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Course Information |
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Catalog Description: |
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Study of environmental problems at global, national, and local levels. Ecological principles, geophysical processes, and human population dynamics; scientific approach applied to understanding environmental concepts using hands-on field experiences. |
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In this course we will take a look at how the various components of the environment interact and the effects of these interactions on humans. Activities will focus on personal interactions with the environment through observational studies, surveys, and projects. This course will satisfy one General Education lab science requirement. |
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Course Objectives: |
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Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
A. understand cultural, economic, and political historical precedents leading to modern environmental problems and policies.
B. understand and apply knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science to environmental functions and problems.
C. evaluate hazards, risks, and benefits faced by him or her self and society.
D. understand the relationships within and between the biotic and abiotic components of the biosphere.
E. critically evaluate the impacts of human population growth, urbanization, and resource use on the environment.
F. make educated environmental decisions in their personal and public life. |
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Prerequisites and Corequisites: |
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College Level in Math, English, Reading |
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Course Topics (order of last 5 topics subject to change): |
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1. Introduction to Environmental Science
2. Matter, Energy, Resources, and Pollution
3. Human Populations, Hazards, and Risk
4. Earth Science
5. Weather and Climate
6. Ecology part 1: Basic Ecosystem Structure and Function
7. Ecology part 2: Biomes and Population Ecology |
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Specific Course Requirements: |
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Each module has a series of activities which give students first-hand experience with the topics presented. The modules are presented either as Microsoft Excel workbooks or PowerPoint presentations. Several of the activities involve taking measurements over a period of one week; therefore it is important to start on time and work carefully. This will require a good working knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint. Students must also have access to a digital imaging device (camera, cell phone) capable of capturing images at at least 1 megapixel resolution. |
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Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements |
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Required Textbooks: |
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information (title, ISBN) for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com |
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Supplementary Materials: |
None |
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Hardware Requirements: |
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.
Specific hardware requirements for this course include a device capable of capturing digital images at least 1 megapixel resolution. This can be a digital camera or a camera phone (if good quality). You must be familiar with the operation of the device and how to download images to your computer. |
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Software Requirements: |
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific software requirements for this course include Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. A free alternative is OpenOffice.org, which will do everything you need. This is a 95 MB download available at OpenOffice.org. You will also need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. |
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Instructor Information |
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information. |
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Assessment and Grading |
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Testing Procedures: |
Module Quizzes: At the conclusion of each module is a 20-25 question timed quiz. Students should study the materials carefully and be ready to take the quiz without the use of notes or a textbook. As these quizzes are not proctored, students are on the Honor System with regard to the use of notes, text, etc.
Final Exam: The final exam will consist of a 100 question test. This exam will be proctored. Students must make arrangements for the time and place they will take the final; this should be done as early in the semester as possible. Students must provide this information to the instructor. |
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Grading Procedure: |
Course Grade: The final course grade will be determined by the following criteria:
Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
Module Activities . . . . . . . .30%
Module Quizzes . . . . . . . . .20%
Proctored Final Exam. . . . . .20%
A score of at least 70% on the proctored final is required for other course work to be included in your final grade!
Discussions: Each module will have discussion topics. Students are expected to participate in each module discussion by posting thoughts and opinions and responding to the comments of other students and the instructor. Discussion evaluation will be based on the quantity and quality of postings. The minimum expectation is one posting and two comments per topic. Students should be prepared to contribute original questions and discussions to the discussion board, and respond to the ideas of several students, in order to receive excellent marks for participation.
Module Activities: Each module has a series of activities which give students first-hand experience with the topics presented. The modules are presented either as Microsoft Excel workbooks or PowerPoint presentations. Background for each of the modules can be found in the ESC 1110 Online Handbook. Several of the activities involve taking measurements over a period of one week; therefore it is important to start on time and work carefully. Students are expected to carefully follow all directions and produce well-formatted, complete, and relevant reports. |
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Grading Scale: |
90 to 100: A
80 to 89: B
70 to 79: C
65 to 70: D |
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Assignments and Participation |
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Assignments and Projects: |
Introduction to Environmental Science:
Excel workbook that includes use of the metric system, calculations and interpretations of density, a data gathering study and analysis, and two ecological footprint assessments
Matter, Energy, Resources, and Pollution:
Excel workbook that includes a personal solid waste inventory, trip to a local recycling facility, a survey of household electricity use, a survey of household lighting, and a personal automobile fuel and environmental impact survey.
Weather and Climate
Excel workbook consisting of local weather observations an analysis, cloud formation activity and report, and climate diagram for their local area.
Earth Science
PowerPoint presentation utilizing map reading skills to identify their home from web-based satellite imagery and topographic maps, use and features of topographic maps, geology of their state and local region, recent earthquake activity, local examples of physical and chemical weathering, mass wasting, erosion, rocks and rock types, and geographic statistics.
Human Populations, Hazards, and Risk
Excel workbook including a comparison of population change in their lifetime, discussion of marriage and children, life expectancy, and population age structure.
Ecology part 1: Basic Ecosystem Structure and Function
Excel workbook consisting of a photographic demonstration of food chains, types of species, habitat comparisons, and forest ecosystem structure.
Ecology part 2: Biomes and Population Ecology
PowerPoint presentation describing the temperate deciduous forest biome. |
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Class Participation: |
Student Success
An online course will require at least as much commitment of time and energy as a regular course, with the added importance of self-motivation. The standard time recommendation for a college course is two hours of outside work and study for every hour spent in class. Students taking this course at Chattanooga State are in class for six hours per week (lecture and lab), which means another 12 hours per week in study and completing work. This seems like a lot of time, and it is. However, using available time effectively can be more important than the actual number of hours spent.
Punctuality
Students should monitor the course calendar and stay abreast of due dates and opening and closing dates and times. |
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Course Ground Rules |
- Become familiar with eLearn and the layout of the course. Click on everything to see what is available and how it works. Know your way around!
- Log in often, at least once per day; more often if possible. If there aren’t notification icons for the course in eLearn, go to the homepage and check for announcements there.
- Check the Calendar, Discussion Board, and e-mail frequently. Respond to discussion board postings!
- Address technical problems immediately so that they do not interfere with the successful completion of the course.
- Address course content issues immediately by contacting your instructor. Ask questions when they arise; that is what eLearn e-mail is for!
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Guidelines for Communications |
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Email: |
- Always include a subject line.
- Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
- Use standard fonts.
- Do not send large attachments without permission.
- Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
- Respect the privacy of other class members
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Discussion Groups: |
- Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
- Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
- Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of others' ideas.
- Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
- Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
- Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
- Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
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Chat: |
- Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
- Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
- Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
- Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
- Be constructive in your comments and suggestion
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Web Resources: |
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Library |
The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. |
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Students With Disabilities |
Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor. |
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Syllabus Changes |
The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board. |
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Technical Support |
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Telephone Support: |
If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling
1-866-550-7637 (toll free)
or go to the AskRODP website at: http://help.rodp.org |