College of Mount St. Joseph
GEO 115
"Earth Science"
SYLLABUS
Autumn Semester, 2011
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College of Mount St. Joseph |
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SYLLABUS
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Preface
Course description
Prerequisites and / or corequisites
Instructor
Texts
Materials needed
Course web-site
Materials in the College library
"Blackboard"
Electronic-mail
Important dates and times
Topics to be covered
Course objectives
Attendance (and tardiness)
Athletics and other College-sponsored activities
What about bad weather?
Field-trips
Assignments and preparing for class
Format for submissions
At test-time ----- And before
Grades and Grading
Academic honesty
Electronic devices in class -- Computers, telephones, radios, and such like
Recording class-sessions
For students with disabilities
Relationship of this course to your liberal-arts education
About this web-page -- Caveat lector !
Even as every course is a living thing, this syllabus is a living document. In the course of the term, it might be advisable (or even necessary) to make modifications in the syllabus. (Of course, proposed changes will be discussed in class prior to going into effect.)
A Note on Format:
This syllabus is designed for "The WEB". Hence, some parts of it are below, whereas others are reached by following links. If you choose to print out the syllabus, please, be certain to print out the documents reachable by links.
The course is an overview of planet Earth.
Components of physical and historical geology are considered, including the Earth, its materials, processes, and history. Students will be introduced to the responsible use of Earth resources, the basics of map interpretation, rock-, mineral-, and fossil-identification, and recognition and interpretation of landforms.
The course satisfies the general education science requirement for non-science majors. (from Catalogue)
A variety of "methods" will be used throughout this course, including, but not necessarily limited to, illustrated lectures and demonstrations by the instructor, in-class student discussions (both plenary and small-group), hands-on laboratory and other activities, motion-pictures, and field-trips.
| office: | SC 304A (SC = Science Building) |
| mail-box: | the office of the Department of Biology, SC 205 |
| 'phone: | ext. 4699 (full number: 513-244-4699) |
| electronic-mail: | r_a_davis@mail.msj.edu |
| office hours: | [Please,
schedule an appointment on the sign-up sheet outside SC 304; if no available slot works for you, please, contact me, and we'll find a time of mutual convenience.] |
Required:
Grotzinger, John, and Thomas H. Jordan, 2010 ©, Understanding Earth [sixth edition]: W. H. Freeman, New York, 672 p. [paper back; 978-1-429-21951-8].
[There is an “e-book” version, too ----- for about half the price of the paper-back version; plus, you may want to check with the College book-store to see whether there is a version for rent.]
Davis, R. A., 1992, Cincinnati Fossils. An Elementary Guide to the Ordovician Rocks and Fossils in the Cincinnati, Ohio, Region: Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, 61 p. [ISBN 1-882151-00-3; paper-back; note that some copies bear an incorrect date, 1998, but the contents appear to be the same.].
United States Geological Survey: Burlington, Ky--Ohio, 7.5-minute quadrangle [map].
United States Geological Survey: Topographic Map Symbols. 4-page leaflet [ISBN 0-607-96942-3; supposed to be free!].
Recommended:
Davis, Richard Arnold, and Roger J. Cuffey, eds., 1998, Sampling the Layer Cake That Isn't: The Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Type-Cincinnatian: Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Guidebook No. 13, iv + 194 p.
Feldmann, Rodney M., and Merrianne Hackathorn, editors, 2005, Fossils of Ohio (reprint of 1996 edition, with minor revisions): Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Bulletin 70, xx + 577 p.
Haneberg, William C., Mary M. Riestenberg, Richard E. Pohana, and Sharon C. Diekmeyer, 1992, Cincinnati's Geologic Environment: A Trip for Secondary-School Teachers: Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Guidebook No. 9, iii + 23 p.
Hannibal, Joseph T., and Richard Arnold Davis, 1992, Guide to the Building Stones of Downtown Cincinnati: A Walking Tour: Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Guidebook No. 7, 44 p.
Meyer, David L., and Richard Arnold Davis, 2009, A Sea without Fish. Life in the Ordovician Sea of the Cincinnati Region: Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, xviii + 346 p.
There are some other materials that you will find useful in the class-room. Please, do not go out and buy these before we discuss them in class:
There are some other materials that you will find useful in the class-room. Please, do not go out and buy these before we discuss them in class:
1. pocket-knife (the blade of which you won't mind getting scratched) 2. iron nail 3. copper coin 4. small porcelain tile (white; unglazed) 5. small glass bottle or jar or small piece of window-glass with edges sanded (to remove sharpness) 6. hand-lens
(wait until after the first day of class to acquire)7. lanyard or cord for your hand-lens 8. two sharp pencils (lead not too hard) 9. good eraser for same 10. protractor (circular and transparent [clear] preferred) 11. straight edge with metric and English units (30-cm length) 12. graph paper (English units, 10 divisions to the inch) 13. stapler and staples 14. other items (In other words, if you have any of these, bring them, but you don't need to go out and buy them, unless you really want to do so.) a. a compass (the kind that points north) b. magnifying-glass (for map-reading) c. draughtsman's triangles
Note: You should make it a habit of carrying your hand-lens with you at all times (and not just for lab.-sessions). You might need it unexpectedly some time.
MATERIALS NEEDED ----- in the field
In addition to the above, there are some other materials that you will find useful in the field. Please, do not go out and buy these before we discuss them in class:
1. plastic or paper bags (for collecting specimens) 2. fine-point, permanent marker (with which to write on the bags) 3. newspaper, aluminum-foil, or whatever, in which to wrap specimens collected 4. bound field-note-book 5. something with which to write in your field-note-book. Note that: "ink" of ball-point pens generally smears; the "ink" of some markers will run, if it gets wet, so these are not good in the field; too-soft pencil-"lead" will smear, too. 6. field-bag or back-pack in which to carry everything on field-trips, including specimens collected
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS
I strongly recommend that you acquire what you need to make back-ups of documents you generate on computer. For example, you could have a stock of CD-R discs and cases for them. Or you could use one of the so-called "flash-drives" or "thumb-drives".
In any case, you will need, from time to time, to submit material on disc. When you do so, the disc must be in a protective case, and the disc must be labelled with your name and with the name of the course, the number of the course, or both.
The URL of the home-page of the course WEB-site is:
http://www.msj.edu/academics/faculty/davisr/geo115/index.htm
The publisher of the principal text-book maintains a free, interactive WEB-site; its URL is:
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/understandingearth6e/#t_520466____
[As you can see when you visit that WEB-site, they also maintain some other resources, ----- for which they charge.]
MATERIALS IN THE COLLEGE LIBRARY
There are a number of books that are "on reserve" in the College library.
In addition, the College library owns a number of other geology-related items that are not "on reserve".
"BLACKBOARD", ELECTRONIC-MAIL, and so on
In this course, we will be using a soft-ware package called "Blackboard" to provide you access to information pertinent to the course and the subject-matter of the course.
From time to time you will be sent electronic-mail messages; you will be expected to be aware of the contents of these messages. You also will be expected to communicate with the instructor by electronic-mail on occasion and with other members of the class, too. In short, if you are not already familiar with how to use the College's electronic-mail system, you should become so. Moreover, you should develop the habit of checking your electronic-mail on a daily basis.
(As an aside: The official medium of communication at the College is electronic-mail, by way of your College electronic-mail account. In other words, you are expected to be aware of anything sent by the College to you at your College electronic-mail address. To repeat: You should develop the habit of checking your electronic-mail on a daily basis.)
Being a paleontologist, I am, in some ways, a captive of the past and of the slow pace of geologic time. For example, commonly I do not check my electronic-mail except once a day, nor do I generally check electronic-mail on week-ends. Thus, if you send me an electronic-mail message at 9 a.m., for example, you may not get a reply from me until the next day or, if I am desperately overwhelmed, with other classes and other commitments, the day after that. By the same token, if I send you an electronic-mail message, I'll understand if you do not get to it until the next day or so.
Unless otherwise announced, class meets from 0900 until 1205 (= 9:00 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.) on Tuesday and Thursdays, 22 August through 2 December 2011, with the exception of Thursday, 24 November ("Thanksgiving Recess").
Tests will be administered on the following dates, unless otherwise announced:
| Thursday, | 08 September: | in class | |
| Thursday, | 06 October: | in class | |
| Thursday, | 03 November: | in class | |
| Tuesday, | 06 December: | 1245 - 1435 [= 12:45 - 2:35 p.m.] | -- "the final" |
(Here is a link to a calendar that shows official College deadlines regarding withdrawals.)
(The actual URL is: http://inside.msj.edu/campus/calendar/academics/index.asp?date=8%2F1%2011.)
(Here is a link to the official College "Dates to Remember", including those referring to withdrawals ----- see page 2 of the file.)
[The URL, as of 22 August 2011: http://www.msj.edu/userfiles/file/Fall_2011_S112_PP_4_5_11.pdf]
[Alternatively, start at http://inside.msj.edu/;
1. go to the "Academics" column;
2. go to "Course Schedules";
3. go to "View Semester Policies and Procedures (PDFs)";
4. under "Fall 2011", go to "View S112 Semester Policies and Procedures (157KB PDF)";
5. go to page 2.]
[Note that deadlines for withdrawals from courses may not correspond to drop dates for financial refunds. Thus, a student who is contemplating withdrawing from a course should check his or her eligibility for financial refunds before formally withdrawing from the course.]
All but one of the field-trips will take place during regular class-time. There will be one all-day field-trip. (For more information, see "Field-Trips".)
Depending on the background and interests of the members of the class and on natural events that may take place during the term (for example: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami), any number of the following topics might be covered. The list below is one possible agenda. We will discuss in class what we want the actual schedule to be.
You will not be graded formally on whether you attend class. Having said that, I must point out that folks who attend class almost always do better in a course than do those who do not attend class. I very strongly urge you to attend each and every class- and laboratory-session.
I will be monitoring attendance in class and the lab. The purpose of taking attendance is not to keep tabs on you for the grading, but, rather, to provide information to aid in my helping you, in the case that you find you have trouble in the course.
Because people coming in late disrupt the class, you are expected to be in the class-room and ready to begin work at the scheduled start of each class- and laboratory-period. Your not being so may result in loss of points or your exclusion from the class-room.
Please, follow this link for further information, details, and advice on attendance in this course.
There will be several field-trips during the course. On field-trip days, you should report to the specified location suitably attired and equipped for the announced subject and nature of the field-trip. Use of radios, telephones, other communication devices, and such like is not permitted on field-trips without the prior, specific permission of the instructor.
All but one of the field-trips will take place during regular class-time. There will be one all-day field-trip; it is scheduled for Saturday, 29 October 2011.
Because it is so important actually to see and experience geology, rather than just to hear or read about it, attendance on field-trips is required. Lack of attendance on field-trips will have an effect on your cumulative score for the course.
If you miss a field-trip, you still are responsible for the material covered on the field-trip, and you will be assigned to prepare a lengthy paper on that material.
ASSIGNMENTS and PREPARING FOR CLASS
Because you are mature adults, I will not make specific reading assignments in the texts. After all, authors and editors go to considerable time and trouble to compile tables-of-contents and indices for their books. There may be specific reading assignments in sources other than (and in addition to) the course texts. You should come to class familiar with everything available in the texts, course WEB-site, etc., on the announced subject or subjects of the class.
A well-known guide-line is that a student should work two hours outside of class for every hour in class ----- reading, studying, organizing and rewriting notes, answering the questions at the ends of chapters and in any published and on-line study-guides available, and so on. Thus, in this course, which consists of a bit under six hours of in-class time per week, you should expect to spend a minimum of some 12 hours of genuine work outside of class each week.
Please, follow this link for further information, details, and advice on assignments and preparing for class in this course.
Please, follow this link for information on the format, and so on, that should be used in preparing anything that is to be submitted in this course.
Grades in this course are based on evaluation of tests, home-work assignments, laboratory work and assignments, participation in field-trips, and a final project.
There will be four tests, including that designated "the final"; all four will have equal weight. In order to allow everyone to "have a bad day" without penalty, the lowest test-score of the first three will be dropped and not used in determination of the course-grade (in other words, the score of the fourth test may not be dropped). However, except for an excused absence, if you miss a test, the score for that test, a zero, will not be dropped. (Unless prior arrangements to the contrary have been made with me [the instructor], you are expected to be present for all tests, and make-up tests will NOT be administered on a routine basis. If you miss a test due to illness or genuine emergency, bring suitable documentation [for example, a letter from a medical doctor] and consult with me.)
Because information on any given subject is cumulative, thus also will be each test; however, unless otherwise announced, each will emphasize the material covered since the previous test.
Tests will include both "objective" questions involving definitions of technical terms, important names, dates, etc., and "essay-questions" and such like to test your understanding of ideas and how to manipulate and use them, the terms, etc.
In addition to tests, there will be some required home-work / laboratory assignments, with the total points to be derived being equivalent to those of a test.
Depending on how the term goes, there might be some other, additional activities assigned points. For example, there might be one or more "pop-quizzes" to see how folks are keeping up in studying the text-book. The total number of points for such things will be less than or equal to those for one test (unless announced otherwise).
Attendance on Field-trips
Because it is so important actually to see and experience geology, rather than just to hear or read about it, attendance on field-trips is required. Unless other arrangements have been made with the instructor, lack of attendance on a field-trip held during class-time will result in a deduction of 25 points from your cumulative score for the course. Similarly, lack of attendance on the all-day field-trip will result in a deduction of 50 points from your cumulative score for the course.
Letter Grades
Letter grades will be assigned on the basis of the pattern of distribution of cumulative scores.
As indicated previously, the score of one test of each student will be dropped in the calculation of the final scores upon which the letter grades in the course are based. This poses a dilemma. Because one score will be dropped, and because there is no way to know until the end of the course just which score will turn out to be the lowest, a given student's cumulative score is definitive only at the end of the course. Hence, if a "letter grade" were to be estimated at any point before the end, it would be misleading. The result is that, although a given student will know his or her cumulative score at any given point in the course, that student will not know just what his or her letter grade is prior to the end.
In a recent term, the total cumulative-score possible was 600 points. As they will be done this year, letter grades were assigned on the basis of the pattern of distribution of cumulative scores. That pattern yielded the following scheme:
| letter grade |
per cent |
points |
| A | 90.0 + | 540 + |
| B | 78.5 - 89.9 | 471 - 539 |
| C | 69.3 - 78.4 | 416 - 470 |
| D | 51.7 - 69.2 | 310 - 415 |
The above table is given to help you estimate how your letter-grade might be assigned. However, the actual scheme that ends up being used this year may not match last year's or those of the year before ----- depending on the actual distribution of the cumulative scores this year.
Incompletes
Here is a link to the College's policy on grades in undergraduate courses, including "Incompletes".
(The URL is: http://www.msj.edu/view/academics/catalogs--class-schedules/undergraduate-catalog/academic-policies/grades.aspx)
Please, follow this link for further information, details, and advice on grading in this course.
The goal of this course is to add to your individual knowledge, perceptions, skills, etc. Thus, in order to evaluate your, individual progress, I need to be certain that what I see of your work really is yours.
The College has adopted the policy on academic honesty printed in the College Catalogue. Please, familiarize yourself with it ----- and conduct yourself accordingly.
[The URL of the on-line version of the Honest Policy is: http://www.msj.edu/view/academics/catalogs--class-schedules/undergraduate-catalog/academic-policies/student-responsibility.aspx]
Please, follow this link for further information, details, and advice on academic honesty in this course.
TELEPHONES, AND SUCH LIKE are not to be used in class or on field-trips, except in cases of genuine emergency.
Whilst you are in class or on a field-trip, any telephone (or comparable device) in your possession:
a. is to be set so as not to "ring" audibly b. is not to be within your sight
(thus, you are NOT permitted either to receive or send "text-messages")
Out of respect for the privacy of others, you are not to record the sound or image of another person without obtaining his or her specific, prior permission.
RADIOS, AND SUCH LIKE, are not to be used in class or on field-trips.
COMPUTERS:
If you bring a lap-top computer to use in class, please, be certain it is fully charged before you arrive in the class-room. Because of the danger of cords strung across aisles, you may NOT connect your computer to an electrical outlet in the class-room.
If you use a computer in class or on a field-trip, it is to be used only in a way directly relevant to the class. If you are at all in doubt as to what constitutes "directly relevant", check with the instructor beforehand. ("Non-relevant" use may result in your being denied the use of a computer in the class-room.)
The following activities are not allowed during class or while on field-trips ----- unless you are specifically instructed to do so by the instructor:
a. text-messaging b. checking, receiving, or sending electronic-mail messages c. "surfing the WEB" d. use of ear-phones or similar devices e. use of a camera or other photographic capability f. use of a microphone or other sound-recording device
Recording of class-sessions without prior, specific permission of the instructor is not allowed.
Even when such permission is given, the student must agree that the recordings are for the personal use of the student and will not be shared with anyone else either by means of the original recordings, copies of the recordings, or any kind of transcription of the recordings. Moreover, the student must agree to erase or otherwise destroy the recorded matter upon the completion of the course or upon withdrawal from the course.
RELATIONSHIP OF THIS COURSE
TO YOUR LIBERAL-ARTS EDUCATION
"Learning Outcomes" and "Performance Indicators"
On 10 April 2007, the Faculty Assembly at the College of Mount St. Joseph adopted the following "learning-outcomes" and "performance-indicators". The lettered items are "learning-outcomes", and the "performance indicators" are numbered thereunder.)
A. Citizenship Recognize your responsibility to the community and the world.
1. Define your responsibilities as a citizen of the local community. 2. Define your responsibilities as a citizen of the global community. 3. Describe the relationship between community and world issues. 4. Evaluate your own involvement as a citizen.
B. Ethics Understand ethical responsibility from the perspective of duty, consequences, or virtue.
1. Define your personal ethical responsibilities. 2. escribe your professional ethical responsibilities. 3. Explain how Catholic teaching emphasizes social justice and social responsibility. 4. Illustrate how values inform your ethical decisions.
C. Interdisciplinarity Solve a problem by integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines.
1. State the views of multiple disciplines on an issue. 2. Compare views from multiple disciplines. 3. Create a solution to a problem by Integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines.
D. Sociocultural Relationships Understand the nature of human cultures.
1. Describe the influence of cultural diversity within a society. 2. Identify bias within a culture. 3. Explain how religious values influence a society. 4. Describe causes of cultural change.
E. Communication Write and speak effectively.
1. Speak using language appropriate to the audience. 2. Write using language appropriate to the audience. 3. Document sources properly. 4. Construct a message that is relevant to its purpose.
F. Critical Thinking Develop an appropriate response to a problem or question.
1. Describe the ambiguous nature of a issue. 2. Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. 3. Use data to evaluate a problem or question. 4. Support a position with appropriate evidence.
Course Objectives in the Context of the LA & S "Learning Outcomes" and "Performance Indicators"
Successful completion of GEO 115 ("Earth Science") requires that students:
1. demonstrate a knowledge of, an understanding of, and an appreciation for: a. the materials whereof planet Earth is made
(C1-C3)b. the processes whereby planet Earth got to be as we see it today, that affect the Earth today, and that will do so for infinite future (C1, C1-C3) c. the immense scale of the geologic history of the Earth (C1-C3) d. the immensity of the physical scale of the Earth and of the Solar System and Universe of which Earth is a part (C1-C3) e. the effect of the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of Earth on human activities and vice versa (A1-A4, B1-B4, C1-C3, D2, F1-F4) i. the sources of the earth-materials critical to everyday human existence ----- for example, fuels, water, minerals, building-materials, soil ii. geological hazards ----- for example, earthquakes, tsunami, floods, volcanic eruptions, coastal erosion, landslides iii. waste disposal and pollution f. the history of the study of the Earth and the methods and ways-of-thinking used in that study ----- in yesteryear, today, and into the future (C1-C3) 2. demonstrate proficiency in locating, evaluating, comprehending, and using information, both verbal and non-verbal, including the ability to comprehend and interpret quantitative information (E1-E4, F3) 3. develop and refine their abilities to make accurate and precise observations and measurements of earth entities and phenomena (F1-F4) 4. demonstrate the ability to think critically and creatively and to communicate effectively in class-discussion, tests, home-work assignments, the course project ----- indeed, throughout the course (E1-E4; F1-F4).
(To return whence you came,
please, use the "Back" feature of your WEB-browser.)
ABOUT THIS WEB-PAGE -- Caveat lector !
This web-page was constructed using MS-FrontPage and its version of html. The results have been previewed by way of MS Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, things that look fine when viewed with Internet Explorer sometimes look rather peculiar when viewed with some other WEB-browser. For example, there can be unexpected and unpredictable changes in the size, shape, style of type, or some combination of these. Moreover, sometimes different versions of Internet Explorer do not present the same WEB‑page in the same way; for example, hyphens in one version can mutate into empty rectangles in another. Alas!
23 September 2011