Syllabus

Course Syllabus
Advanced Fieldcraft: Prairies and Rainforests

EVHM 3350-H01
Spring 2012
T-Th 11:00 - 12:20 English and Philosophy room 304

Instructor: Dr. Mark McGinley
Room 215 McClelland Hall mark.mcginley@ttu.edu

Office Hours: T-Th- 10-11 or by appointment

I encourage you to make an appointment to meet with me if you need to see me. The easiest ways to do this are (1) to talk to me either before or after class or (2) to send me an email listing times when you are available to meet with me and then I will let you know which works best for me.

Course Outline
The effects of the current drought in Texas have reinforced how strongly physical factors can influence the ecology and society of a region. This course will examine how the physical environment influences the ecology, history, society, and environmental issues. We will contrast two distinctly different parts of the world, our local region, the semi-arid High Plains of Texas, with the wet, tropics of South East Asia. Students will work to develop educational materials that will be on public display. Students in this course will participate in the Encyclopedia of Earth's (EoE http://www.eoearth.org/) Student Science Communication Project. See an example of published student work at http://www.eoearth.org/article/Rivers_of_Texas) and develop material for the South East Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit (http://www.seabcru.org/). This course is writing intensive, as students will write articles that will be submitted for review for inclusion in the EoE and SEABCRU website. This course may include local field trips (but unfortunately, no trips to the rainforests). This course may be repeated for credit with approval from NHH program director.

THIS COURSE FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF THE HONORS SEMINAR REQUIREMENT FOR NON-EVHM MAJORS AND FULFILLS 3 HOURS OF BIOLOGY CREDIT

Student Absence for Observation of Religious Holy Days
A student who is absent from classes for the observation of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence if, not later than the fifteenth day after the first day of the semester, the student had notified the instructor of each scheduled class that the student would be absent for a religious holy day.

Academic Integrity
Texas Tech University faculty strive to foster a spirit of complete honesty and high standards of integrity. Any attempt by students to present as their own work any work not honestly performed is regarded by faculty and administration as a most serious offence and renders offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension from the university. “Scholastic dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give an unfair academic advantage to a student. A detailed list of offenses is available in the Code of Student Conduct, found in Part IX, pp. 20-21 in the current Student Handbook, available on line at:
http://www.studentaffairs.ttu.edu?publications/SA_handbook_2005-2006.pdf.

Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, a fully-engaged student will be able to:

1. Discuss basic concepts in population, community, and ecosystem ecology. Assessed by performance in class discussions/activities and written assignments.

2. Read and discuss papers from the ecological literature. Assessed by performance in class discussions/activities and written assignments.

3. Compare and contrast the characteristics of organisms living in prairie and rainforest ecosystems. Assessed by performance in class discussions/activities and written assignments.

4. Write effectively about organisms, ecological communities and ecosystems, and environmental issues. Assessed performance on written papers.

5. Critique and evaluate the writing of others. Assessed on performance in writing workshops.

Grading
Participation in class discussion and activities 25%
Participation in writing workshops 15%
Writing assignments 60%

It is extremely important that all assignments be turned in on time!!!

Course Blog
I have created a blog for this course. This blog will be an important means of communication between us so I encourage you to check the blog early and often. The blog is located at http://prairiesandrainforests2013.blogspot.com/. Hopefully, most of your questions about the details of the class will be answered somewhere on the blog. In addition, I will list specific “expected learning outcomes” for each lesson to help you focus your study efforts. Please regularly check the blog to learn about upcoming readings, activities, and assignments.

Required Reading
There is no required textbook for this course. I will assign readings throughout the semester on the course blog http://prairiesandrainforests2013.blogspot.com/.

Books About Writing
Writing well is important for effective communication. Thus, improving your writing skills is an important component of this course. Here are a couple of references that would be useful for you to have on your shelf (and use) throughout your college career. (these books are not required).

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves. The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. By Lynne Truss.