INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE SYLLABUS

Cerritos College Earth Science Department

Instructor: Daniel DeKraker
Class: Online #20224
Office: Physical Science and Technology (PST) 139      
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., Tuesday 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Phone: 562-860-2451 ext. 2668
Email: ddekraker@cerritos.edu

COVID-19 Student Return to Campus (Link to College website). https://www.cerritos.edu/covid-19

• Please Read and Follow the Procedures Setup by the College.
  
  

Course Description: 

Welcome to an introductory course in earth science.  In this course, you will learn about the materials that comprise the solid earth, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and the processes that shape these physical realms. We will also take a look outside our planet at the objects within our solar system. This is a lecture/lab combo course, in which you can earn 4 units of credit that is transferable to CSUs and UCs. It is recommended that you have ENGL 100 clearance and have passed MATH 40, as you will be required to do college-level writing and to solve basic algebraic and geometric problems.  Succeeding in this class by earning a C grade or higher will require your undivided attention throughout each 3 hour class session. It will require critical thinking and note-taking during the lecture and laboratory presentations, instructor demonstrations, laboratory exercises, and group activities. In addition, you should expect to spend another 10 hours studying the lecture and laboratory material outside of class each week. 

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of gravity and density in the formation of galaxies and solar systems
2. Differentiate between the constructive and destructive forces that shape Earth's topography and discuss the internal and external processes that drive these forces
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how streams, groundwater, glaciers, and ocean currents act to weather, erode, and deposit earth materials
4. Synthesize the atmospheric processes that heat and cool the atmosphere, drive wind, generate clouds and precipitation, and cause storms
5. In laboratory, apply the scientific method
6. In laboratory, use physical properties to identify minerals and rocks
7. In laboratory, describe the relative movement of Earth's tectonic plates at each of the three types of plate boundaries and the type of crust involved, provide an example of a specific landform created near each type of boundary, and locate on a map where each boundary could be found on Earth
8. In laboratory, describe the Earth–Sun relationship and its influence on Earth's seasons

Required Materials: 

• The Online textbook Earth Science (Open Educational Resource) in the Module section.  
• Laboratory assignments are also located in the Modules (Essentially, this course is FREE!)

Canvas: 

The course website has the tabs on the left containing the following information.  The Syllabus has the information about the course that you are currently reading.  In the Modules section of the website you will find the Earth Science (OER) textbook and all course work and materials.  Each module is listed by by week that includes chapters and in each chapter there are links to investigate and videos to watch.  The Gradebook will allow you to see current grades for assignments, labs, quizzes, and exams. The two most recent Announcements will be visible from the home page otherwise all announcements will be on the Announcement tab. ConferZoom will be used for video conferencing or office hours. Discussions are found in the modules, but there is a tab to see all course discussions.

Assessment:

• A variety of assessments will be made during the course of the semester.  There will be exams, quizzes, laboratory assignments, discussions, and group projects to name a few.  At this time, assessments will be developed during the semester.  The MINIMUM number of points possible for the semester has not been decided any will be available later in the semester after all assessments have been created.

Grades are assigned as follows:
90-100% = A      80-89% = B      70-79% = C      60-69% = D      59% and below = F

THERE WILL BE NO EXTRA CREDIT GIVEN IN THIS CLASS.  IF YOU DO ALL OF YOUR WORK AND HAND IT IN ON TIME, YOU WILL NOT NEED EXTRA CREDIT.

Course Communication:

The preferred method of correspondence for this course should be through the Canvas Conversations tool. The canvas conversations tool is titled the Inbox on the left side of the site below the calendar.  I will respond within 48 hours.  

If you do contact me via e-mail, I will respond to  within 48 hours of receiving them.  The subject line of all emails must include  ESCI 104, Jane Student, E-mail Topic. You should include your email address in the "Cc:" area of all email so that you have a copy of the email you sent me for your records.  If you need immediate assistance, then you need to type the word "HELP" or "EMERGENCY" in all uppercase letters before your name on the Subject line.   I answer all "help" requests prior to answering my regular email. 

Important Dates and Attendance:

Make sure you take responsibility and meet the following deadlines. This information is printed in the semester schedule, found on the class calendar or found online at Admissions and records. Cerritos College Admissions and Records (Links to an external site.) 

• Last day to drop & receive refund
• Last day to add (Instructor initiated)
• Last day to drop without "W"
• Last day to drop with grade of "W"

The Habits of Mind:   iFalcon

• Focus on the work to be done.
• Advance your skills and education by always improving.
• Link Up with other like-minded students, faculty, and campus services to help you along your educational path.
• Comprehend your course material instead of just memorizing it.
• Organize your life to reach your goals.
• Try New Ideas to accelerate your learning and improve your skills. Be curious, seek out new perspectives and skills, and transfer concepts to new contexts in order to solve problems. 

Disabled Student Programs and Services:

• If you have a documented disability and with to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible
• If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Disabled Student Programs and Services at (562) 860-2451 ext. 2335, as early as possible in the term.
• Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor during office hours to discuss their disability related accommodations. Use of Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) services including testing accommodations, requires prior authorization by DSPS and compliance with approved procedures.
• It is the college’s policy to provide, on an individual basis, reasonable accommodations to student who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact their instructor to discuss their individual needs for accommodations.  

Academic Dishonesty: 

Academic Dishonesty is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Examples of academic dishonesty would include, but not be limited to the following:

• Copying, either in part or in whole, from another’s test or examination;Discussion of answers or ideas relating to the answers, on examination or test when the instructor prohibits such discussion;
• Obtaining copies of an exam without the permission of the instructor;
• Using notes, “Cheat sheets,” or otherwise utilizing information or devices not considered appropriate under the prescribed test conditions;
• Altering a grade or interfering with the grading procedures in any course;
• Allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent the same;
• Plagiarism, which is defined as the act of taking the ideas, words or specific substantive material of another and offering them as one’s own without giving credit to the source.

The faculty member may take options to the extent that the faculty member considers the cheating or plagiarism to manifest the student’s lack of scholarship or to reflect on the student’s lack of academic performance in the course. One or more of the following actions are available to the faculty member who suspects a student has been cheating or plagiarizing:

• Review-no action.
• An oral reprimand with emphasis on counseling toward prevention of further occurrences.
• A requirement that work be repeated.
• A reduction of the grade earned on the specific work in question, including the possibility of no credit for the work.
• A reduction of the course grade as a result of item 4 above, including the possibility of a failing grade for the course.
• Referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs for further administrative action, such as suspension or expulsion.

Earth Science Department Writing Standards: 

The Earth Science Department faculty recognizes that having fundamental writing skills is critical to success at Cerritos College and beyond. We acknowledge that these skills transcend traditional English composition classes impacting nearly the College’s entire curriculum, including the sciences and math. Accordingly, the Earth Science Department faculty believes it is our professional responsibility to do all that we can to insure that students leave Cerritos College having demonstrated a mastery of basic writing skills. To that end this document outlines the writing expectations for all students taking coursework from the faculty of the Earth Science Department. The faculty of the Earth Science Department also agrees that in order for a student to receive a grade of “C”, or better (on any one writing assignment) the student’s writing must meet or exceed the criteria noted below as they may apply to the assigned writing.

Standards

Section A: brief writing work including in-class essays and short-answer exam questions.

• Write clear, logically organized sentences having correct spelling, grammar and use of punctuation 
• Organize sentences into well-constructed paragraphs.   

Section B: longer writing work including research, and discussion papers and essays.

• Write clear, logically organized sentences having correct spelling, grammar and use of punctuation. 
• Organize sentences into well-constructed paragraphs. 
• Include a well thought out thesis, or claim, statement that establishes the central theme of the writing.
• Develop supporting evidence in logically organized successive paragraphs that focus on proving the central theme or thesis. 

Tentative Schedule: 

The course summary below is a tentative schedule of assessments.