Laboratory Syllabus

Lab Instructors:

Hannah McDonald, email, office
Brian Turner, email, office
Tanner Scrivens, email, office

Lab sections:

Mon 11:00 to 12:50 (section 4, CRN = 16293)
Tue 12:00 to 13:50 (section 2, CRN 14335)
Tue 14:00 to 15:50 (section 3, CRN = 14336)
Wed 16:00 to 17:50 (section 1, CRN = 14334)
Fri 11:00 to 12:50 (section 5, CRN = 16292)

Locations:

"Lab" means SB2 149
"Field" means to meet outside the lab ready to go.
"Other" means another classroom for presentations, etc.

Other requirements:

Students will participate in the field laboratory sections fully. This means being at the lab or ready to go on field activities on or before the starting time. We also expect full attention during the labs and involvment in the discussions.

For class field activities, be prepared to walk and record your observations. You will need to have good walking shoes and be dressed appropriately for the weather. You will need a small notebook of some kind that you can write in while in the field. You might want to have a light pack with stuff.

Philosophy of this field lab approach:

The lecture and field-lab sections are designed around a specific set of philosophies. In the lecture section you will explore environmental problems and be taught skills to look at them from multiple perspectives. This is as much a habit-of-mind as it is an intellectual approach. I feel that it is important that more ideas and trials are brought to the table when we are attempting to solve environmental problems that involve nature, humans, and technology.

The field-lab section runs through a cycle of how these environmental problems are addressed. A crucial part of this cycle is that you are forced to gain personal experience of the particular problem, location or ecosystem that you are addresing. First hand knowledge and experience is one of the best antidotes to the maladaptive approach of starting from ideologies. For example, you will actually see how humans and natural areas are mutually beneficial and how they conflict.

These two approaches (lecture and field-lab) are meant to help you learn about complex human-environmental systems.

 

Learning objectives:

• General
  • The overall objective for this portion of the course is for students to work through a cycle of:
    • identifying an authentic problem in the environment that entails human and natural capital,
    • make direct observations of that problem in specific locations,
    • compare their observations to theory and simulations,
    • collect data that might help address the issues,
    • make a recommendation for further work that would both help mitigate the problem and decrease the uncertainty for future rounds of this cycle
  • Other
• Specific
  • be able to ...
  • construct a map ...
• Contributes to development of:
  • respect multiple viewpoints and cultural practices
  • constructive engagement in problems facing our society

Grading:

50 points for exercises: There will be five short reports worth 10 points each from the lab and field exercises. These must be handed in on time so that the instructors can make comments and grade them and get them back to you. Because we feel this feedback is important, there will be a severe penalty for late work. The late work penalty is that the paper needs to be turned in at the beginning of the class period. Don't arrive at class thinking you are going to print it on the lab printers.

Late work policy

-2 points: If you are late to class or it's not in the instructor's pile
-2 points: if it is turned in anytime after class or emailed after class but during that day
-2 points: if it is turned in within two days

After 2 days you will only be getting a possible 4 points out of 10 and the instructor is under no obligation to comment on the paper .You wil simply be given a score and the paper returned.

10 point quiz on plants that are list in the plant guide

20 points for class attendance and class participation: Class participation and attention is also crucial. There will be subjective points assigned for full, acceptable, minumum, deficient, and low participation as averaged out over the term. This includes the discussions of your colleagues papers and the panel on reccommendations.

30 points for the final presentation(15), panel(5) and paper(10) are very important as evidence of what you have been doing all along. Think of these as opportunities for "double points". If you are doing the work for each lab session you will get points for that and you will be able to include that work in your final presentation and paper.

Extra credit - 10 points for volunteering to remove invasive species through some organized group.

Sickness Policy - please see the lecture syllabus for details