Recently in Course Syllabi & Descriptions Category

In this three-week summer course, students completed several hands-on investigative projects. Research projects included measuring CO2 changes indoor, urban heat-island effects, changes in water properties downstream, and creating a profile map of the campus. The honors version of EARTH 100 ties in with the themes of climate change, energy and biodiversity. Students use Digital Commons technology to create audio walking tours of Pennsylvania biodiversity in a local state park and a virtual tour of the Solar Decathlon competition.

Syllabus from offering in Summer 2005 (PDF file)
Syllabus from honors offering in Fall 2007 (PDF file)

In this unique hybrid course, students learn the science behind natural disasters and how disasters are portrayed in the media. Students work with real data sets for critical thinking and analysis. Learning of much of the science content is accomplished through virtual lectures and on-line exercises. Students explore case studies of classic disasters in the past and present relating to hurricanes, tsunami, volcanoes, earthquakes, flooding, and climate change.

The honors version of EARTH 101 focuses specifically on coastal disasters and hazards. Topics covered included hurricanes, tsunamis, oil spills, barrier island migration, harmful algal blooms, shark attacks, etc. To further investigate the impact of artificial structures on shoreline erosion, the class took a trip to Ocean City, MD, and Assateague National Seashore, VA. The students had a private tour by a National Park Ranger. Students then held an open forum on campus to discuss the coastal conflict between MD and VA.

Syllabus from offering in Fall 2006 (PDF file)
Syllabus from honors offering in Fall 2002 (PDF file)

This course is offered online through Penn State's eLearning Cooperative. Significant natural features of Africa as related to human endeavor; case studies include the Nile, climate change, natural resources. Selected topics include conservation efforts of the animals in the wild in Africa, environment and health, and groundwater and archaeology concerns.

In Fall 2004, I taught an on-campus version for the honors program. Honors students conducted the Leaf Pack experiment in the stream that runs through campus. They compared their results to ones obtained by a school in Kenya and shared their results with a school in Trinidad. Students toured the Stroud Environmental Research Center, organizers of the Leaf Pack network.

Syllabus from online offering in Spring 2008 (PDF file)

This course covers dinosaurs and what Earth was like during the Mesozoic Era. Students gain insight into the origin and classification of dinosaurs. "Hot topics” covered include the warm blooded/cold blooded debate, the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs, dinosaur trace fossils, the legalities and ethics of selling fossils, the T. rex named Sue, and dinosaur biology and behavior. Attention is also given to the important role the early dinosaur paleontologists played and their international discoveries, as well as what it takes to excavate a dinosaur. The course ends with an examination of how dinosaurs have been portrayed in the media – accurately and erroneously.

Syllabus from offering in Fall 2007 (PDF file)

This course is an exploration of the physical Earth and its processes through plate tectonics, rocks and minerals, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. Students do group work and individual research projects that scaffold their skills with the scientific method. Palm Pilots are used during lecture, laboratory, and field activities. Unique field and laboratory exercises I developed include rock identification at a shopping mall, tombstone weathering rates, streamflow discharge rates with U.S. Geological Survey data, and a simulation of an emergency earthquake reporting center.

Syllabus from offering in Spring 2007 (PDF file)

This course examines the geological/biological 4.6 billion year history of our planet. Topics include fossils, dinosaurs, the paleo-movement of plates, the Ice Ages, La Brea Tar Pits, etc. Class activities include the use of Palm Pilots. Each week, students respond to web-based questions pertaining to course material to engage themselves in the content outside of class and to prepare for in-class active learning with the Just-in-Time Teaching pedagogical method.

In the honors version of GEOSC 021 in Fall 2003, topics covered included dinosaur extinction, the warm-blooded/cold-blooded debate, logistics of a field expedition, etc. I arranged a fieldtrip to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History for the students to receive a private tour of the dinosaur hall and collections by one of the museum's dinosaur paleontologists. Students designed a dinosaur badge day for the Junior Girl Scouts to come to campus and complete the Science in Everyday Life badge. The students co-authored a paper with myself on the Junior Girl Scout project that has been published in the Journal of Science Education and Technology.

The Spring 2006 honors version of the course Included modern-day biodiversity issues, especially the topic of elephants in captivity. The Philadelphia Zoo is currently considering shutting down their elephant exhibit. I arranged a videoconference with The Elelphant Sanctuary in Tennessee, a tour of the Philadelphia Zoo, and a classroom visit by the director of the organization Help Philly Zoo Elephants. Students designed a program for 7th-grade girls that came to campus to learn about elephants in captivity and in the wild, and to overall encourage girls to pursue a career in science.

Syllabus from offering in Spring 2004 (PDF file)
Syllabus from honors offering in Spring 2006 (PDF file)

This general oceanography course that examines the beaches to the deepest depths of the ocean. Areas of focus include the formation of waves, tides, and the current state of oceanographic exploration. Students are required to go on a fieldtrip to Cape Henlopen State Park, DE, to research the spatial and temporal distribution of beach profiles.

Syllabus from offering in Spring 2004 (PDF file)

Fall 2006 - Environmental Sustainability and Community Service.  This one-credit seminar focuses on developing student skills in researching scientific information, learning about current scientific events, and collecting information relating to the theme of sustainability of global resources. The course focused on the information presented in Jane Goodall's book "Harvest for Hope." For a service project, students organized a food drive on campus and volunteered at Philabundance.

Fall 2005 - African human/environment interactions: The man-eating lions of Tsavo.  This one-credit seminar focuses on developing student skills in researching scientific information, learning about current scientific events, and collecting information relating to the theme human/environment interactions on the African continent. The course focused on a case study of the man-eating lions of Tsavo and the current environmental situation in Kenya. For a service project, students wrote letters and created educational kits for an orphanage in Africa.

Fall 2003, 2004 - Diamonds.  The seminar focuses on developing student skills in researching scientific information, learning about current scientific events, and collecting information relating to the theme of diamonds. The final class project is designed by the students and utilizes the scientific method. In Fall 2003, the students did a survey on campus and of jewelers about conflict diamonds and gave a presentation of their results to the campus community. The Fall 2004 seminar focused on humans being transformed into diamonds upon death.

Please see description for EARTH 100H, as the two honors courses were taught in conjunction with each other.  Projects in EARTH 100H and STS 200H included creating an enhanced podcast and virtual Google Earth tour of the Pennsylvania tree biodiversity in Ridley Creek State Park, a virtual Google Earth tour of the 2007 Solar Decathlon competition, and participation in the Student Conservation Association's Conservation in Action Multimedia contest.

Syllabus from honors offering in Fall 2007 (PDF file)

COURSE GOALS

• provide a foundation for orientation to public scholarship, civic engagement, and the relationship between learning and democratic practice
• introduce a range of ways that citizens participate in democratic decision making and practice some of these forms
• learn about models and opportunities to engage in public scholarship at Penn State

This online course uses virtual lectures, case studies, panel discussions and online exercises to provide a foundation for students’ orientation to public scholarship, civic engagement, and the relationship between learning and democratic practice. Core concepts about democracy in America, the land-grant university’s historic mission, and how everyday citizens collectively can build a strong democracy will be introduced. Students will be introduced to the ways citizens engage in democratic decision making and have civic engagement as a learning outcome.

Syllabus from online offering in Spring 2008 (PDF file)

This one-credit course serves as the orientation for new Cooper and Schreyer Honors Scholars at Penn State Brandywine. Students complete most of the work during the summer and complete the orientation by the end of September.

As the majority of the students in the seminar are freshmen, this seminar is the first academic approach students have to the topic of world food problems and the connection to democratic practices. The topics coverd are in the context of environmental sustainability and democracy: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. Food production and consumption, in particular, are high-priority needs. From organic foods to Frankenfoods, this course explores how we can make a difference in creating a sustainable society and how democratic practices can dictate the future direction of food resources locally and globally. One component of the course is to organize an open microphone session on National Constitution Day for the campus community to discuss world food issues.  The required text for the course is Dr. Jane Goodall's "Harvest for Hope."  With this seminar, students earn 1 credit towards Penn State's minor in Civic and Community Engagement.

Syllabus from honors offering in Fall 2008 (PDF file)

I co-teach this upper division, interdisciplinary honors course with Dr. Myra Goldschmidt (English). The course enrolls sophomore and junior Cooper and Schreyer Honors Scholars. For these students, it is their first academic approach to the topic of innovation. The topics covered are in the context of creative thinking and approaches, and how to institute sustained change for local-to-international issues. The scholars develop professional skills: writing abstracts, manuscripts and preparing oral and poster presentations. The scholars learn how to target the presentation of material to specific audiences and learn how to use several mediums of communication effectively, from the written word to multimedia productions. (note the photo above shows scholars during an innovative book binding workshop)  At the end of this course, the scholars have a toolkit of resources to bring with them into their professional life, as well as a deeper appreciation and understanding of the need for innovation.

Syllabus from honors offering in Fall 2008 (PDF file)

This graduate-level course was taught in conjunction with a National Science Foundation grant (Transforming Earth System Science Education) seeking to increase the number of middle school and high school teachers seeking highly qualified status for Earth science teaching.  The course was co-taught by myself and Dr. Tanya Furman (Geosciences - University Park) at UP in Summer 2008 and Brandywine in Summer 2009.

The course focuses on getting teachers to think about the Big Ideas in Earth science and different pedagogical strategies to engage their students in learning. A blog highlights resources from the course.

Scientist interaction with Signals of Spring, where I reviewed student expert analysis journal entries and provide feedback via internet. Students are using NASA and other earth imagery to explain the migration of animals tracked by satellites, http://www.signalsofspring.net/ (Spring 2002, 2003, 2004)

Instructor for Math Options, A Math and Science Career Day for 7th Grade Girls, PSU Delaware County (May 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008)

Team Instructor in The Global Ocean course for the Masters of Liberal Studies Program, Mary Washington College (Summer 2000)

Instructor for the Fredericksburg Regional Commonwealth Governor's High School Summer Program Digging the Summer (Summer 2000)

Instructor/Organizer for the second Mary Washington College/Commonwealth Governor's High School Summer Enrichment Program To Dinosaurs and Back (Summer 2000)

Instructor/Organizer for the first Mary Washington College/Commonwealth Governor's High School Summer Enrichment Program Rivers - From Fredericksburg to Mars (Summer 1999)