Syllabus

Outline of this Page  Course Description Course Objectives Preparing for Success Required Text Course Delivery Format and Schedule Evaluation Criteria and Rubrics Grading Procedure Honor Code Absence Policy Disability Accomodation About the Instructor Technical Support

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Course Description

 

The goals of this course are to -

 

• Obtain an informed and useful understanding of the discipline of ecology and
• Develop research skills through critical scientific reviews, practice with methods and tools, and communication of technical information.

 

Course Objectives

 

Through this course, students will:

 

• Develop an appreciation of the modern scope of scientific inquiry in the field of ecology.
• Become familiar with the variety of ways that organisms interact with both physical and biological aspects of the environment.
• Develop an understanding of the distinctness in structure and function of various ecosystems across spatial, temporal and organizational scales.
• Develop an appreciation of the natural world through direct experience with local ecosystems.
• Become proficient in critically reading and presenting scientific materials in various formats, such as peer-reviewed ecological articles and reports.

 

For each of 10 sessions, there are also specific learning objectives. Assignments and evaluations generally aim to assess and measure your learning to date with respect to these objectives.

 

Preparing for Success

 

To succeed in this course, students in this course should be comfortable studying and working independently and at a fast-pace, and familiarize themselves with productivity software (e.g., Microsoft Office) and Internet-based research (e.g., Google Scholar, library.gmu.edu, Zotero) and communication (e.g., wiki editing, skype) tools. In addition, students should: 

 

• Obtain a copy of the required text (see below), then start reading it as soon and often as feasible, as we're covering "from cover to cover."
• Have access throughout each week to an Internet-enabled computer with the following software installed:
• Firefox Web Browser v3.0 (or greater) - FREE
• Zotero v2.0 beta (or greater), Mason's own bibliographic citation software, which runs as a plugin for Firefox - FREE 
• Any office productivity suite that can open Microsoft office files (e.g MS Office, FREE Open Office, or FREE NeoOffice for Mac users)
• FREE Skype, if you want to contact the instructor using voice over internet (VoIP) or instant messaging (IM). This will also likely be the tool we use for your real-time participation in our end-of-semester showcase.
• Have speakers or headset with microphone on hand, as needed, for real-time communication, recording and listening to audio content.
• Be able to participate and communicate with classmates using written (and potentially audio or, if you desire, video) internet media.
• If you haven't already done so, please email your instructor  with -

1. your preferred contact information (email, phone and/or instant message/skype)
2. hours when you should be available for any real-time [synchronous] interactions, recitations or our final showcase (see session 10)

Review this entire page, then take the following [anonymous] pre-test of your pre-course understanding of ecology.

Proceed to the 01plan page in our 01 Session folder for more instructions for the first week...

 

Required Text

 

R.L. Smith & T.M. Smith. 2008. Elements of Ecology. 7th Ed. Benjamin Cummings.

ISBN-10: 0321559576 | ISBN-13:  9780321559579

To obtain the textbook, compare options and costs via directtextbook.com OR 

Purchase directly from GMU Bookstore or amazon.com OR

Rent for the term of this course from chegg.com or bookrenter.com OR

Borrow regularly from Johnson Center Library (2 hour reserve). 

  

Course Delivery Format and Schedule

 

Prior to the start of the course, you should have received email invite from your instructor inviting you to take the course pre-test and a brief nature expedition, review the short introductory chapter of our text, then prepare a short journal entry -- linked from this page -- related to these experiences. If you have not received this message, please email your instuctor now, so he can create a page for your submission.

 

Our course will span 10 sessions. For each of 8 sessions, we will collaboratively examine ecological issues related to one of the 8 parts of our textbook (about 3-4 chapters per part, per schedule below). Session 05 is reserved for your abstract revisions and mid-term exam, while Session 10 is for a showcase of semester projects and for your final exam. (Both Session 05 and 10 will also include journal entries - see those folders for details.)

 

It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of the course schedule of topics, readings, activities, and assignments due.  Session plans (including readings, instructions, activities and assignments) will be released in final format by 11:59pm on the first Monday of each session period. (Draft versions may be accessible in advance, with potential for slight alterations before finalization, based on students' submissions.) All materials will remain accessible through the end of the semester, and indefinitely thereafter, either on our wiki site or [for references:] in our shared zotero library [biol607001sp10].  Unless otherwise noted in session plans, your submissions will be due at 11:59pm on the final Sunday of each session period. Although most of the course will be in asynchronous mode [i.e., not all on-line at the same time], you should expect to allocate at least 4-6 hours per week to work on readings, assignments and activities.

 

Session	Topics & Readings	Assignments & Tasks
PRE-COURSE to June 8	Introduction to Ecology and the Scientific Method of Ecologists (Chapter 1)	__ Take course pre-test by Jun 8 __ Install Firefox Web Browser, Zotero v2.0 beta (or greater), and Skype by start of class __ Visit our zotero library [biol607su10] __ Email/skype your contact info, nickname, & convenient weekly real-time interaction times __ Ecology Here and Now [journal01]: please post ASAP upon outset of first session!
01 8 - 14 June	Fundamentals of Ecology Preface (as .pptx or .pdf, by Dr. Dann) Part 1:  The Physical Environment, aka "Contraints" (EoE Chapters 2-4)   Patterns and Scales (Levin 1992)	__ A. Session activities on 01Plan page. __ B. Post 2-3 course project ideas or questions of interest to you for your course project. (no score) __ C. N/A (No exam-related assigment until Session 04) __ D. Add an outside reference you used this session to our Zotero Group Library.*   NOTE: All outside readings are linked from our Zotero Groups library.
02 15 - 21 June	Part 2:  The Organism and its Environment, aka "Tradeoffs (Chapters 5-8)   The Beauty of Small Things Revealed (Bryant 2003)   Genome Divergence... (Rocap et al., 2003) or Genes fr. Tiny Algae... (Science Daily 2009)	__ A. Session activities on 02Plan page __ B. [Optional] Provide feedback on others' course project ideas (not scored) __ D. Update Zotero Groups* with any outside references you used during assignments.
03 22 - 28 June	Part 3:  Populations (Chapters 9-12)   A Natural History of Peace (Sapolsky 2006)   Chimps Meat for Sex (Science Daily, 8 Apr 2009) or another recent article of your choice on non-human intraspecific interactions	__ A. Session activities on 03Plan page __ B. Pick time slot for [Session 10] showcase, then link from that page to draft abstract for your course project (no score) __ D. Update Zotero Groups* with any outside references you used during assignments. __ E. Consider your potential addition(s) to course glossary (due in Session 10)
04 29 June - 5 July	Part 4:  Species Interactions (Chapters 13-15)   Malthusian Overfishing (Pauly 1990)   The Ecology of Mutualism (Boucher, James & Keeler 1982)	__ A. Session activities on 04Plan page __ B. [OPTIONAL] Provide a peer with written feedback at bottom of their draft abstract page (no score),          as linked from/posted to our showcase page. __ C. Prepare for mid-term exam (next session) __ D. Update Zotero Groups* with any outside references you used during assignments. __ G. [OPTIONAL] Consider possible exceptional contribution you might pursue (by Session 10)
05 6 - 12 July	MID-TERM, so NO READINGS  this session BUT NOTE DOUBLE SESSION!	__ A. Activity: take second nature expedition (same spot ok) and, then complete [Journal02], documenting new perceptions based on lessons learned from Parts 1-4. CANCELED! (too much work for 8 week session) __ B. Insert link from the showcase page to the revised (final) abstract for your course project; complete showcase page form to prioritize which final project you'd like to [anonymously] evaluate. __ C. Request, complete and submit mid-term exam (due before 11:59pm, Jul. 19) __ D. N/A (No new references expected this week.)
06 6 - 12 July	Part 5:  Community Ecology; integration across scales? (Chapters 16-19)   Ecological patterns in time and space (DiMichele 1994)   Mutualism, Faciliation and the structure of ecological communities (Stachowicz 2001)	__ A. Session activities on 05Plan (includes 06 plan) page __ B. Use form on showcase page to submit anonymous evaluation of assigned peer's final abstract __ D. Update Zotero Groups* with any outside references you used during assignments. __ E. Reminder about your potential addition(s) to course glossary (due in Session 10)
07 13 -19 July	Part 6:  Ecosystems (Chapter 20-22) The Creation of Ecosystems (Wilson 1999, Chp 9)   Ecosystem Services (MEA 2003, pp. 49-70)	__ A. Session activities on 07Plan page __ B. [OPTIONAL] Post draft course project presentation and/or product to 07 Session folder, then solicit others' feedback __ D. Add any outside reference you used during assignment to Zotero Groups.* __ G. [OPTIONAL] Reminder of possible exceptional contribution to pursue (by Session 10)
08 20 - 26 July	Part 7:  Ecological Biogeography (Chapter 23-26)	__ A. Session activities on 08Plan page __ B. [OPTIONAL] Provide feedback to someone who has posted draft course project presentation and/or product to 07 Session folder __ D. Add any outside reference you used during assignment to Zotero Groups.*
09 27 - 2 August	Part 8:  Human Ecology (Chapters 27-29): "apart from" vs. "a part of" ecosystems?   At least 1 reading below + 1 of video documentary from the next column...   Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (excerpt  TBD)   Climate Change (IPCC 2008)    The Future of Life  (Wilson 2001)	__ A. Session activities on 09Plan page __ B. Post to 10 Session folder final presentation and product for course project, link to same from showcase page. __ D. Add any outside reference you used during assignment to Zotero Groups.*  __ E. Consider your potential addition(s) to course glossary (due in Session 10)     Turning the Tide - large marine ecosystem video (~30min) (Rojas and Odendaal 2006)   Hope in a Changing Climate (COP-15 cut) ecological restoration video (~30min)   We are all Smith Islanders climate change adaptation video (~30min)
10  3 - 9 August	SHOWCASE SYMPOSIUM, so NO NEW READINGS  this session BUT NOTE FINAL AVAILABILITY	__ A. Session activities on 10Plan page: Final natural expedition + journal03 __ B. Course project showcase (scheduled in 2 parts) + anonymous peer evaluations __ C. Prepare for final exam (next session) __ D. Post list of your 8 references to our wiki references page (or link from there to your list) __ E. Post your addition(s) to multi-media ecology glossary __ F. Submit course post-test and University course evaluation before last day of class __ G. [OPTIONAL:} Submit documentation to justify exceptional contribution
FINAL EXAM 3 - 9 August		__ C. Request, complete and submit Final Exam: Within 2 hours 30 minutes of download and no later than Monday, August 9 at 11:59pm, submit final exam via email to Dann Sklarew (dsklarew@gmu.edu), who will acknowledge receipt.
		Have happy holidays and ecologically savvy careers hereafter, colleagues!

 

* If the "groups" part of zotero groups is not functioning for you, simply email Dr. Dann by the deadline with an an export of our reference database as a zotero .rdf file (with both references and file).

 

Evaluation Criteria and Rubrics

 

In pursuit of our learning objectives, this course's success will be determined in large part through students' performance on the following assignments:

 

Assignments	Due Dates (end of session, 11:59pm Sunday)	Points Each	Total Points	Notes
A. Session Activities (8)	End of assigned session ("S."), unless otherwise noted	4	32	See session plans for activity options and notes; each activity aims to assist an assess students' learning (advancing cognitive skills) with respect to the ecology topics covered. Rubric:  4 = Exeeds expectations to address issue or problem, with proper citations 3 = Adequately addresses issue or problem, with proper citations 2 = Inadequately addresses issue/problem OR improper/missing citations 1 = Misses the point entirely, insufficient content and/or missing citations
B. Course Project	(a) project ideas: S.1 end (b) draft abstract: S.3 end (c) final abstract: S.05 end (d) abstract evaluation: S.06 end (e) present product: S.09 end (f) project evaluation: S.10 end	(c) 4 & (e) 8 per assessor; (d) 1 & (f) 1	26	Opportunity to elaborate a topic studied during the semester and produce a course product in the form of research paper, thought experiment, grant proposal, lesson plan, presentation, multimedia creation, etc. Students are encouraged to select the topic that relates to their personal or professional experience and demonstrate the relevance of the learned concepts to their own situation.   Initial (a) course project ideas & (b) draft abstract not scored. Use showcase page to link to your submitted draft and final abstract, product and presentation, and to complete peer assessment forms. Each abstract and project will be evaluated by one [anonymous peer] and by your instructor, using same scoresheet; hence 12 points from each for total of 24. See scoresheet on course project page for rubric (metric for assessment).
C. Exams (2)	mid-term: at S.05 end final: 1 week afer S.10 end	16	32	Timed exams will be in multiple short essay format that will include questions derived from the homework and readings, as well as from collectively accessible submissions from the students. Questions will be similar to those covered by the homeworks and span different levels of Bloom's Hierarchy of Cognitive Skills Make-ups will not be given except in exceptional circumstances as agreed prior to the exam date.   Select four 4-point questions per exam; open notes but timed; non-cumulative. Questions will resemble substantive ones from pre-test and session activities. Same rubric as for session activities, only finite time to submit. .
D. Annotated References (8)	1 for ea. of 8 course parts: on Zotero at end of assigned session; all 8 references: S.10 end	1	8	Insert reference from research literature into our Zotero library, then add 1-2 paragraph note explaining its substantive contribution to the session's topics (include your name or initials in the note). Post bibliography of all 8 references to our references page. Rubric: 1 = Full reference info. [metadata] with annotated note attached explaning what substance  reference addds to the subjects of our studies 0.5 = Incomplete reference info to be able to rediscover, access or or cite work OR no note attached 0 = incomplete and no note attached
E. Glossary item	1 anytime before S.10 end	1	1	Expand multi-year, multi-media glossary by 1 item to help future 607 cohorts. 1 = glossary item accurate, informative and includes multi-media element 0.5 = item inaccurate, incomplete and/or missing multi-media element 0 = neither on target nor illustrated with multi-media element.
F. Course post-test and University course evaluation	certification before S.10 end	1	1	University course evaluation only available until last day of classes; please complete both before then -- very much appreciated! Certifying that you have submitted both by the last day of session 10 is sufficent to receive full credit.
G. BONUS: Exceptional contribution	by S.10 end	+1	+1	Use this link as opportunity to document - & get extra credit for - something "extra" you did to advance your peers' collective learning during the course, or to apply or expand your new ecological wisdom beyond course requirements. (See exceptional contribution page for rubric.)
		MAX. SCORE:	101

 

Grading Procedure

The final grade is based on your performance out of the possible 100 points:

 

Grade	Points
A - Exceptional/Passing	91-100.0
B - Satisfactory/Passing	81-90.99
C - Unsatisfactory/Passing	71-80.99
F - Unsatisfactory/Failing	00-70.99

 

In recent semesters, a few students have received C's, most B's or A's. The professor is not required, but reserves the right to provide + or - to grades to provide further clarification regarding the quality of students' work.

 

Unless prior arrangement is made with your instructor, late work will be marked down 1 grade (usually equivalent to -1 point out of 4).

 

In order to protect student privacy, you grades will be posted to our class gradebook at http://courses.gmu.edu, under the "My Grades" tab. Only your instructor and you have access to your exam scores, project scores and final grades for the course. Homework and discussion forum scores, by contrast, may be posted publically, so that students may collectively learn from your instructor and peers the chracteristics of quality work in this subject area, and where and how improvements can be made.

 

Honor Code

 

Adherence to the GMU Honor Code is expected of all students, specifically:

 

Members of the George Mason University community pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, or lie in matters related to academic work.

 

In all assignments and communications, plagiarism will not be tolerated. This applies equally to oral and written communications in the context of any evaluated (graded) course assignments. In presenting quotes, paraphrasing statements or logical arguments from others in any medium (on-line, oral or written), students should properly cite their source. Results of team work should only be attributed to those who directly contribute to the final product (even if more than those people were designated as being part of the team). Any or all members of a student team may be held accountable for any Honor Code violations in their shared work. Any public usage of original material from this course (e.g., presentations, images, etc.) without explicit permission of its creator shall be construed as stealing. As stated in the Honor Code, infractions may result in invalidated credit for dishonorable work and lowered grade, including failure from the class, suspension or dismissal. Inquiries for clarification from the professor are welcome.

 

Almost every year, your professor discovers signs of plagiarism in his classes. For their error, those students suffer significantly in terms of both time and course grade. Please help make this year an exception to the trend. And thank you in advance for your conscious attention to these issues.

 

Absenteeism Policy (for distance, hybrid and face-to-face courses)

 

As adults with outside responsibilities, you may have to miss a session once during the semester. If you know this is likely to happen, please contact your professor as soon as possible to arrange means to ensure you can still learn the material and/or obtain full credit for any learning activities.

 

Due to the exceptional threat posed by pandemic flu, students who promptly inform the instructor of their flu symptoms (see next underlined link hereafter) are then strongly urged to stay at home, per CDC direction here. Please do not come to campus until 24 hours after any [>100^oF] fever passed without medication. Insofar as students adhere to the GMU Honor Code when declaring their illness-related need to work from home (or recover before continuing work), they will be eligible to receive reasonable accommodation for their illness, as deemed appropriate by the instructor. 

 

Disability Accommodation

 

Your instructor is motivated to support any reasonable accomodations needed for you to learn. If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please contact your instructor and the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 993-2474.  All academic accommodations must be arranged through the ODS. (Source: ODS on-line) 

 

About the Instructor

Dr. Dann Sklarew, 4260 Chain Bridge Road, Suite B200 (Room B206)

In-person office hours: For summer 2010, by appointment at Arlington (Truland Bldg) or Fairfax campus (David King Hall)

Online hours: Whenever on-line and available via skype (see below), or asynchronously via email

Skype: jendann (   )

E-mail: dsklarew@gmu.edu

Website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~dsklarew

Phone number: 703-993-2012*

 

* Note: This phone number does NOT ring in the suite where my office hours are. So, please send email or skype with your phone number if you need me to reach you at that time, or call the ESP Office (703-993-1043) to place a message in my mail slot.

 

Technical Support

 

Please first visit our help page or support pages for the technology you are using (e.g., pbworks, skype, zotero). If this is insufficient to assist you, feel free to contact your instructor for assistance - ideally well in advance of any deadline which relies upon which aptitude with this technology.

 

 

 

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