COURSE SYLLABUS

Geology of National Parks- GEO 1050

and

Geology of National Parks Lab - GEO 1055

Fall Semester, 2005

GEO 1050: A general education course for non-science and science majors, geared to the needs of elementary and secondary teachers. This course introduces the student to basic geologic concepts using the national parks as examples. The course will concentrate on America's western national parks, especially on the parks of Utah.

GEO 1055: Field exercises that compliment and reinforce concepts taught in GEO 1050.

Instructor: Mark Colberg, SC-014, 865-8331, colberg@suu.edu

Class Meetings: ( SC-016) Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30 am - 12:50 pm

Lab: Lab will consist of two required, single day field trips. These trips will be to local canyons where many of the major rock units important to Utah geology are exposed. The field trips will provide you with background information needed for group projects that you will be responsible for completing. These projects may require you to revisit these canyons on your own time. Two dates are given for each date, and you may chose one. However, each trip will be limited to 25 students. Sign-up sheets will be provided. Trips are scheduled for;

Trip 1	9/23/06	or	9/30.03
Trip 2	10/28/06	or	11/4/06

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday; 10:00 - 11:00 am, and 2:00-4:00 pm. Otherwise catch me when you can. Outside of set office hours, appointments are encouraged.

Texts: TWO texts are required for this class:

Lille, Robert J., 2005, Parks and Plates, W.W. Norton and Company, New York, NY.

Sprinkle, D.A., Chidsey, T.C., and Anderson, P.B., eds, 2000, Geology of Utah's Parks and Monuments, Publication 28, Utah Geological Association, Salt Lake City, UT.

Course Structure: At SUU, geology courses are often subdivided into a lecture component and a laboratory component. These two components are listed as separate courses - THEY ARE CO-REQUISITES AND MUST BE TAKEN TOGETHER. The lecture portion of the class will meet in a traditional classroom setting where we will discuss various aspects of geology and the Earth can adversely effect human culture. The geology program at SUU has recently adopted a non-traditional approach to labs for general education courses. In lieu of the standard approach where students do laboratory exercises locked up in a claustrophobic room with poor lighting, we will examine geology in the field through field trips and a group project. ATTENDANCE ON THESE TRIPS IS REQUIRED.

Course Objectives: Geology is a very broad science and encompasses a very wide range of topics. This course and lab are introductory courses that will use the national parks, especially those in Utah, as a background to introduce you to the basic concepts of geology. In this course, you should gain an understanding basic geologic concepts, how these concepts are expresses in the geology of the national parks, and an appreciation of how the Earth (and the study of geology) effects our daily lives. The goals and objectives of this course and lab include:

• Students should leave the course and lab with a basic understanding of the structure and composition of the earth.

• Students should leave the course and lab with a basic understanding of plate tectonics.

• Students should leave the course and lab with a basic understanding of the fundamentals of geologic structures and landforms.

• Students should leave the course and lab with an understanding of the geology of the major national parks, and the geology of parks in Utah.

• Students should leave the course with an understanding of the nature of science and scientific thinking.

Requirements and Grading: Separate grades will be assigned for the lecture and laboratory components. Grades for the lecture component will be assessed through performance on class exercises/homework, 3 exams, an optional comprehensive final exam and a group presentation. The laboratory component will be assessed through attendance on field trips and performance on the group project. Grades will be weighted as follows;

Final grades will be based, in part, on the average of three class exams. An optional comprehensive final exam will be offered to students who wish to increase their averages. Exam averages will be posted by the instructor by noon on Study Day (12/11) so students may decide if they need to take the final exam. In order to maintain confidentiality, students will provide the instructor with a unique code name to be used for posting averages.

Grades will be assigned according to the following scale.

A 93 - 100 C 73 - 76

A- 90 - 93 C- 70 - 72

B+ 87 - 89 D+ 67 - 69

B 83 - 86 D 63 - 66

B- 80 - 82 D- 60 - 63

C+ 77 - 79 F < 60

Test Policy: It is departmental policy that students do not receive completed tests to keep. Tests will be returned in class for review only, and must be returned to the instructor by the end of the class period. Grades will be held for unreturned tests. Students may review their tests at any time in the instructors office.

Attendance: Students should attend all classes. Attendance will not be monitored. However, because material covered in the latter portions of the course is dependent on material from the early portions of the course, missing classes can be VERY detrimental to your understanding and your performance in class. DO NOT MISS EXAMS! MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL NOT BE GIVEN EXCEPT IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES (I.E. ILLNESS, DEATH IN FAMILY, ETC.). YOU MUST PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION (DR'S EXCUSE, DEATH CERTIFICATE / OBITUARIES ETC.) IN ORDER TO TAKE AN EXAM LATE. IF YOU KNOW THAT YOU MUST MISS AN EXAM ON A GIVEN DATE, YOU CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO TAKE THE TEST AT ANOTHER TIME.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic (scholastic) dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. You are expected to have read and understood the appropriate section of the student handbook (published by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the intellectual property policy, for information about procedures and what constitutes acceptable on-campus behavior.

In short, don't cheat - it's not worth it! If you are caught, the consequences can be BAD. If you are not caught, remember that by being dishonest in a class you are being dishonest with yourself since you are not allowing yourself to learn, and learning is why we are at this institution in the first place.

Students with Disabilities: Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids (including communicative aids testing accommodations, or other services) must contact the Disability Support Center in the Shawran Smith Center, room 206F, Phone (435) 865-8022.. The Disability Support Center, not your instructor, determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of these services and aids

Disruptions: Please respect your instructor and fellow students and limit class room disruptions by observing the following; 1) Please do not arrive to class late. 2) Unless you are an emergency responder, please turn off cell phones. 3) Do not have a conversation with your neighbor. Your instructor reserves the right to ask you to leave in the event of continuous disruptions.

Class Schedule: A schedule of lecture topics, exams, and the field trips for this course is attached. Note that this schedule is subject to change.

Disclaimer: Information contained in this syllabus, other than grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change without notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.