Syllabus Example - CCU

Transcription

1 Colorado Christian University Science Department Semester/Year Class Syllabus Course Title: Course Number: Instructor: Environmental Science BIO-103 Dr. Bob Smith, Ph.D. Office location: Leprino 110 Office hours: M,W,F 1:00 5:00 Office telephone: address: Required materials: Keller, Edward A. & Botkin, Daniel B. (2010) Essential environmental science. New Jersey: Smith & Sons Additional Materials: Environmental Course Description/Objectives: The course is an introduction to environmental science with an emphasis on the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental issues, concerns, problems, and economics. The impact of humans on ecosystems, resources, energy and the environmental are presented. Special reference is made to the significance of sustainability and the politics involved in its promotion. The problems of pollution, waste management, hazardous and toxic materials are explored in depth. The roles of business, industry and government related to the environment will be addressed. Course Prerequisite: none, but it is highly recommended that a pre-college or college-level composition course be completed prior to enrolling in Environmental Science. School Policies: 1. Assessment: Students will be assessed using formative and summative methods such as tests, papers, labs, projects, quizzes and participation. 2. Plagiarism: Submitting plagiarized work for an academic requirement is considered misconduct. Plagiarism is the representation of another s work of ideas as one s own; it includes the unacknowledged use of another person s ideas. 1

2 3. Lecture participation: Students are encouraged to participate in the learning process and are responsible for all assigned readings. It is recommended that students complete each reading and assignment prior to the corresponding class. 4. Lab participation: Students are required to participate in all labs. Attending less than 70% of the labs is an automatic failure of the course. 5. Exams and Quizzes: Students will be allowed to make up 1 exam or quiz at the discretion of the instructor, and arrangements must be made within 24 hours of the missed exam or quiz. Makeup of missed exams must be arranged with the faculty and completed within the week of return to class. A valid excuse must be given and may require a written excuse. 6. Exams and quizzes: Students will have weekly quizzes and unit exams. The course will have two finals-one at the end of each semester. 7. Class assignments: (lecture and lab) Students will have a one-day grace period for submission of the class assignments. Assignments turned in after the grace period will be considered late and will have points reduced by 10% for every calendar day the assignment is late. 8. Lab: Labs are open for use when a faculty or lab monitor is present and there is not a class present in the lab. Lab safety is the responsibility of all and you are expected to read and abide by the safety guidelines. Students must sign lab waivers prior to participating in labs. 9. Cell phones: Cell phones must be kept out of sight and the ringer turned off at all times. 10. Academic misconduct: Any activity that compromises the academic integrity of the course or subverts the educational process will be investigated by the school and dealt with accordingly. Examples include, but are not limited to: cheating on exams and/or class assignments, plagiarism, falsification of records, unethical computer use, and unauthorized removal of materials from the classroom, lab, library or offices. 11. This syllabus is subject to change. All changes will be announced in class and online with a new syllabus posted. Course Evaluation Criteria: Exams 60% Labs 20% Assignments 10% Recitation 10% 2

3 School Grading Scale: % A % A % B % B % B % C % C % C % D % D % D % F Course Content Description Environmental Science Week Topic Reading Student Assignments 1 -Introduction environmental science and the study of our earth -Fundamental issues in Environmental Science -Environmental systems Chpt 1 Assessment pre-test Lab: Using the metric system Lab: Plant radishes 2 - method and environmental problems -States of matter -First and second laws of thermodynamics 3 -Biogeochemical cycles -Inputs/outputs and system changes 4 -Ecosystems -Energy flow -Cycles -Natural and anthropogenic disturbances 5 -Biological diversity -Restoration ecology -Global circulation patterns -Biomes 6 -Forest and wildlife -The effect of environmental changes on speciation and extinction -Ecological niche 7 Midterm review and test -The environment in current events 3 Chpt 2 Reading quiz chpt 1 Lab: Landfill system Lab: Soil habitat and microscopic organisms Chpt 3 Quiz over chpt 2 and thermodynamics Chpt 4 Reading quiz over chpt 3 Class assignment #1 Chpt 5,6 Reading quiz over chpt 4 Lab: Quadrat Lab: Landfill Chpt 7 Exam I over chpts 1-6 Lab: Completion of soil habitat Food web Midterm test Current event coverage and presentation 8 -Human population growth Chpt 8,9 Reading quiz over chpt 7

4 -Limits to growth -Economic development and sustainable development -Environmental health, pollution, and toxicology 9 -Ecological succession -Keystone species -Agriculture and environment -Soil formation and mineral extraction 10 -Water and environment -Management of water distribution -Future availability of water and human consumption 11 -Oceans and environment -Climate variation -Ocean pollution and international laws Land use -Tragedy of the commons and maximum sustainable yield -Function, operation and efficacy of four major public land management agencies in the US -Cause and consequences of urban sprawl -Minerals and environment 14 -Feeding the World -Overcoming hunger and malnutrition -Modern industrial agriculture 15 -Earth s atmosphere and climate -Air pollution and environment -Control and prevention of outdoor air pollution -Photochemical smog and acid deposition 16 -Waste management -Reduce, reuse, recycle and composting -Landfills and incineration implications -Hazardous waste problems and disposal 17 Midterm review and test -The environment and current events 18 -Human health and environmental risks -Emerging infectious diseases -Toxic chemicals -Dose-response studies, retrospective studies, and prospective studies Class Assignment II Lab: Acid rain effects on plants Lab: Food web report due Chpt 10 Reading quiz over chpts 8,9 Lab: Pollutant effects on microbes Class assignment III Chpt 11 Exam II over chpts 7-10 Lab: Water quality of potable/non-potable source 12,13 journals 14,15 Class assignment IV Student research Biome presentations Lab: Water quality monitoring Reading quiz over chpt 11 Lab: pollutant effects on microbes Student research Solving the problem presentations Lab: Photosynthesis Reading quiz over chpts 12,13 Lab: Acid rain effects on plants Chpt 16 Exam III over chpts Chpt Midterm test Current event coverage and presentation Reading quiz over chpt 16 Lab: Landfill data collection and analysis 4

5 19 -Risk analysis and philosophies of chemical regulation -Chemical concentrations in organisms Research on bioaccumulation Presentations Conservation of Biodiversity -Declining biodiversity -Single species approach to conservation -Ecosystem approach to conserving biodiversity The politics of environmental laws -Global change, global climate change, and global warming -Solar radiation -Feedback loops 24 -Natural hazards -Environmental economics -The politics of sustainability -Environmental laws and economic growth reading Environ mental law journal reading Reading quiz over chpts Lab: Landfill report due Roundtable discussion 25 Student presentations lab findings Exam - Final Course Competencies and Student Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to: Lab reports Opinion essays from reading assignments 1.0 Analyze and discuss the complexity and interrelatedness of the environment, society, politics, business, industry, agriculture, economics, ethics, values, science and scientific thinking, environmental issues (concerns and problems), environmental justice, environmental decision making, risk assessment, risk management, and the politics involved in sustainability Explain the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science and the areas involved in the process of environmental decision making 1.02 Explain, using examples, why environmental problems may not coincide with geographic or political boundaries 1.03 Identify organizations and the role of international organizations relative to the quality of the environment 1.04 Explain how humans place a value on the environment including the justifications of utilitarian, ecological, aesthetic, moral and stewardship 2.0 THE ENTIRE SCOPE OF TOPICS COVERED SHOULD HAVE STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES SPECIFIC TO THE TOPIC Along with the syllabus, faculty must submit examples of tests, quizzes, labs, writing assignments, projects and rubrics for grading. 5