Global Environmental Problems Bio 478 Spring 2018 Jessie C. Jarvis, Ph.D. COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will review and discuss the causes and effects of major environmental problems, with emphasis on ecosystem-level effects and interactions. Topics include extinction, deforestation, climate change, and pollution impacts OBJECTIVES 1. Explain the causes and effects of selected major environmental problems across multiple scales. 2. Understand the ecosystem-level effects and interactions between global environmental problems. 3. Be able to define the human role in the causes, effects and solutions for global environmental problems. 4. Prepare a comprehensive referenced scientific presentation and present the results to the class. MEETING TIMES AND LOCATION Lecture: TH 2:00 3:15 pm FR 1014 2015 North Carolina Botanical Garden INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION Instructor: Dr. Jessie Jarvis Office: FR 2001A Office Hours: Tuesday 12:00 2:00 pm; or by appointment Office Phone: 910.962.2839 E-mail: jarvisj@uncw.edu* *Please allow 24 hours for a response. If you require a faster response you may call my office phone. Also, please include BIO 498 and an informative subject title in the subject line of the email. Failure to do so may result in substantially longer response times 1
MATERIALS AND READINGS Audience Response Card (aka Clicker): For this course you will need a TurningPoint audience ResponseCard RF Keypad, which are available from the bookstore or as an app. This can be with or without the LCD screen. This tool will be an essential component of our class meetings as we will use them for polling and daily quizzes that are part of your course participation. We will officially begin using these the Audience Response System (ARS) on Tuesday Jan 16. Before that class, you will need to purchase your Response Card and register the card on through the TurningPoint website http://webreg.turningtechnologies.com. To register the clicker, you will need to input the Device ID number (on the back of the clicker) and use your UNCW ID number and UNCW email address. More information is available about this process here http://www.uncw.edu/itsd/learning/studentresponsesystemclickers.html. You then need to also register your clicker on Blackboard. For full credit, you will need to register the clicker before class on Jan 16. Textbooks: None all materials and study materials will be made available through Blackboard. ABOUT THE COURSE Course Approach: In class meetings there will be lectures, readings, student presentations, discussions, problem solving, group work and more. I expect you to work cooperatively in our meetings as well as study together outside of class. I expect you to read assignments ahead of the class meeting scheduled to address the topic. In class, we will often discuss only parts of a reading or advanced topics that build upon the material posted in Blackboard. Thus, we may not review all of the reading in class, but you remain responsible for this material for quizzes and exams. If you don t read prior to class, you should not be surprised if you become lost during the discussions and activities. This is your course and I expect you to accept responsibility for your own learning. EVALUATION Your final grade will be based on two lecture tests (20%); a cumulative final exam (15%); group work including in class activities and final presentations (40%); homework and movie reviews (15%), and class participation (10%). Lecture Tests: Tests 1 and 2 will not be cumulative. The average of the two test scores will count towards 20% of your final grade. The final exam will be cumulative and will count towards 15% of your final grade. My expectation is that you will be present for all of the exams. If you have a planned absence that is part of official university business, please let me know immediately so that we can schedule a time for you to take the exam early. Otherwise, there will be no make-up exams. If you miss one exam, you may write a 15-page research paper (not including figures, tables, or references) on a topic to be chosen with me. I will then substitute your grade on the paper for the exam you missed. 2
Group Work: As group work is an important part of this class we will use a formal peer review assessment to help incorporate group member participation into the total grade. We will use the peer evaluation tools developed by the CATME project (www.catme.org). By now you should have received an email from CATME about creating an account for your online peer evaluations. You will need to (1) create an account and (2) complete the assigned Group Maker survey. I will use these results to assign you to a group. You will work in a group of 3-4 students throughout the semester. Your group will work together in and outside of class time on assignments including leading an in-class discussion on an assigned reading and group poster presentation (please seed handouts for more details). You will not get credit for group work on days which you are absent from class. Homework: In addition to the required reading, homework assignments will be posted on Blackboard under the assignments folder. All assignments will have a posted due date. Pay close attention to the due date as NO late assignments will be accepted. Class Participation: As this will be a highly active class, participation is a significant part of your evaluation. It is also part of professional behavior. I will assess your participation through periodic in-class quizzes and assignments, many of which will be accomplished with the TurningPoint audience response system (ARS). With the ARS I will ask two types of questions. Some questions will have correct answers. These questions will be drawn from lecture material and readings. You will receive 1 participation point for responding and 1 additional point for answering correctly. The second type of questions will not have a correct answer. For these, you will receive 2 points for responding. Bringing your clicker to class on time is an expectation for this course and is part of practicing professional behavior. If you forget your clicker, you will receive a zero for the ARS in class participation that day. 3
Grading Scale: The grading scale is based on the weighted percentage of your total earned points as breaks down as follows: A 93-100 % A- 90-92 % B+ 87-89 % B 83-86 % B- 80-82 % C+ 77-79 % C 73-76 % C- 70-72 % D+ 67-69 % D 63-66 % D- 60-62 % F below 59 % POLICIES AND RESOURCES: Blackboard & email: It is critical to ACTIVELY CHECK your UNCW e-mail account as part of this course. Announcements, review materials, supplementary readings, as well as grades are maintained on BlackBoard for your convenience. A large percentage of the reading assignments for this course are dispensed as PDF documents through BlackBoard. I understand that not every student has access to a computer at home, however, if you come to UNCW for classes regularly there are plenty of computers available to check e-mail or access an assignment from BlackBoard. It is your responsibility to let me know immediately if you are having trouble receiving class e-mails or accessing BlackBoard information. Disabilities: If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing accommodations of any type for this course, you must first notify Disability Services (DePaolo Hall, http://uncw.edu/disability/about/index.html), provide the necessary documentation of the disability, and arrange for the appropriate authorized accommodations. Once these accommodations are approved, please identify yourself to me in order that we can implement these accommodations. Violence and Harassment: UNCW practices a zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment of any kind. For emergencies, contact UNCW CARE at 910.962.2273, Campus Police at 910.962.3184, or the Wilmington Police at 911. 4
Academic Honor Code: The Department of Biology and Marine Biology and I strongly support the Academic Honor Code as stated in the Student Handbook and Code of Student Life, and we will not tolerate academic dishonesty of any type. The University Learning Center: THE UNIVERSITY LEARNING CENTER DePaolo Hall 1056 & 1003, first floor 910.962.7857 www.uncw.edu/ulc The University Learning Center s (ULC) mission is to help students become successful, independent learners. Tutoring at the ULC is NOT remediation: the ULC offers a different type of learning opportunity for those students who want to increase the quality of their education. ULC services are free to all UNCW students and include the following: Learning Services (University Studies) http://www.uncw.edu/ulc/learning/index.html Math Services http://www.uncw.edu/ulc/math/index.html Study Sessions http://www.uncw.edu/ulc/includes/studysessions.html Supplemental Instruction http://www.uncw.edu/ulc/si/index.html Writing Services http://www.uncw.edu/ulc/writing/index.html 5
Bio 478 Global Env. Problems Course Schedule Spring 2018 Week Date Lecture 1 9-Jan Intro & Critical Thinking 11-Jan Principles of Sustainability 2 16-Jan Global Population Growth & Carrying Capacity 18-Jan Climate Change I 3 23-Jan Climate change II 25-Jan "Anthropocene" **Group Topics Due** 4 30-Jan Energy: Oil & Natural Gas 1-Feb Energy: Coal 5 6-Feb Sustainable Energy 8-Feb Transportation **Preliminary Proposal Due** 6 13-Feb EXAM 1 15-Feb "Groundswell Rising" 7 20-Feb **Group Topic Oral Presentations** 22-Feb **Group Topic Oral Presentations** 8 27-Feb Trash 1-Mar Food 9 5-9 Mar NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK 10 13-Mar Water 15-Mar Biodiversity **Poster Abstracts Due** 11 20-Mar Forests 22-Mar Oceans: Global Fisheries 12 27-Mar EXAM 2 29-Mar NO CLASS - UNCW CLOSED 13 3-Apr "A Plastic Ocean" 5-Apr Plastics - Guest Lecture 14 10-Apr **Class Poster Session Rehearsal & Critique** 12-Apr NO CLASS: Work on Final Group Presentations 15 17-Apr Standard of Living & Sustainability 19-Apr Conservation & Restoration 16 24-Apr **Class Poster Session** 17 3-May FINAL EXAM 3:00-6:00 pm FH 1014 6