Jennifer Nemitz PhD candidate in Geosciences 438 Deike Building, Penn State jaring@geosc.psu.edu

(Note:  The following hypothetical syllabus was created as a project for EM SC 602, a course in college teaching.  The hypothetical syllabus represents a revision of a currently offered class as I would like to teach it.)

Printable Version of the Syllabus (Adobe Reader  needed to view paper)

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 4:40 PM, 22 Deike
Review Sessions Wednesdays 5:30PM, 2 Deike

GEOSC 452 Introduction to Hydrogeology at Penn State is the longest running, continuously offered hydrology class in the Western Hemisphere.  The main focus of the course is how water moves through and interacts with soils and rocks.  Topics covered include:  the hydrologic cycle; occurrence, movement, quality, and quantity of groundwater; quantitative geologic and hydrologic methods; and the role of water in geologic processes. This course has one or more required field trips for which a fee is charged to the student. Prerequisite: CHEM 013 ; GEOSC 001 , GEOSC 020 , or GEOSC 071; and fifth-semester standing.  Course format will usually consist of lectures on Monday and Wednesday with Friday reserved for case studies and the two midterms.
 

The goal of this course is for students to develop a method to break down and solve real-world, often complex, hydrogeological problems and communicate the results to a diverse audience as they would need to do in a professional setting.

• Recall and explain the basic concepts and calculations of groundwater hydrogeology including the components of the water cycle, properties of aquifers, what governs how groundwater flows, how basic flow can be changed by man's influence, and how contaminants behave in water.  Homework sets will be used to test for proficiency in calculations while two midterm tests will be used to test for recollection of basic concepts.
• Given a real-world hydrogeological problem, the student will:  appraise the problem, determine what background information is necessary, select the correct boundary conditions and equations, and calculate the desired result.  Through the use of weekly case studies, students will develop a method to break-down the information for a particular problem and work step-by-step to solve the problem. 
• Given your new found knowledge and solution skills, convey your knowledge and calculations to the public.  Group presentations of case studies will enable students to develop group dynamics and presentation skills. 
• Investigate and identify hydrogeological features in the field.  A field trip will allow students to apply concepts learned in the lecture to the real world.

Required Texts:	Applied Hydrogeology, 4th Edition (2001), C.W. Fetter (Please make sure your copy includes the CD in the back of the book if you are buying a used copy).  I don't mind if you share copies, use the copy on reserve in the library (held on reserve behind the desk in the Earth and Mineral Sciences Library, 1st Floor of Deike for 2 hour loans), or use the 3rd edition (if you choose to use the 3rd edition, you will be responsible for correlating the readings).
	Fieldtrip Guidebook, REQUIRED xeroxed packet available at the Penn State Bookstore containing figures, maps, descriptions, etc. about the fieldtrip
Optional Text:	Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, 2nd Edition (1997), P.A. Dominico and F.W. Schwartz (this text will be held on reserve behind the desk in the Earth and Mineral Sciences Library, 1st Floor of Deike for 2 hour loans)
Other Supplies:	Protractor, compass, and scientific calculator

Case Study Grading:	The case study portion of the class will account for 20% of the final course grade and will be broken down as follows:  10% group grade for leading a case study discussion of a case study provided to the class by the instructor and 10% group grade for a 15 minute presentation of a case study of the group's choosing (case study must be approved by instructor in advance).  The 15 minute group presentation will be in lieu of a final and will occur during the regularly scheduled final period.
Case Study Format:	For the first few case study sessions, I will lead the discussion on the chosen case study.  You will be provided with the case study on Wednesday's lecture along with guided questions about the case study.  On Friday, you will meet with your assigned group and discuss the case study as well as the guided questions.  We will then regroup and discuss the important points.   As we become more familiar and comfortable with the case study discussions, each group will be required to lead a case study discussion.  The assigned group will receive their case study on Monday and must write guided questions for the rest of the class, who will receive them on Wednesday as normal.  Each group can receive a maximum of 10% of their course grade for leading their assigned discussion.  We will go over what is expected of the discussion leaders as we work our way through the first initial cases.  All group members will receive the same grade according to the Case Study Rubric that we will develop as a class.
Group Presentation:	Each group will give a 15 minute power-point presentation followed by a 5 minute question and answer period on a case study of their choosing (approved by the instructor in advance).  The presentation will be worth a maximum of 10% of the course grade and will be presented during our final exam period in lieu of a final exam.    All group members will receive the same grade for the presentation according to the Group Presentation Rubric presented at the end of this syllabus.
Case Study Reflections:	Each student will keep a personal journal in which they will post their case study reflections.  For each case study, the reflections should include the answers to the guided questions, a summary of your groups discussion, a summary of the class discussion, and any other personal thoughts you would like to include about the case study.  As long as the reflections are complete and insightful, they will receive full credit (this is a give-away here as I want to assess your critical thinking.)  The reflections are worth 5% of the total course grade with the possibility of extra credit for reflections that "wow" me.

Make-up exams will be administered if a student misses a midterm for a university approved excuse.  If you are sick, out of town, etc, you must contact the instructor in person or via email ahead of time or as soon as possible if early contact is not possible.  The instructor reserves the right to provide a different exam for the makeup.  The questions and format may be different, but the material covered will be the same. You will find that I am very understanding as long as you communicate with me.

Definition and expectations: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts.

Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

In this class, students are encouraged to discuss methods for solving homework problems but must turn in their own independent work.  Independent work is defined as doing your own graphs, calculations, reasoning, etc.  The student is responsible for knowing the meaning of independent work.  If you have questions or are uncertain about the meaning of independent work, please consult your instructor.  Identical papers will not be regarded as independent work.  All instances of academic integrity violations will be pursued according to university policy.

As a general rule of thumb, collaborative work stops as soon as pencil or pen touches paper and fingers touch the keyboard or mouse.