Geography 490

PREREQUISITES: Students must be Geography majors, nearing completion of their degree.

Required Materials: Key Methods in Geography.  2003.  N J Clifford and Gill Valentine, (editors)  Thousand Oaks: Sage   ISBN: 0761974911 076197492X 

Classroom Activities: Classroom time will be devoted to lecture and discussion of the assignments.  If students are prepared to discuss course content, share ideas and contribute, then there will be less lecture and more discussion. 

Course Schedule:  The course schedule is posted on line.  It is subject to occasional updates and changes.  Please check the course announcements pages regularly.

 Attendance: Attendance is a key component of good grades.  I expect students to attend every class and there is a punitive attendance policy in this course. Each time you miss a class, 5.0% (half a letter grade) will be deducted from your semester end letter grade. Missing two sessions will result in a reduction of a whole letter grade. You owe it to yourself, or to whomever pays for your education as well as the taxpayers who support your education to attend.  Students with poor attendance habits should not take this course.  If you have medical or personal issues that demand your absence, please contact Dr. Graves before or immediately after the class or assignment you miss.  In certain circumstances, a student must miss an extended period of time, you should arrange to drop the course or make special arrangements with Dr. Graves.

Academic Dishonesty and Cheating

See the following policy: http://www.csun.edu/a&r/soc/legalnotices.html#facultypolicy

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.

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

Tentative Grading Regime*
Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance on several assignments. They are listed below, and the first five are MANDATORY. Failure to complete these assignments will result in a failing grade.

1. A Research Proposal
2. Study site Description/Literature Review
3. First Draft of Research Paper
4. Final Draft of Research Paper
5. Oral Presentation of Research
6. Professional Portfolio/Resume

*subject to class approved changes.

Tentative Grade Scale: A = (90-100%); B = (80-89%); C = (70-79%); D = (60-69%); F = (59% or less)
**THERE ARE NO INCOMPLETES GIVEN IN THIS COURSE.

Intended Outcomes

In accordance with best teaching practices, course objectives are made transparent to students at the beginning of the semester.  These outcomes represent the knowledge and skill sets with which students are expected to demonstrate competency during the semester.  Assessment and evaluation tools used during the quarter are designed to determine student success in acquiring these knowledge and skill sets.

Goal A: Building a Knowledge Base: Students in this course will identify and define key terms and concepts central to the research process.

Students will be able to define and explain key terms such as literature review, annotated bibliography, citation, plagiarism, topic sentences, hypothesis, thesis statement, etc.

Assessment/Evaluation tool: Class discussions, research paper.

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

Students will utilize research tools and methods, including library resources, field work, electronic data sets and other resources commonly used by geographers.

Assessment/Evaluation tool: Class discussions, research paper.

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

Students will solve a problem(s) or support an expressed opinion as a part of their research project.

Assessment/Evaluation tool: Research paper.

Goal D: Communicating Knowledge: Students in this course will be able to communicate ideas by using words, numbers, maps and other graphic devices.

Students will effectively communicate ideas and opinions using textual, graphic or cartographic communication.

Assessment/Evaluation tool: Research paper.