Hot Topics: Global Warming
Project for GSCI115
Liz Johnson & Jerry Gill
About GSCI 115
• Earth Systems,
Cycles, and
Human Impact
• 3 credits
• Timelines vs.
class time (7th
grade history)
http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/basic_structure/timescale/index.htm
GSCI 115 for Fall 2007
• Two sections: MW 10:10-11:30, MW 2:303:45
• Each section ~100-115 students
• No grading assistance
• Held in the “Band Room” (presentations)
Environmental Issue
Assignment (from Lynn Cameron)
•
Week 1: Choose an environmental issue you care about.
(Skim through Encyclopedia on the Environment for ideas).
–
•
Submit to instructor for approval.
Week 2: Research the issue and find:
– 2 Magazine articles (InfoTrac database)
– 2 Scholarly journal articles (InfoTrac)
– An advocacy web site (Associations Unlimited or Google – limit to .org)
Turn in a list of references in APA style.
•
Week 3: Develop a pamphlet on the issue addressing:
– A description of the problem or issue
– Why the general public should care
– A possible solution
– Recommended action
Incorporate some points you learned from your research.
Project Objectives
Student will be able to:
• Locate information about a topic of interest
• Differentiate between popular, scholarly, and
advocacy resources.
• Accurately discern and summarize an article’s
main concepts.
• Apply new and prior information to create a
concise written report on a specific issue.
• Give an effective oral presentation about the
written report to fellow students.
Assignment
• Step 1: Choose a climate change issue.
• Step 2: Research the issue.
• Step 3: Write a newspaper or magazine
article that reviews the contribution of a
new research study to our understanding
of a modern climate change issue.
• Step 4: Present to group in class.
Assignment
• Step 1: Choose a climate change issue
The student will use the online Access
Science Encyclopedia or sciencedaily.com
to choose a modern climate change issue
that interests them.
Product: The student will briefly describe the
issue and the search process they used.
Assignment
• Step 2: Research the issue
Student will locate at least three references:
1. A background resource (.gov, .edu
website, encyclopedia, or popular magazine
article)
2. An advocacy website (.org, .com)
3. A scholarly research article (not a review)
Product: Bibliography (in student’s preferred
format) that includes a short justification of the
choice of resource.
Assignment
• Step 3: Write a newspaper or magazine
article that reviews the contribution of a
new research study to our understanding
of a modern climate change issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/04/29/AR2007042901101.html
Assignment from this semester: splitting paper into sections
makes grading much easier
Assignment
• Step 4: Present in class
Dynamics of peer evaluations…
Assessment
• Step 1 (choose): Credit / no credit
• Step 2 (research): Holistic or very simple
analytical rubric
• Step 3 (write): Detailed analytical rubric
• Step 4 (present): Analytical rubric - peers
Assessment
• Rubric for previous written assignment
• Rubric for presentations
•
http://www.teach-nology.com/cgi-bin/presentation.cgi
Project Objectives
Course objective: Student is able to critically
evaluate climate change issues.
Student will be able to:
• Locate information about a topic of interest
• Differentiate between popular, scholarly, and
advocacy resources.
• Accurately discern and summarize an article’s
main concepts.
• Apply new and prior information to create a
concise written report on a specific issue.
• Give an effective oral presentation about the
written report to fellow students.