Instructor: Steve GravesCourse Description
Geography 300: The Geographers Craft: Introduction to Geographic Research. This course is designed to function as a gateway to the discipline for Geography majors. Students successfully completing this course will be able to demonstrate the basic knowledge set and fundamental research skills necessary to engage in upper-division course work offered by the Department of Geography.
The student will be introduced to the various conceptual and practical concerns that figure prominently in Geography as disciplinary craft. The student will also be introduced to the epistemological foundations of geography and the basic methodological tools used by disciplinary practitioners. Course content and skill building exercises will be delivered to the student via a series of on-line learning modules.
After completing assigned readings and studying selected demonstration models, the student will engage series of short assignments whereby the student will exhibit competence with or mastery of the subject, concept or procedure introduced in the reading and demonstration model.
Some semesters, this course will be offered on-line and in other semesters it will be offered in the standard classroom format.
Required Materials
Key Methods in Geography. SECOND EDITION 2010. N J Clifford and Gill Valentine, (editors) Thousand Oaks: Sage 9781412935098
Link to text.
It may be possible to use the older edition:
Key Methods in Geography. 2003. N J Clifford and Gill Valentine, (editors) Thousand Oaks: Sage ISBN: 0761974911 076197492X
On-line Learning Modules
This course will feature a series of no less than 10 on-line learning modules or labs. These labs are designed to introduce the student to various conceptual issues, methods and practices commonly used by geographers in human, physical, regional and environmental sub fields. The purpose is to provide students with exposure to the various ways in which geographers go about posing questions and finding solutions to the questions we have posed.
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. Such quizzes serve partially in-lieu of the in-class interaction that would normally allow instructors to assess students comprehension. Quizzes are also designed to keep the student progressing in a timely fashion through the learning modules and ensure regular interaction with the material. Quizzes also are a component of the semester evaluation.
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 special attendance concerns, may consult with Dr. Graves regarding alternative means of completing assignments and obtaining learning materials.
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 course schedule is hosted on Moodle. it is subject to occasional updates and changes as necessitated and approved by a vote of the class.
Announcements regarding any changes in the course will be made via Moodle / email.
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.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated by a variety of evaluation 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. Listed on the following pages 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 basic components of scholarly research, various spatial approaches to identified research questions, key methodological tools and practices used by disciplinary practitioners and basic communicative practices used by Geographers.
Students will be able to define and explain key terms such as: literature review, peer-reviewed journal, methodology, hypothesis, quantitative data and analysis, quantitative data and analysis, landscape, research design.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, short expository assignments.
Students will be able to identify on a map a study site and offer a cogent, spatially informed description of a study site.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line learning module.
Goal B: Acquiring Knowledge
Students will develop skills for acquiring new knowledge in order to grow their knowledge base and they take steps toward becoming life-long learners.
Students will demonstrate their ability to find and interpret primary data available from observation of the social, cultural and/or physical landscapes.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
Students will demonstrate their ability to find sources of secondary information such as that available from prior research, in libraries, public data sets, maps and other graphics. Students will complete a short literature review.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
Students will demonstrate their ability to formulate a research question, a hypothesis regarding the research questions and a method of testing the hypothesis.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
Students will evaluate, compare and discuss strengths and weaknesses and value of various methodologies available to disciplinary practitioners.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Learning Modules.
Goal C: Problem Solving Skills
Students will demonstrate progress in their development of skill necessary to solve problems and answer research questions. Students will analyze non-textual messages in the landscape and from maps, graphics, etc.
Students will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of hypotheses and research designs.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
Students will engage a variety of basic research strategies frequently used by disciplinary practitioners.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
Goal D: Communicating Knowledge
Students in this course will be able to communicate ideas effectively. They will demonstrate basic communicative competency with textual, cartographic, graphic and numeric information.
Students will effectively communicate ideas and opinions using textual communication.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules, Writing Assignments.
Students will construct one or more legible maps.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
Students will generate one or more statistical measure and use it to construct or explain at least one map and one other graphic device.
Assessment/Evaluation tool: On-line Quizzes, On-line Learning Modules.
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 and miscellaneous assignments will count for 10 percent of your total grade.
Fifteen weekly reading quizzes will count for 30 percent of your total grade.
Labs and writing assignments will count for 60 percent of your total 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)
