Fall
2019
Instructor
Dr.
Catherine A.
Rigsby
Office: 103-A Graham; (252) 328-4297; rigsbyc@ecu.edu
Office Hours: stop
by anytime except immediately
before class, or send
me an e-mail, or make an appointment!
Course
Format
The course
syllabus is your aid to survival in this course. This includes the
prospectus
(this page), the combined lecture
and laboratory
schedule, and all web pages linked to those pages. Keep them handy and in
mind at all
times! Neither the
lecture schedule nor
the laboratory schedule will change significantly without advance
notice from
me. But,
I will change them when
necessary, so be alert and listen for the change announcements.
- Lectures:
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 - 10:45 am., Rm. 106 Graham
- Labs:
Thursdays 2:00 - 4:50 p.m., Rm. 106 Graham (or as announced
weekly in lecture
and/or as noted in lab syllabus)
Prerequisites
To enroll in this class, you must have successfully completed the following course prerequisites: GEOL 1600 (Earth and Life Through Time), 2000 (Quantitative Methods in Geoogical Sciences), and 3050 and 3051 (Minerology and Petrology I, with lab). To be best prepared for success in this senior-level course, Irecommend that you also complete your basic science (biology, chemistry, or physics) and mathematics requirements, as well as min/pet II and field methods before attempinting this course. Please note that GEOL 4011 (Sedimentology Laboratory) is a co-requisite (the lecture and the lab must be taken together) and that completeion of all laboratory and field work described in the course syllabus is manadatory.
Reading
- There
is no required textbook for this course, Nevertheless, you
will
likely benefit from having a text or text-like resource to aid your
study. I suggest that you either find a reasonable modern
sedimentology textbook in the ECU library or refer to on-line lecture
notes such as those from MIT's Open Courseware site. The MIT
site
has a nice set of downloadable Sedimentary Geology lecture notes,
that include most of the topics we will cover in this
course.
- Supplementary
Reading may be assigned throughout the semester (and will be made
available in pdf format on this course website).
Field Trips
2 required
field trips, and accompanying written
reports, as
follows:
- September 12
(Thursday) Field Trip #1 -- Tar
River
- October 26
(Saturday) Field Trip #2 -- Shackleford Banks
Because
these trips are an integral part of the work you will do in this class,
we will reschedule if foul weather makes the trips impossible and/or
unsafe. Please bear this in mind and be prepared to
adjust
to any necessary schedule changes that may result from hurricanes,
nor'easters, flooding, etc. Note
that it is impossible to complete the field trip reports (hence,
virtually
impossible to pass the class) without participating in these field trips. Please
arrange your schedule accordingly.
Exams
- Mid-term exam –
Available on-line by 5:00 pm on
10/09
(linked to the lecture syllabus), DUE at or before midnight (by 11:59
pm!) on Friday, October 11th.
- Final exam – Available on-line by midnight on 12/04 (linked to the lecture syllabus), DUE at or before (!) 1:30 pm on Thursday, December 12th.
Grading
The grading
rubric for this course is detailed below. As a supplement to this
information,
I urge you to read "Understanding
Grades" – it is both interesting and useful.
- Field trips and
field trip reports (including field
work, lab work, all drafts, and your meetings with the
Writing Consultant/Mentor) -- 40%
- Exams (average of both exams, not each) -- 30%
- Laboratory
Exercises (combined total) -- 20%
- Meaningful
participation in Classroom and Laboratory Activities and Discussions -- 10%
(note that it is not possible to achieve the full 10%
for participation without 100% attendance)
General
Expectations
- As
a senior-level capstone course for geoscience majors, Geol 4010/4011
requires a
high level of preparedness as well as the ability to organize one’s
time, to
meet strict deadlines, and to apply previous learning to new situations. Because everyone
enrolled is an upper division geosciences major (or an upper
division or graduate student in a major
that emphasizes the importance of the geosciences to your discipline), I will assume that
you understand how to be a good student and will not bore you
with the details of
good scholarly habits. Everyone
in the
class is expected to demonstrate the dedication to learning and the
organizational and research skills that are expected of those who gain
employment as professional geoscientists.
- This
course is a writing intensive course in ECU’s
Writing Across
the Curriculum Program and contributes to ECU’s twelve hour WI
requirement. As
such, the course
includes a significant focus on the development of writing skills. Success in
this course, signifies that you have demonstrated your ability to
complete the following tasks:
1.
Use
writing to investigate complex, relevant geological topics and
address
significant questions through engagement with and effective use of
credible
sources.
2.
Produce
writing that reflects an awareness of context, purpose, and audience
and that
is appropriate in style and content for professional writing in the
geological
sciences.
3.
Demonstrate
that you understand writing as a process that can be made more
effective though
multiple drafts and revisions.
4.
Proofread
and edit your own writing, avoiding grammatical and mechanical errors.
5.
Assess
and explain the major choices that you make in your writing.
- As
is required for all WI courses, you must upload writing materials to
your
individual University Writing Portfolio (housed in iWebfolio
and accessed via PiratePort).
For this course, you are required to upload
the following items:
1.
a
clean, final version of each field trip report;
2.
a
brief description (in your own words!) of the assignment for
which each report was prepared; and
3.
a
writing self-analysis document that includes answers to the
questions included within the University Writing Portfolio.
Detailed
written and video
instructions for accessing iWebfolio,
uploading
materials to iWebfolio,
and giving your instructor
access to your iWebfolio
materials are available at
the following website: http://www.ecu.edu/qep/.
Additional
information about ECU's Writing Program is
available at the following website:
http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/writing/index.cfm .
- You
are assumed to have a good understanding of the ECU student handbook,
which
outlines the
student code of conduct including the academic
integrity policy and procedures;
of what
it takes to earn high marks in an upper division science
course; and of the
civil and respectful behavior expected of all members of the campus
community –
both in the classroom and in the field.
Punctual and alert attendance, of course, is expected. Please note
that, if needed, field trip
“foul weather dates” will be treated as regularly scheduled field trip
dates. Please
arrange your schedule
accordingly. If
you have special needs
because of a covered disability, please contact Disability Support
Services (located in 138 Slay).
In
case of a campus emergency, you may stay informed via the ECU emergency alert web site
(don’t forget
to sign up for text and e-mail alerts!).
| Prospectus | Course Schedule | Field Trips | ECU Geological Sciences | ECU |
Date
last revised:
08/14/19
http://core.ecu.edu/geology/rigsbyc/rigsby/Sedimentology/2019/prospectus.htm