| ESR 102 Environmental Science II | ||||||||||
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| Instructor | John Rueter | |||||||||
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| Office | SB1 414 | |||||||||
| Mail box | SB2 218, the ESR office | |||||||||
| rueterj@pdx.edu | ||||||||||
| course website | http:web.pdx.edu/~rueterj/courses/esr102 | |||||||||
ESR 102 Environmental Science (4) Introduction to the analytical study of the interaction between humans and the environment. This term will focus on issues of environmental degradation. Topics will include human population growth, pollution of the air and water, energy resource use, and social and economic basis for sustainability. One 2-hour laboratory session. The laboratory projects will focus on impact of population growth, pollution, and resource conservation.
The text will be used extensively in this course. There will be assignments that require access to the text.
The text is Miller, "Living in the Environment", 13th edition.
There will be four types of graded assignments and numerous non-graded assessments. Several assignments in each unit will be done on the web. You will need to access the internet to complete these assignments.
Vocabulary assessment 2 points This assignment is designed to test your associations between vocabulary terms and concepts.
Media 3 points This assignment allows you to connect the concepts in any particular unit with the popular scientific media.
Case Study Application 5 points This assignment is designed to test your ability to apply the approach used in the example case study to a similar problem.
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Quiz 15 points The quiz will be done right at the beginning of class. The quiz will contain several vocabulary words, several concepts to explain and an application question.
After the first week there will be 4 two-week units. Each of these units will have essentially the same pattern of work which will overlap parts of three lectures. Below is an example of the cycle of work for Unit 2. The tail end of unit 1 and the beginning of unit 3 are in grey.
Jan 27 turn in written assignment on Case Study 1 at the beginning of class
about 20 minutes for Quiz 1
Most of time spent on an introductory lecture covering the major topics covered in unit 2 before next lecture, read and learn terms in the worksheet Feb 03 short vocabulary assessment at beginning of class
present media assignment to small group
further lecture and discussion on topics
work on Case study 2, write up assignment, study for quiz Feb 10 turn in written assignment for Case Study 2
take the quiz for unit 2
Introductory lecture on the major topics in unit 3, start the cycle over again
This course is taught as a hybrid between lecture, on-line and laboratory. The on-line portion of the coursed is a series of four case studies that you will examine using very structured approaches (which I call "viewers" for the lack of a better name). This assignment requires about 1 hour of your time each week in addition to the 2 hours of class time, making the total of 3 lecture hours.
for more information on the specifics of this see
ESR 102 Case Studies and Viewers
There is one laboratory section per day. For a more complete description of the laboratory sessions, please see the Laboratory Information . The laboratory counts for 25% of the course grade.
The lecture portion of the course is worth 75% of the grade and the lab is worth 25% of the grade. Your lab TA will describe how the lab will be graded.
In the lecture portion of the course there are 4 units that have 4 assignments each (vocabulary assessment, media, case study application and a quiz). In addition there is a fift quiz to cover the synthesis section and a make-up/alternative quiz. I will automatically throw out your lowest score on one of each type of assignment and your lowest quiz.
The course grade schedule is based roughly on a 90-80-70% for A, B, C respectively. This schedule can be adjusted down (in your favor) by the instructor but will never be shifted up. The schedule might be shifted down for example if a quiz question was more difficult than expected.
The final exam period will be used for two quizzes. Each quiz will be worth 15 points. One will focus on the last unit and the other quiz will cover all of the material in the course. If you missed a quiz, or want to improve your score on any of the quizzes, you can take the "make up" quiz.
The course is not graded on a curve. Helping a fellow student study can't hurt you and will probably help both of you.
If you are using the P/NP option you must get 70 % to pass.
The media and case study application assignments are due, absolutely at the beginning of class. If you are late, the assignment is late. You will loose 2 points for any late work.
Academic honesty is the cornerstone of adult education.
Academic honesty points will be forfeited if you are caught cheating on an exam or represent someone else's work as your own.
For a more complete statement of academic honesty
Each class you take is the combination of the the course material and the instructor's experience in designing and presenting the course for your group. Each class instance includes opportunities for trying new techniques to help improve student learning. The instructor can learn from these experiences, just as they have learned from past experiences.
Students at PSU are expected (Bulletin page) to help in the improvement of the curriculum and courses through their participation in course and program assessments.
In addition to these general improvement efforts, this class (ESR102) is studying some specific questions about how students learn concepts. You will be asked to participate in this study. Your participation is completely optional and you have the opportunity to agree or disagree to participate.
John Rueter
January 3, 2005