Spring 2007 G356 Syllabus

MEETING TIMES

Class will meet from 12:00–12:50 p.m. every Friday for

- formal instruction,

- student presentations, or

- LEEPS or other presentations/seminars.

Students are also required to attend lecture presentations held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday’s (or other posted times) for other departmental (e.g., LEEPS) seminars.

Atypical times will be announced in class, posted, and/or e-mailed to students. Students have the responsibility to be aware of lecture offerings.

Students are required to check their e-mails daily (believe it or not, this is UND policy and, a good idea). All students (including Geol 356 students) should assume meeting every noon on Friday.

Students are required to attend at least 75% of all student presentations and seminars and must submit thoughtful evaluations (on forms to be provided).

This means students must attend 3 of 4 of all presentations to pass the course.

Students must attend talks in their entirety. No evaluation forms will be distributed after a talk begins.

The dates and topics of student and department presentations/seminars will be posted on this (Hartman) Web site (Web site: www.geology.und.edu, or www.und.edu/instruct/jhartman), announced in class, and, commonly, sent to students by e-mail. Because LEEPS and student thesis seminars are always being scheduled and changed, no complete calendar of the semester will be available. By attending class, checking this Web site, and reading your e-mails, you will not have any worries.

PREREQUISITES

Geol 356 for Geol 421

Note that Geol 421 and 422 may not be taken concurrently with Geol 356.

OBJECTIVES

Both Geol 421 and Geol 422 are meant to prepare students for communicating the results of their scientific and engineering studies to a live audience and to enhance a student’s educational background through attending departmental seminars, undergraduate research, and graduate thesis presentations.

A student's educational awareness and understanding of the speaker's effort will be accomplished through critical review of all presentations.

READING MATERIALS

Preparation of visual aids for a professional presentation: Tips and guidelines, by Robert, E. Crowder, R.E. Crowder Consulting, Golden, CO. (available in class)

Electronically speaking: A presenter's guide to communicating using PowerPoint, 35-mm slides, or poster-sized media, by Robert E. Baxter, Jr., AAPG media CD (available for purchase from the Department , $5.00).

Students are required to give three prepared and scheduled talks during the semester.

Presentations by GeoE majors must have substantial engineering content.

Talks by Geology majors and Environmental Geoscience majors must have substantial geoscience content.

The topics of these talks will be determined in class with my help.

The student presentations will have the following formats:

• Artifact presentation; an 8 to10 minute talk to Geol 356, Geol 421, and Geol 422 students (followed by questions and discussion) on an object as a visual aid chosen by the student (e.g., the object may be a geologic map, a model, a piece of equipment, etc.).

• Chalk talk presentation; a 10 to 12 minute talk on a topic of interest to Geol 356, Geol 421, and Geol 422 students (followed by questions and discussion) using the chalk board or a markable transparency.

• Power Point research presentation

– for Geol 421 students, a 10-12 minute lecture (followed by questions) on a research topic to be presented to Geol 356, Geol 421, Geol 422 students, other students, and faculty.

PowerPoint presentations will be saved as a record of the student's performance and activity within the department.

Other student responsibilities will include

• A one-minute spontaneous talk

• A debate presentation, with Geol 356 students as moderators

• In-class assignments, including

- talk topic selection

- abstract writing

- illustration design

All homework is required to be submitted on time for credit.

GRADING

Grades will be based on:

0-25% Evaluation of at least 75% of the required seminars and lectures

0-10% Homework and in class assignments

0- 5% Spontaneous talk

0- 5% Debate talk

0-15% Artifact talk

0-15% Chalk talk

0-25% Power Point presentation

The grades will be based on the following scale:

A = 90-100

B = 80-90

C = 65-80

D = 50-65

F = 00-50

Note: All course requirements must be completed to receive a passing grade. A zero in any category will result in a failing grade.