Honors
Integrated Science- FYE Fall 2014
HONS 2406-H01 & 2406-H51
MWF 10:00 – 10:50. English & Philosphy 361 (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. Demonstrate 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 (including NCSE News Online),
and discussion 15%
Writing assignments 30%
Term paper 15%
Presentation 10%
Lab Grade
Homework, quizzes and participation 25%
Statistics Midterm 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://fyehis2014.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.
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 Course Schedule
Week 1. (August 25 - 29)
Introduction
Critical Thinking
Planet Earth
Week 2. (September 3 - 5)
Monday- Labor Day Holiday
Oceans
Online Assignment #1- Due September 5
Week 3. (September 8 - 12)
Oceans
First Writing Assignment- Due September 12
Week 4. (September 15 - 19)
Monday- workshop papers
Geology
First Writing Assignment- Final Draft Due September 19
Week 5. (September 22 - 26)
Geology
Second Writing Assignment- Due September 26
Week 6. (September 29 - October 3)
Monday- workshop papers
Atmospheric Science
Second Writing Assignment- Due October 3
Week 7. (October 6 - 10)
The Importance of the Physical Environment
Midterm Exam- Friday October 10th
Week 8. (October 13 - 17)
Evolutionary Ecology
Week 9. (October 20 - 24)
Monday- workshop papers
Population Ecology
Week 10. (October 28 – November 1)
Population Ecology/Community Ecology
Week 11. (November 4 - 8)
Community Ecology
Week 12. (November 10 - 14)
Environmental Issues
***First draft of Writing Assignment #3 due November 12***
Friday- workshop Environmental Ethics Papers
Week 13. (November 17 - 21)
Environmental Issues
Week 14. (November 24)
Student led discussions
***Final Draft of Writing Assignment #3 paper November
24st**
Week 15. (December 1 - 3)
Student led discussions
Final Exam- Tuesday December 9th- 7:30 to 10:00 AM.
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 28- Introduction
September 4- Chapters 1
and 2
September 11- Chapters 3
and 4, Appendix 1 (t-test)
September 18- Chapter 4
revisited and Chapters 5
September 25- Chapter 6
and 7
October 2- Practice with
statistics
October 9- Statistics
Midterm Exam
October 16- Sample Class
Project
October 23- Complete
Class Project- design individual projects
October 30- work on
projects
November 6- work on
projects
November 13- work on
projects
November 20- complete
projects
November 27- Eat Turkey
Final Paper Due by 5:00
PM Friday December 5th
