GLG 121 S20 Syllabus v1 PDF

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GLG 212 syllabus...

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Environmental Geology GLG 121, Sections A & E (CRNs 84671 & 84674) Provisional * (subject to change) Spring 2020 Syllabus When:

Monday & Wednesday Section E: 1:15-2:35 PM Section A: 2:50-4:10 PM

Where:

032 Shideler Hall

Instructor:

Todd Dupont, [email protected], 113 SHD

Office Hours:

Tues. 3-4 PM, Thurs. 2-3 PM, or by appointment.

Course Description: This course provides an introduction to environmental geology, which is the study of the interactions between humans and their geologic environment. Key topics that we will address include human population growth, the formation of minerals and rocks, plate tectonics, earthquakes, climate change, water resources, and energy resources. This course helps fulfill CASD natural science and CASQ quantitative literacy requirements, in addition to Global Miami Plan Foundation IVB (physical science) credits. This course is also the Tier 1 course for several geology thematic sequences (TGLG-1, Oceanography; TGLG-2, The Water Planet; and TGLG-3, Geohazards and Plate Tectonics). You can find more information about these thematic sequences by going to the following url: http://miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/geology/academics/index.html. Communication: The course canvas site, as well as the email, will be used to make announcements so please ensure that you check both the canvas site and your miamiOH.edu e-mail address at least once every day. I suggest checking both several times per day. The way to communicate with me outside of the classroom is through email. Every semester I am teaching hundreds of students, in multiple courses. To aid in keeping communications organized and efficient, I have two simple rules you must follow when sending me an email message. First, you must put “GLG121” and your section (“A” or “E”) in the subject line. Second, you must include your first and last names in the main body of the message. If you fail to follow these simple rules, you will not get a response, and it will not count as a notification for purposes of late assignments or missed exams, quizzes, or exercises.

*

Only topics and dates may change – the grading scheme and scale will remain unchanged.

Required Textbook: Available new or as a rented (digital) ebook from Miami Universities’ eCampus bookstore: 2010/2011 edition of Living with Earth: An Introduction to Environmental Geology by Travis Hudson, Published by Routledge. ISBN 978-0131424470. You may also find a used version of this book elsewhere (e.g., amazon.com) for a good bit cheaper than the cost on eCampus. In addition, an identical version of this book was also published by Prentice Hall (ISBN 978-8120344136 or ISBN 978-0131424470), and again may be less expensive than the options available from eCampus. Required Materials: We will use TurningPoint® polling technology for in-class activities and participation. We will start using the technology on Mon., February 10th. There are effectively two options: using a “clicker” device sold by Turning Technologies or using the phone-based app “TurningPoint” (which can be found in the App Store or Google Play Store). There are several types of clickers that can used: the new QT2, or the older QT, NXT, RF LCD, or RF. If you already have one of these clickers, you needn’t purchase another one. Otherwise you may purchase a clicker bundle from the Miami Bookstore, or from Turning Technolgies Student Store. Whether you plan to use a clicker, or the TurningPoint app, or both, you will need to follow the TurningPoint Syllabus Guide directions at the end of this document. They explain how you can i) create an account, ii) obtain a subscription code (if you don’t already have one), and iii) register your device or app on our canvas course site using your clicker ID. Objectives: This course is designed to address the objectives of the Miami Plan for Liberal Education, which emphasizes four main principles: i) critical thinking, ii) understanding context, iii) engaging with other learners, and iv) reflecting and acting. Below I briefly describe how our course activities connect with these principles. Critical Thinking: this is your ability to identify, analyze, and solve problems, which is a key skill in academic and broader contexts. Within the course we will examine numerous geologic problems, both past and present. In the process you will learn to garner relevant observations and assess the strengths and weaknesses of potential explanations or solutions (hypotheses) based on those observations. Understanding Context: this principle touches on your skill with discerning useful perspectives and relevant information to address a particular issue or event. Within the course this will involve your learning about key geologic processes and the variety of time scales over which they have and continue to act. Engaging Other Learners: the notion here is that learning is enhanced when shared. In this course you will work with your peers regularly, in a variety of contexts, and in the process you will gain skill in exchanging ideas with your fellow learners. Reflecting and Acting: this principle involves your ability to carefully consider and act upon new information and understanding. In the course you will have many opportunities to do this, including in-class exercises with your peers to solve geologic problems, as well as individually with homework problems, and answering various quiz and exam questions.

Details: Readings Throughout the semester you will have reading assignments, primarily from the textbook, sometimes from other sources. For the textbook readings, when particular page numbers are not specified then the whole chapter is assigned. Homework Seven to eight homework exercises will be assigned during the semester. Each assignment will be posted several days before it is due. You will submit the assignment using the Canvas site for this course. For each assignment, which are similar to quizzes but slightly more in-depth, you will have an infinite number of attempts to submit it. Late assignments will not be accepted. All times for deadlines are for the Eastern time zone. Exceptions to this late policy will only be granted in the case of documented illness or other emergency, and only if you contact the instructor about the situation within 24 hours of the deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that your assignment was successfully submitted. You are more than welcome to discuss the homework assignment with your classmates, but the assignment you turn in must reflect your own work. Therefore, to the extent that written responses are requested, you should use your own words, rather than copying those of others, and you should not allow another student to simply copy your words or work. Copying the work of others, or allowing others to copy your work, is considered academic dishonesty. In Class Exercises There will be twelve in-class exercises, as noted in the schedule below. The specifics of the exercises will vary, from working on a particular concept or calculation, to a more extensive discussion or analysis of a particular process or phenomenon. In most cases these exercises will take 20-30 minutes of class time, and may involve working in groups. However, students will turn in their own individual assignment. The assignments must be turned in at the end of class. None of these in class exercises can be made up, unless the instructor is notified, via email, at least 24 hours ahead of time of a legitimate reason for missing the exercise (documentation may be required). If you plan to miss an exercise for an established religious holiday, you must notify me two weeks in advance, if you wish to make up the exercise. Having someone else complete an exercise for you is considered academic dishonesty. Quizzes Fifteen online quizzes will be distributed throughout the semester. The first of these covers the syllabus, and it is mandatory. The remaining fourteen quizzes will primarily focus on the reading and lecture material. They will be posted from 3 to 7 days before they are due. For each of these fourteen (non-syllabus) quizzes, you will have two opportunities to take the quiz, and the highest score will be kept. Quizzes cannot be made up, so please note the quiz deadlines. All times for deadlines are for the Eastern time zone. It is to your benefit to take the quiz both times, and well before the deadline,

so that last minute distractions or complications won’t keep you from completing the quiz. Having someone else take your quiz is considered academic dishonesty. Clickers As noted above, we will be using TurningPoint® polling technology in class. You will need to have your clicker or TurningPoint app license purchased and registered by Mon., February 10th. From that date onward clicker questions will be asked in most class sessions. The number of clicker questions per session will vary, with traditionally poorly attended class sessions likely to have more clicker questions to encourage attendance. For example, I will very likely ask lots of clicker questions on the days before and after Spring break, and the day before Green Beer Day. It is your responsibility to remember your clicker (or phone with the app.), and to make sure it is in working order. Please note: Miami University policy is that it is academically dishonest for a student to have someone else use the student’s clicker or virtual clicker app. to gain points for inclass participation. It is also academically dishonest for a student to remotely (without being in class) attempt to participate in in-class clicker sessions, or to help another student do so. As such any of these scenarios is a violation of the code of student conduct. Exams There will be three exams during the semester. The latter two will include material from the previous exams (i.e., they will be comprehensive). The exam questions will come from material covered in lecture, readings, homework assignments, quizzes, and clicker questions. Accommodation for conflicting or excessive final exams follows the student handbook guidelines (see https://miamioh.edu/onestop/your-records/academicrecords/final-exams/final-exam-schedule/index.html). Normally accommodation involves taking the final exam at a later time; taking the final exam early is discouraged and requires the permission of the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and possibly the chair of the department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science. You must request final-exam accommodation by Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020. Accommodation will only granted for students with conflicting or excessive exams. Missing Exercises, Exams, or Class If you expect to be absent from class for an exam or exercise, for a legitimate documentable reason, you must contact me at least 24 hours ahead of time to arrange for a make-up exam or exercise. If you do not, you will get zero points for that exam or exercise. If you expect to miss a class period that does not have an exercise or exam, and it is for a legitimate documentable reason, you must still contact me at least 24 hours ahead of time to receive participation (clicker) points. If you do not, you will receive no participation points for that day, and zero points for any missed exercise or exam. Exceptions to the “24 hours ahead of time” component to this policy will be granted for documented illness or other emergency, but only if you contact the instructor about the situation within 24 hours of the missed exam, exercise, or class. If you plan to

miss class for an established religious holiday, you must notify me two weeks in advance if you wish for that absence to be excused. Please note: Extending the duration of any academic break beyond its official dates (see http://miamioh.edu/academic-calendar/2019-2020/index.html) is not a legitimate reason for missing class, an exercise, or exam. Importantly, this includes the days immediately before and after Spring Break (Mon., March 23rd through Sun., March 29th). An exception will be granted for documented illness or other emergency, but only if you contact the instructor about the situation within 24 hours of the class session in question. Missing Assignment Deadlines Late quiz or homework assignments will not be accepted. Missing the deadline for a quiz or homework means you will receive zero credit for that quiz or homework assignment. Exceptions to this late policy will only be granted in the case of documented illness or other emergency, and only if you contact the instructor about the situation within 24 hours of the deadline for the assignment. Grading Scheme: Category Participation Quizzes Homework In-Class Exercises Midterm Exams Final Exam

Percentage Weight 6% 13% 13% 23% 25% (12.5% each) 20%

Grade Scale: A+: ≥97.5%

B+: ≥87.5, < 90.0%

C+: ≥77.5, < 80.0%

D+: ≥67.5, < 70.0%

A: ≥92.5, < 97.5%

B : ≥82.5, < 87.5%

C : ≥72.5, < 77.5%

D : ≥62.5, < 67.5%

A-: ≥90.0, < 92.5%

B-: ≥80.0, < 82.5%

C-: ≥70.0, < 72.5%

D-: ≥60.0, < 62.5%

F:...