Geography 107

Sample Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Steven M. Graves
Meeting Times/Room:
Section 18176: Tuesday and Thursdays 8 AM to 9:15 AM in Nordhoff Hall 113.

Office Hours in Sierra Hall 130 D: Tuesday and Thursday (one half hour before class) and by appointment, or whenever my door is open.
Dr. Graves' email: steve.graves@csun.edu
Webpage: www.csun.edu/~sg4002/
Office Phone: 677-3517   Department Phone: 677-3532

Course Catalog Description

Geography 107: World Regional Geography (3). Examines the patterns and processes of human occupance of the earth, with a focus on the United States. Topics such as agriculture, language, religion, ethnicity, politics and economics are covered using the tools and methods of the geographer. (Available for General Education, Social Science).

Expanded Course Description

This course is designed to help students learn more about the world around them, especially the United States. This course uses a systematic or topical approach to learning/teaching about the various patterns and processes that make the world the way it is and shape our perceptions of it.

Three main goals act as the organizing prinicples of this course.

The first goal is for you to become much more knowlegeable about the the United States, but also more knowledgeable about other parts of the world. Such knowledge is characteristic of the the educated person and indespensible to the peaceful operation of a democracy such as ours. Second, student will learn to think spatially, become able to consider the consider the role of space and place on the processes that shape the world; while learning some of the basic tools of this discipline. Third, your knowledge of other cultures and conditiions should help you better appreciate and respect the diversity that characterizes the both the United States and the rest of the world.

Hopefully, this course will help you better understand your world, how it works and your role in it.

 Required Materials

Introduction to Human Geography: A Disciplinary Approach
First Edition
2015
Steven M. Graves

Link to Textbook

Attendance and Classroom Obligations

During those semesters when the course is offered on campus, participation in classroom discussions will count toward the calculation of your final grade.  If you cannot attend regularly, you will not earn a high participation grade.  If your attendance is regular, but you do not participate in the class discussions, you will not earn a high participation grade. 

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities must register with the Center on Disabilities and complete a services agreement each semester.  Staff within the Center will verify the existence of a disability based on the documentation provided and approve accommodations.  Students who are approved for testing taking accommodations must provide a proctor form to their faculty member signed by a counselor in the Center on Disabilities prior to making testing arrangements.  The Center on Disabilities is located in Bayramian Hall, room 110.  Staff can be reached at (818) 677-2684 .

If you have a disability, please make Dr. Graves aware of it at the beginning of the semester.  I am eager to help make arrangements to accommodate any student with differential learning needs.

Other campus-wide disclosures are available at: http://www.csun.edu/a&r/disclosures/disclosures.html

Course Schedule

The is posted on line via Moodle.  It is subject to occasional updates and changes. It is critical that you attend class to make note of such changes.

Attendance

Attendance is a key component of good grades.  I expect students to complete each assignment on time.  You owe it to yourself, to whomever is paying for your education and the taxpayers who support your education.  Students who fail to maintain regular study habits should not take this course. 

If you have medical or personal issues that demand your absence, please contact Dr. Graves immediately.  If a student must miss an extended period of time, he/she should arrange to drop the course or make special arrangements with Dr. Graves.

Other Obligations

There is a mandatory, un-graded course contract that constitutes the first assignment of the course. The link is available via MOODLE.

 Evaluation

Students will be evaluated by a variety of tools, including multiple choice quizzes, writing assignments, on-line exercises, etc.  Students will be evaluated on their ability to demonstrate basic knowledge/comprehension of the subject matter as well as the ability to apply critical thinking skills to the subject matter, by evaluating issues, applying knowledge acquired in novel situations, synthesizing multiple points, issues and knowledge.

On-line Learning Modules

This course will feature a series of online learning labs or modules that are designed to introduce you to some of the tools and techniques used by geographers to solve problems and to make decisions.

Quizzes

During the semester, a number of quizzes will be administered on-line.  These quizzes are intended to assess student comprehension of assigned texts, maps or other information.  Quizzes are also designed to keep the student progressing in a timely fashion through the reading assignments.  Quizzes also are a component of the semester evaluation. 

On-line Discussion Forums (not every semester)

Students are invited to participate in on-line discussion forums.  Forum topics may be introduced by the instructor and students are encouraged to respond on-line to questions, statements or other prompts fashioned by the instructor or other students in the course.  Your responses will be visible to other students enrolled in the course and all students will be encouraged to engage classmates in constructive criticism and analysis of statements.   Participation points will be awarded to students who regularly participate in such forums.

  Listed below are the intended learning outcomes for this course and the evaluation and assessment tools used in the class to determine your success.

Intended Outcomes

In accordance with best teaching practices, intended outcomes for this course are made transparent to students at the beginning of the semester.  Students should be able to demonstrate at least basic competency with knowledge and skill sets listed below in order to earn a passing grade in this course.  The assessment and evaluation tools used during the semester, designed to measure your success in acquiring these knowledge and skill sets are listed below each learning outcome below. 

Goal A: Building a Knowledge Base-Students in this course will identify and define key terms and concepts central to a basic comprehension of the cultural, social and economic lifeways of Californians, Americans and other world citizens.

1. Students will be able to define and explain key terms such as culture, region, landscape, diffusion, corn-belt, fertility rate, dialect, ghetto, gerrymandering, gentrification, contagion diffusion, etc.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions
2. Students will be able to identify on a map important political and cultural features.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Map Quizzes
3. Students will be able to recognize, list and describe key ideas, facts and spatial conditions in the following categories: agriculture, demographics, language, ethnicity, religion, politics, economics, urban life, health and culture.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Multiple Choice On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions

Goal B: Acquiring Knowledge- Students will develop skills for acquiring new knowledge.

1. Students will recall information presented to them textually, cartographically and through numeric, photographic and graphic communication.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Multiple Choice On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions.
2. Students will demonstrate their ability to interpret non-textual information visible on the cultural landscape and through various media.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Multiple Choice On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions, short writing assignments.
3. Students will demonstrate their ability to gather data from various sources so that they may be able to produce knowlege on their own.
   -Assessment/Evaluation tool: Online and in class laboratory assignments.

Goal C: Problem Solving Skills -Students will demonstrate their problem solving skills.

1. Students will analyze non-textual messages in the landscape and from maps, graphics, etc.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Multiple Choice On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions, Short Written Assignments.
2. Students will apply abstract concepts and models, such as. Von Thunen Model, Central Place Theory, Changeover Model, Social Competition Model, etc. to real-world situations.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Exam Questions, short writing assignments.
3. Students will evaluate, compare and contrast opposing views on subjects debated within the academy and in the popular press.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: One page writing assignments.
4. Students will compare the similarities and differences between and among various culture and ethnic groups.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Multiple Choice On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions
5. Students will discuss one or more current social, cultural or economic issues by using spatially informed logic.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: One page writing assignments
6. Students will explain the effect of space and place as it mediates the interactions between and among, economics, politics, physical geography, ethnicity, language, politics, helth issues, etc.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: Multiple Choice On-line Quizzes, Exam Questions, One-page writing assignments, labs.

Goal D: Communicating Knowledge -Students in this course will be able to communicate ideas effectively.

Students will demonstrate basic communicative competency with textual, cartographic, graphic and numeric information.

1. Students will effectively communicate ideas and opinions using textual communication.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: One page writing assignments, on-line mapping exercise.
2. Students will construct one or more legible maps.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: One page writing assignments, on-line mapping exercise.
3. Students will generate one or more statistical measure and use it to construct or explain either a map or other graphic device.
   - Assessment/Evaluation tool: One page writing assignments, on-line mapping exercise.

 

General Education Student Learning Objectives: Social Sciences

This course fulfills a General Education requirement for Social Science. As such, it is designed to meet the following goals and objectives.

Goal: Students will understand the complexities of social relations and human experiences and the ways in which they have changed over time, as well as the nature, scope, and the systematic study of human behaviors and societies. (of course in geography, we examine change through space)

Student Learning Outcomes Students will:

1. Explain how social scientists conduct the systematic study of social relations, human experiences and patterns of change over time (and through space);
• students will demonstrate basic skill using the methods and epistemologies of the geographer.
2. Analyze and explain the multiple perspectives found in the social sciences that underlie debates on important historical and contemporary issues
• students in this course will demonstrate the methods and epistemology of the geographer to analyze and explain a variety of social issues.
3. Apply appropriate social scientific methods to collect data, analyze, evaluate, explain, and/or solve problems in social relations and human behavior
• students in this course will use methods common to geographers to collect data, analyze data, evaluate data in order to explain and/or solve problems presented in the course.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of how social problems impact individuals, communities and societies.
   • students in this course will demonstrate how space and place contribute to the evolving nature of communities, culture and the affect of the natural and social environment on the lives of individuals.

Evaluation

Grades will be determined by your performance on the various assignments and tests as well as your attendance/participation where appropriate.

Grading Regime*   

Participation will count for 5 percent of your total grade.

Reading and map quizzes (15 quizzes) will count for 15 percent of your total grade.

Labs and other assignments (4 -5) will count for 30 percent of your total grade.

Exams (2) will count for 50 percent of your grade.

* These percentages are subject to class approved modification as conditions warrant.

Tentative Grade Scale

A= (90-100%)
B = (80-89%)
C = (70-79%)
D = (60-69%)
F = (59% or less)