GEOL 1404 GENERAL HISTORICAL GEOLOGY SPRING 2008

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Francis Redfern OFFICE: Office 3 PHONE: 838-4541 x3312

WEB: http://prism.texarkanacollege.edu

CLASSROOM: Physical Sciences Classroom 1 TIME: 8:00-10:00 MWF

TEXTBOOK: The Changing Earth by Monroe and Wicander, 3rd Ed.

LAB MANUAL: Historical Geology: Interpretations and Applications by Poort and Carlson, 6^th Ed.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING: Current Perspectives in Geology, 2000 Edition, edited by Michael McKinney et al.

SCHEDULE:

January 23 - February 22: Review of basic geological concepts, Chapters 17

TEST 1: Monday & Tuesday, February 25-26, in TESTING CENTER

February 25 - March 21: Chapters 18-19

TEST 2: Monday & Tuesday, March 24-25 in TESTING CENTER

March 24 - April 18: Chapters 20-21

TEST 3: Monday & Tuesday, April 21-22, in TESTING CENTER

April 21 - May 9: Chapters 22-23

TEST 4: in classroom during FINAL EXAM PERIOD

INTERNET-BASED HELP: My email address is given above. You may contact me to ask a question, to report an expected absence from class, or for any other concerns you may have. Course information, including "late-breaking news", is available on my Web site. At the beginning of the semester everyone will be given a user ID and a password to access their grades at my site. To obtain your user ID and password you must send me an email. The reply to your email will contain your ID and password. This should allow every student to keep up with his or her class standing. THESE ARE YOUR OFFICIAL GRADES SO MAKE SURE THEY ARE RECORDED CORRECTLY! Your grades are protected from unwanted access behind two firewalls in addition to the password protection. Further, I monitor all uses of the site and can identify any unauthorized attempt to access information.

GRADING: There will be 4 tests worth a total of 60% of your final grade. Lab work will count 35% and the field trip 5%. There will be no makeup tests or labs; however the lowest test score will be dropped (except for the fourth test, which is required of all students) as will the three lowest lab exercises. (A lab exercise may be one or more separate activities as determined by the instructor.) This grade drop policy is for the purposes of unavoidable absences, for example, sickness or pressing personal business. You should not use it to skip class, since you may need the absences in the future. Numerical and letter grades correspond as follows: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69 = D.

OFFICE HOURS: My office hours are posted on my door. You are welcome to come by during those hours to discuss the course work and ask questions, and I encourage you to do so. Although I prefer you would observe the posted office hours, I am usually available around my office during the day whenever I am not in class in case my office hours are not convenient for you. You may always make an appointment if necessary.

ASSIGNMENTS: Labs and activities will be performed and graded in the class. Unless otherwise specified all lab work shall be done by groups of students. Many labs will be reviewed for a grade during the lab period itself. When this is the case, as soon as your lab group completes an exercise, you should bring it to me to review. ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP MUST BE PRESENT WHEN THE LAB IS REVIEWED. The names of the members of the group that worked on the lab must appear ON EACH EXERCISE, NOT including any member who happened to be absent that day. If it is satisfactory, you get complete credit for the exercise. Otherwise, I will point out deficiencies which you must correct to get full credit. You will get two reviews with no penalty. If the lab is still unsatisfactory at the third review, your group will receive less than full credit, the amount of credit depending on the quality of the work. ALL LAB BOOKS MUST REMAIN IN THE CLASSROOM. NONE ARE TO BE TAKEN HOME. Your group must select one particular lab exercise to be the one submitted for grading, however I suggest each student keep a record of the work done by the group in his or her lab book in case work is lost. You will be allowed to have your lab books at the end of the course, but you cannot sell them back to the bookstore. There will be one field trip during the semester, which will count 5% of your total grade on a credit/no credit basis and WILL NOT BE DROPPED. If you absolutely cannot make a field trip, you will write a research paper as a substitute. Finally, there will be some supplemental reading required. Students will be tested on this reading during the four in-class tests. The test questions over this supplemental reading will be discussion questions given to you prior to the test so that you can write up your responses ahead of time and turn them in on test day. Usually only one response will actually be taken up and graded.

DROP POLICY: I will be taking roll and adhering to the college policy on attendance. You may be dropped after six absences. Two tardies counts as one absence.

MISCELLANEOUS: Students are expected to show up on time for class. If you do arrive late or must leave the class temporarily, do so quietly. If you must leave early for any reason, please inform me ahead of time. In particular, if you need to leave a lab early, it must be with the knowledge and consent of both myself and your lab partners. I reserve the right to penalize a student for noncompliance with these requests. If you are going to be absent for more than one class period for any reason, be sure to let me know ahead of time if possible.