Course Syllabus

Honors Integrated Science- FYE  Fall 2012

HONS 2406-H01 & 2406-H51

MWF 10:00 – 10:50. English & Philosphy 304 (lecture)

Th 2 – 4:50. English & Philosophy 304 (lab)

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

This course offers an integrated introduction to oceanography, earth science, atmospheric science,  and life science.  In particular, this course will examine how the physical environment influences the biotic environment.  The course will consist of a combination of lectures, group discussions, writing workshops, and laboratory work. This course will be writing intensive.

THIS COURSE FULFILLS THE CORE CURRICULUM NATURAL SCIENCES REQUIREMENT

The objective of the study of natural science component of a core curriculum is to enable the student to understand, construct, and evaluate relationships in natural sciences, and to enable the student to understand the bases for building and testing theories.  The natural sciences investigate the phenomena of the physical world.

Students graduating from Texas Tech University should be able to explain some of the major concepts in the natural sciences and demonstrate an understanding of scientific approaches to problem solving, including ethics.

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 important theories in ocean, earth, and life sciences. assessed by performance in class discussions, exams, presentation, and written papers

2. “Think critically” about environmental issues. assessed by performance in class discussions, exams, presentation, and written papers

3. Write about scientific issues. assessed by performance on written papers and exams

4. Demostrate their understanding of the scientific method by designing, conducting, analyzing, evaluating, and reporting on the results of an independent scientific investigation.

Grading

Your grade in this course will include your performance in both the lecture and the lab section of the course.  The lecture portion of the course will count for 75% of your grade and the lab portion will count for the remaining 25%.

Lecture Grade

Midterm exam 15%

Final exam 15%

Participation in workshops, online, and discussion 10%

Writing assignments 30%

Term paper 15%

Presentation 15%

Lab Grade

Homework, quizzes and participation 25%
Statistics Midterm Exam 25%

Research Project and written research report 50%

Midterm and Final Exam

The written midterm and final exams will cover material discussed in lectures and discussions.

Writing Assignments

These papers will be two pages maximum double spaced.

You will turn in a draft of this paper that will be critiqued by your classmates and me during a “Workshop” class period.

You can revise your paper and turn in a final copy of paper to be graded!

Presentation and Term Paper

Each student will choose a topic and write a 5 page term paper and give a presentation to the class on that topic (more details to follow).

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://honorsintegratedscience2023.blogspot.com/. Hopefully, most of your questions about the details of the class will be answered somewhere on the blog.

Blog posts will include your reading assignments and occasionally practice questions to check your learning. In addition, I will list specific “expected learning outcomes” for each lesson to help you focus your study efforts.

Required Reading

There is no required textbook for this course. I will assign readings throughout the semester on the course blog http://honorsintegratedscience2012.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.

Very (Extremely) Tentative Lecture Schedule

Week 1. (August 27 - 31)

Introduction

Critical Thinking

Planet Earth

Week 2. (September 5 - 7)

Monday- Labor Day Holiday

Oceans

Online Assignment #1- Due September 7

Week 3. (September 10 - 14)

Oceans

First Writing Assignment- Due September 14

Week 4. (September 17 - 21)

Monday- workshop papers

Geology

First Writing Assignment- Final Draft Due September 21

Week 5. (September 24 - 28)

Geology

Second Writing Assignment- Due September 28

Week 6. (October 1 - 5)

Monday- workshop papers

Atmospheric Science

Second Writing Assignment- Due October 5

Week 7. (October 8 - 12)

The Importance of the Physical Environment

Midterm Exam- Friday October 12th

Week 8. (October 15 - 19)

Evolutionary Ecology

Third Writing Assignment- Due October 19th
UPDATE- Writing Assignment 2 due

Week 9. (October 22 - 26)

Monday- workshop Writing Assignment 2

Population Ecology

UPDATE- Second Writing Assignment- Final Draft Due October 26

Week 10. (October 29 – November 2)

Population Ecology/Community Ecology

Week 11. (November 5 - 9)

Community Ecology

Week 12. (November 12 - 16)

Ecosystem Ecology

Student led discussions

Week 13. (November 19)

Student led discussions

Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 14. (November 26 - 30)

Student led discussions

Week 15. (December 3 - 5)

Student led discussions

Final Exam- Friday December 7th- 1:30 to 4:00 PM.

LAB

Required Book
The Process of Science. By Mark McGinley (get them from me, not the bookstore)

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to:

1. Define science and describe the process of science. Assessed by performance in quizzes and class discussion.

2. Discuss how scientists generate hypotheses. Assessed by performance on quizzes and class discussion.

3. Discuss when and why scientists need to use statistics and apply the appropriate statistical tests. Assessed by performance on quizzes and research project.

4. Develop a testable hypothesis and collect data to tests these hypotheses. Assessed by performance on research project.

5. Analyze the data and draw appropriate conclusions. Assessed by performance on research project.

6. Report your findings to a wider audience. Assessed by performance on research project final report

Course Schedule
August 30- Introduction
September 6- Chapters 1 and 2
September 13- Chapters 3 and 4, Appendix 1 (t-test)
September 20- Chapter 4 revisited and Chapters 5
September 27- Chapter 6 and 7
October 4- Practice with statistics
October 11- Statistics Midterm Exam
October 18- work on projects
October 25- work on projects
November 1- work on projects
November 8- work on projects
November 15- work on projects
November 22- Eat Turkey
November 29- complete projects

Final Paper Due by 5:00 PM Wednesday December 9th