Kapi'olani Community College

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT LAB

Course Syllabus for Geography 101 Lab Online

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Dennis Nullet
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~dennis/

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Required Materials: Thermometer sensitive to environmental temperatures in Hawaii. A partial immersion thermometer is best, this is simply a glass tube with the markings etched on the glass with no backing plate. It will be important that the bulb be in contact with various surfaces and you will need to stir a can of water with it. Standard garden thermometers have a wide backing plate showing the temperature scale and the backing can interfere with measurements. Your options are:

1. borrow an appropriate thermometer from the instructor. Just send me a $10 depost and I will send you a thermometer. If you return it by the end of the semester, I will return your $10.
2. find an appropriate partial immersion thermometer elsewhere, but students have had trouble in the past with this option.
3. buy a standard garden thermometer at a hardware store. These are less desireable because the backing plate interferes with measurement, but will work.

I'll send out an anouncement early in the class for those who would like to put down a deposit and borrow an appropriate instrument. Note that medical thermometers will not work.

Course Description: Analysis of the natural world through field and laboratory observation and experimentation. Emphasis is placed on the Hawaiian environment.

Objectives: Upon successful completion of GEOG 101 Lab, the student should be able to:

• Define a problem for study, gather and record data, analyze the data, arrive at appropriate conclusions and report the the findings in written form.
• Use a variety of measuring instruments and Internet sites to gather environmental data.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply the metric system, scientific notation, graphs, and geographic and basic statistical measurements.
• Demonstrate the ability to read and interpret maps.
• Critically analyze problems within the framework of the course and communicate this knowledge in written form.

Online Format: The course is taught via the Internet using a course management system that provides discussion boards, private messaging, student record keeping, course content organization, testing, and other tools.

Communication: Throughout the course, you may (but are not required to) discuss the material using a discussion board.   You can use the bulletin board to ask questions about the labs, answer other's questions, or discuss anything relevant to the topics we will be studying. Of course, you can use always use private messaging or email to ask the instructor questions about time conflicts, grading, or other problems specific to the individual student that might not be appropriate for the discussion board. I would prefer that you use private messaging available in the course to contact the instructor, although you can also email me through your hawaii.edu account outside of the course. Note that I will not send email to other providers, such as Google, Yahoo, or Hotmail, as per UH policy (see statement below).

Examinations and Grading Grades will be based on 12 labs, each with equal weight. The labs will contain information, questions, internet links, measurement assignments, and other information and tasks. Each lab has a slightly different format. Some simply require answering questions. Some require more formal writing, including introduction, experimental observations, and conclusions. Some have multiple choice tests. Both the tests and writeups are submitted to the same testing area within the course (not emailed to the instructor). Labs are generally available weeks before their final deadline and may be completed and turned in anytime before the due date. Late work will not be accepted. Also, labs may take more than one day to complete (the weather lab takes a minimum of 4 days, for example), so read the requirements carefully and plan accordingly.

GRADING SUMMARY

* IMPORTANT NOTE: To earn an A, a student must complete all 12 labs. Each missed lab reduces the maximum grade possible according to the table below:

HONOR and DISCIPLINE: I hold each student to the highest standard of integrity. By enrolling in this course, and by reading this message, you tacitly give your word of honor that you, and you alone, will do the work required for the class. You are welcome, and encouraged, to discuss the material with other students and to seek help in understanding the individual lab material. You may also collaborate with others when working on the lab assignments. You must interpret the results and write up the labs by yourself, however. If I find that another person has done your work for you, or that any material has been plagiarized, you will be expelled. If I suspect a student of cheating, they will be required to complete all work on campus under supervised conditions. Please read the Academic Honesty section.

Rules, Rules, Rules! While the tone of this syllabus has been a bit strident, it is important that the rules of the class be clearly defined as a syllabus is, basically, a contract been students and instructor. Previous students have found clearly defined rules and deadlines to be helpful in avoiding ambiguity and uncertainty, however, and most have genuinely enjoyed the class. I hope you will too.

Disability Statement: If you are a student with a documented disability and have not voluntarily disclosed the nature of your disability and the support you need,  you are invited to contact the Disability Support Services Office, Ilima 103, 734-9552 (V/T), or email kapdss@hawaii.edu for assistance.

UH Policy on email communication: The electronic communications  policy adopted in December 2005 establishes the University of Hawai'i Internet service as an official medium for communication among students, faculty, and  staff. Every member of the system has a hawaii.edu address, and the associated  username and password provide access to essential Web announcements and email.  You are hereby informed of the need to regularly log in to UH email and Web  services for announcements and personal mail. Failing to do so will mean missing critical information from academic and program advisors, instructors, registration and business office staff, classmates, student organizations, and others.