Pittsburg State University
Department of Social Sciences
GEOG 106
WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
A Writing to Learn@
Spring Semester 2010
Instructor:
Office:
E-mail:
Phone:
Office Hours: posted outside my office
Course Description
Today we are continually confronted with topics or catchphrases such as "the shrinking world", "our
global village", "globalization" (with multinational corporations linking the US with offshore
production), etc. In order to deal with these issues, we need to know what are the geographical parts
and what are the elements that are "shrinking and linking". We need to know about:
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where people and things are located and why
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how these elements interact
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what impels people to move or migrate
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how they shape and fashion their local communities and homes
Geographers often look at the locations and distributions of phenomena (human and physical). They
investigate the reasons or causes behind these distributions, and in their research they try to predict
how and why change will take place. The geographical perspective, therefore, is often a spatial
viewpoint. As well, as we study the different regions we will see that each possesses a special
combination of cultural, environmental, historical, economic, and organizational qualities. What is
often particularly interesting is the way that people decide to arrange and order their living space. By
studying world regions during this term, it provides us with the opportunity to examine the concepts
and ideas that form the basis of modern geography.
Suggested Text
The suggested text for this course is:
Bradshaw, M, G White & J Dymond. 2007. Essentials of World Regional Geography (with atlas).
New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 9780078158766
Please note: there is an atlas which accompanies this book. Please ensure that you get the atlas as
well. You will need this to be eligible to sell your book back to the bookstore, if you so desire.
World Regional Geography as a Writing to Learn Course
STATEMENT OF INTENT
This is a writing to learn-designated course. I intend to have you write frequently about our course
subject matter to help you:
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to learn the course content
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to practice expressing your ideas thoughtfully
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to help you to start to think geographically about our world and its interconnectedness, &
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to enhance your critical thinking abilities.
Writing for this class will take 3 main forms:
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you will be given a daily fast write quiz. This will require you to briefly explain a
concept/definition or highlight the major points about a topic covered in the previous lecture.
I anticipate your response to be no more than one to three lines. These may take the form of
sentences or simply points B I am looking for a basic, limited response B kind of a Ajust the
facts@ answer. The purpose is to practice identifying the main points.
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you will be assigned three 1-2 page essay questions. Each essay will be due in the next
lecture period. You should strive to provide a logical, reasoned, and substantiated answer. It
may contain your opinions, as long as you can justify your arguments. I am looking for a
greater organizational structure than the fast write quizzes or the journal entries (discussed
below) and a better thought-out critical argument B kind of a formal Afacts, explanation and
reasoned opinion@ answer. The purpose is to practice creating a coherent, organized, full
statement.
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you will keep a journal, with entries written weekly. This will involve you telling me about
an event that has taken place outside of North America. I am looking for your own words
(i.e. summarizing the event) and your own opinion about it (i.e. reflecting on the event) B this
is your Apersonal expression@. As we progress through the semester, I anticipate your
opinions to become more knowledgeable and critical B in other words, I want you to think
about it! The purpose is to practice putting your thoughts into words.
Note: you will also be writing short essay answers in the tests, but given the potential pressure of a
test environment, I am not looking for the same kind of improvement in expression B only the correct
answers.
PHILOSOPHY OF WRITING
I believe writing is an essential life-skill. Not only does writing help you learn course material, but it
improves you ability to organize your thoughts. This greater organization enhances your ability to
think about the evidence or information available to you, to comprehend the connectedness of ideas
and concepts and to express your understanding and informed opinions (verbally and in written
form). You will achieve greater success in many aspects of your life with this improvement in your
critical thinking proficiency. Effective writing is a wonderful skill to develop; a major part of that
development is practice!
Course Evaluation
The grades you earn for this course follow the structure used to apply your writing skills in learning
the World Regional Geography material. There will be four components in the grading:
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The FIRST component will consist of four in-class tests. Please note: The last test will be
during the last class period. Each test is worth 15%, accounting for 60% of the final grade.
The SECOND component will be three 1-2 page essays. The topic/question will be given at
the end of the tests number one through three. You will bring your answer to the next
lecture. These are worth 5% each, accounting for 15% of your final grade.
The THIRD component will involve writing a journal (with entries weekly) that discusses
events that have happened outside of North America. This is worth 15% of the final grade.
The FOURTH component will be fast write quizzes. These account for the remaining 10%
of your final grade.
Grading Scale
Based on past student performance in this class, the following grade scale will be used:
A
86 to 100
B
74 to 85.99
C
62 to 73.99
D
50 to 61.99
F
less than 50
PLEASE NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO OPPORTUNITY TO EARN ADDITIONAL POINTS
COMPONENT # 1: TESTS
Each test will be comprised of multiple choice questions and short essay questions. The tests will be
based on lecture notes, text readings, and video case studies. The tests are NOT cumulative, i.e. for
tests 2, 3, and 4 you are only responsible for the material covered since the last test. Each test is
valued at 15% of the final grade. The tentative dates of the tests are:
Test 1
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Test 2
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Test 3
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Test 4
Thursday, May 6, 2010
B during the last class period !
COMPONENT # 2: 1-2 PAGE ESSAYS
Following tests 1 through 3 you will be given an essay question. This will require you to think about
an issue and provide a logical, reasoned, and substantiated answer. It may contain your opinions, as
long as you can justify your arguments. In a sense, this is similar to a small take home exam
exercise. Your 1-2 page answer is due at the start of the next lecture period. Each essay is valued at
5% of your final grade. The tentative due dates are:
Essay 1
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Essay 2
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Essay 3
Thursday, April 8, 2010
COMPONENT # 3: AWORLDL@ JOURNAL
You are required to write an entry into a journal once a week. It should be 3 to 4 paragraphs in
length (i.e. about 1 page). In this entry you should (1) describe and summarize an event that has
taken place during the previous week (based on information available through newspapers, the
internet, etc.) {this is the summary section}, and (2) express your personal views about that event
(considering the impacts of the regional setting, and the contributions of relative and absolute
location) {this is the reflection section}. Given that our focus in this course is world regions, you
must write about an event that has happened outside of North America. You should tell me your
opinions about the event=s impact on the region in question and any possible international
implications (thinking about how location plays a role); you may also express your personal views in
terms of how this relates to life in United States. The purpose is to improve your ability to express
yourself in writing, and to help you interpret the relevance of these events in a geographic context. I
will collect the journal around the first class of each month to give you ongoing feedback on your
effort and clarity of expression (February 4, March 2, April 1, and May 4). Your journal will be
graded on March 2 and on May 4. In grading your work, I will deduct points for missing or
incomplete entries or instances where clearly there has been very little effort at completing the
weekly assignment. I will not be grading your personal opinions; I will be grading your effort and
quality of work. I expect your ability to critically think or analyze to improve over the course of the
semester, and that this improvement will be evident in your journal discussion. This component is
worth 15% of your final grade.
COMPONENT # 4: FAST WRITE QUIZZES
At the beginning of almost every class there will be a simple one-question quiz that is based on the
material covered in the previous lecture. Your answer will be graded pass/fail. To prepare, simply
read over your notes from the past lecture before you arrive, or get to class a little early to allow time
to skim your notes. Over the semester, there will be about 20 quizzes; you will have the opportunity
to hand in 10 quizzes. Each quiz successfully completed will earn you 1 % of the 10% allotted. You
do NOT get to pick which quizzes you hand in. At the end of each quiz, I will announce which
students will hand in that specific quiz (based on a random number assignment of student numbers).
This means you need to be present for every quiz, in case it is your turn to submit your answer. You
will NOT have the opportunity to make up for missed quizzes. This is a proven method to help you
review on a regular basis, and earn an easy 10% of your final grade. The secret is to ATTEND ALL
CLASSES!
Course Survival
The primary key to a satisfactory grade in this course is to ALWAYS ATTEND and TAKE
QUALITY NOTES. As the material covered in this course is interrelated, the secret to survival is to
keep up on the lecture information and related text readings, class by class. There will be material
covered in lectures that is not in the text. Further, there are numerous video case studies. The only
opportunity to see a particular video is during the class in which it is shown. You will be tested on
this material also. Lastly, it is important that if you don't understand something, PLEASE ASK!
You can bet there's someone else out there who's wondering the same thing.
Tentative Lecture Topic Schedule
WEEK NO.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
REGION
Introduction to core concepts
Western Europe
Eastern Europe, Russia
TEST # 1, North America
North America
Middle America
global issues, TEST # 2
South America
SPRING BREAK
Amazonia, world religions
North Africa/Southwest Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
TEST # 3
South Asia/Southeast Asia
global issues, China
China, Japan
Japan, TEST # 4
TEXT CHAPTER
ch 1, 2
ch 3
ch 3, 4
ch 11
ch 11
ch 10
ch 10
ch 10
ch 8, 9
ch 7, 6
ch 5
ch 5
ch 5
Policy on Academic Dishonesty
Please ensure you are familiar with the University=s position and explanation of dishonesty in
academic work (copying, cheating, plagiarizing, etc.). Dishonest conduct on a course component that
is graded will result in a score of F (zero points) for that component and may be reported to the
Dean of your college for further consideration. Please see the 2005-7 or 2007-2009 PSU Catalog
(pp 39-41 and pp 37-39, respectively) or the 2009-11 electronic version at
www2.pittstate.edu/catalog_live under the heading “Academic Integrity.”
Examples of academic dishonesty include (but are not limited to):
1. Plagiarizing or representing words, ideas or information of another person as one's own and not
offering proper documentation.
2. Giving or receiving any unauthorized information or aid concerning exams, or the preparation of
reports, essays or other assignments.
3. Communicating during an examination in any manner with any unauthorized person concerning
the exam or any part of it.
4. Submitting the same written work to fulfill the requirements for more than one course.
Information Concerning Special Needs
Students seeking assistance with academic programs because of disabilities are to contact Ms Jamie
Brooksher, 218 Russ Hall (620-235-4185). Students with learning disabilities are to contact Dr
Jamie Wood, 207F Whitesitt Hall (620-235-4193). Official disability status can only come through
these two offices.