Course Overview:

Geology 100 is an introduction to scientific inquiry and the scientific method  as they apply to understanding human interactions with the geologic environment. This class is not   recommended for students with backgrounds in earth science or science majors.  Students are not expected to have backgrounds in math or science beyond the high school level. 

Because this course satisfies a Natural Science General Degree Requirement,  the objective is to develop critical thinking skills.   To facilitate this, I use the "team learning" concept, which means that students participate in small learning groups  throughout the semester.  Please note that this is a requirement of the course and an important factor in your final grade.

Required Textbook:

Pipkin, B.W., and Trent, D.D., 2001, Geology and the Environment; 3rd Edition, Brooks/Cole Thompson Learning, 569 pages.

All readings for the course are from this text, which is available through text rental at the UWSP bookstore.

Attendance is expected at all lecture and lab sessions. Role will be taken periodically throughout the semester during lectures. Students whose final averages are on the border between two letter grades will receive the lower grade if they have more than three absences without legitimate excuses (e.g., illness, death in family, etc.).

Grading Policy:

Your grade in this course will be based on your performance on three exams given during the semester, your participation in a learning group, and your score the final exam.  Learning groups, explained more fully below, will complete ten exercises during the semester. The table below shows the relative weighting of these various grading instruments in the final grade determination.

Please note that there will be no opportunity to earn extra credit   to compensate for poor test scores. Students are thus advised to study carefully for all  exams.

Final grades in the course will include the plus and minus option. In no case  will an incomplete be granted for the course unless a student has a long-term illness or a lengthy hospital stay.

Learning Groups:

Students will be assigned to groups at the beginning of the semester and expected to complete ten assignments working with other members of their group.  Each group will consist of four or five students selected from the same lab section.  Students will learn of their group assignment during the first lab session.

Exercises will be posted on the course web site with instructions.  Students will also be given some background information during the lectures.

Group exercises are due by midnight on the Thursday  after they assigned and can be submitted either in paper form to my office or electronic form via e-mail.  Late assignments will not be accepted!

Exercises are not  graded on the basis of having "right" or "wrong" answers!  A group receives full credit for the assignment if it is turned in on time  and an effort is made to answer question in a thoughtful manner.  The assignments will be discussed during the following Monday morning lecture period.

Each student within a group receives credit for an assignment only  if he/she was present for and participated in the group discussion.  Therefore, when a group submits it answers for an assignment, the names of the members who are to receive credit must also be included.

Examinations:

Each of the four exams will be a multiple-choice  test that covers the material from both  lecture and lab. Students should begin studying well in advance of a scheduled test date. , and learning groups are encouraged to study together.  To help students prepare, a series of review questions for each test will be posted on the course web site.

Remember that the principal objective of this course is to develop critical thinking skills.  Therefore, exams give the opportunity to apply what you have learned rather than simply to regurgitate what you have memorized.  For this reason, "cramming" is an ineffective way to study for exams.  Instead, you should keep current with the material, asking questions about the lectures, lab exercises, and reading assignments as they arise.

Because exams will be computer-graded, students will need to bring #2 pencils  to fill in their answer sheets. Test scores are posted on this web site, in a public folder, and outside the lab room (D-320) as soon as they are available.

"Make-up" exams may be given only  to those students who have prior   approval from the instructor. Illness is a valid excuse only  when the student has verifiable evidence of that illness from a doctor.

Federal law and University policy prohibits the posting of student exam scores and grades by social security number or student identification numbers.  Therefore, if you want me to post your scores and grades, you must supply me with a code name (or number) before the first exam.  Your code name/number can be composed of letters and/or numbers and should be less than 9 digits long.  Code names or numbers can be submitted in writing or electronically.

Students with learning and/or physical disabilities are encouraged to contact me to make any special arrangements needed for taking lecture notes or exams.

Students are responsible for all material in the assigned readings. 

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