consists of the following activities (total 45% of your final mark): 

Five journal entries: Entry 1: You will begin by making an entry on the course Shared Map. You will also transfer this information into your course journal, for ease of grading o Entries 2–5: Answer four questions in four separate journal entries. o

o

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Each of the above activities accounts for 3%, for a total of 15% of the final grade.

One Regional Report (1500 words with figures, tables and maps) component answering short-answer questions (30% of the final grade)—This component focuses on one of the six regions discussed in this course.

Note Always keep a copy of each assignment you submit so that you have a copy to refer to in the event of a telephone or email conference with your Open Learning Faculty Member. In addition, many student writing manuals recommend that students keep copies of early drafts of their work to protect them against potential charges of plagiarism.

Grading Scale The official grading scale for all Open Learning courses is the official TRU Academic/Career/Developmental Programs scale as noted in TRU’s “Grading Systems and Procedures.” For detailed information, go to http://www.tru.ca/distance/services/policies/newgrading.html....