Dr. Karen Bartels  Office: Main Campus, Science Building Room 142  Phone: (773) 442-6052  E-mail: K-Bartels@neiu.edu Web page: http://www.neiu.edu/~kbartels/bartels.htm

Office Hours:  Tues. 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.  Weds. 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.  Or by appointment

 

Course Description	Objectives	Outline of Topics
Textbook	Structure of the Course	Requirements
Grading Policy	Handouts & Study Guides	General ESCI Links
	Link to Photos

Course Description:Study of the geological processes producing and controlling the lands within the National Park System.Lecture 3 hours.Prereq: ESCI 121 or ESCI 211.  [From NEIU catalog]

Required text:Geology of National Parks (6^th edition) by Ann G. Harris, Esther Tuttle and Sherwood D. Tuttle (2004).Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, Iowa.

For other books about the geology of National Parks, see http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/education/textbooks.htm

For photographic tours of some of the parks, see http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/index2.html

Course Objectives:  By the end of this course you should be able to do the following:

1.Summarize the major geologic features of the National Parks studied in the course.

2.Locate information about the geology of other National Park Service sites (maps, books, and online resources).

COURSE OUTLINE (subject to revision)
 

MAY 24Introduction to course.Part I: “The Grand Staircase:” Grand Canyon, Zion, BryceCanyon and CapitolReefNational Parks	Chapters 1-2
MAY 26 Part I, continued.	Chapters 3-4
JUNE 2Part II: Caves and Reefs: MammothCave, WindCave, Virgin Islands and EvergladesNational Parks.Quiz 1	Chapters 14-15
JUNE 7Part II, continued	Chapters 18-19
JUNE 9  Part III: Glacial Features: Rocky Mountain, Waterton-Glacier, Yosemite and Isle RoyaleNational Parks.Quiz 2	Chapters 25-26
JUNE 14Part III, continued	Chapter 28, 23
JUNE 16 Part IV: Volcanic Features: Hawaii Volcanoes, Haleakala, Yellowstone and Crater LakeNational Parks.Quiz 3	Chapters 40-41
JUNE 21 Part IV, continued Cascades Volcano Observatory	Chapter 43, 36
JUNE23Part V: ComplexMountains: Joshua Tree and Death ValleyNational Parks.Quiz 4	Chapter 47
JUNE 28Part V, continued.	Chapter 48
JUNE 30 Final Exam 11:50 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.

COURSE STRUCTURE:Class sessions will typically be a combination of hands-on activities, discussions, and lecture.You will do most of the activities in groups.There are two reasons for this, one logistic and one pedagogic; there are not enough materials to go around for every individual student, and by working in groups, you can help each other learn and understand the concepts.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance.  Regular attendance is expected.  There are many in-class assignments and group activities that cannot be made-up.

Email and Web access.Announcements about the class will be sent via email and posted on the course website (http://www.neiu.edu/~kbartels/GeolNP.htm).You must have an email address and you must check it regularly, preferably the evening before each class session as well as at the end of the week.

Assessments.At the end of each class session, you will be asked to participate in a brief assessment exercise.This will be an anonymous and non-graded survey, quiz, or comment form designed to help the instructor determine how the class is coming along in terms of understanding the important concepts.

Graded materials.

In-class activities.Some of these will be handed in at the end of the class period and others will be due at the beginning of the next class period.

Field Trip.We will take a field trip to MammothCaveNational Park Thursday June 3 through Sunday June 6.You will keep a field trip notebook and hand it in on Wednesday June 9.I’ll return your field trip notes by June 16.Any student who wishes to revise their field trip notes based on my feedback may do so; revised notes are due June 21.

Alternative to Field Trip.Students who cannot attend the field trip will write a ten page report on one of the National Parks not covered in the syllabus.The report is due June 14, so if you aren’t going on the field trip, you’ll need to begin research on the park you choose right away.I’ll return the reports to you by June 21.Anyone who wishes to revise their report based on my feedback may do so; revised reports are due June 28.

Quizzes and Final Exam.There will be four quizzes during the session and a final exam at the end of the session.Quizzes and exams will consist of short answer questions, essay questions, quantitative problems, and questions similar to class activities.

GRADING POLICIES: All course requirements must be completed to pass the course.
Activities20%
Field Trip20%
Quizzes40%
Final Exam20%

The grading scale is as follows:
A 100-90%; B 89-80%; C 79-70%; D 69-60%; F 59% and lower.

No make-up exams will be given.Of the four quizzes given, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped, and the quiz portion of your grade will be the average of your three highest quiz scores.If you miss a quiz due to an emergency, the missed quiz will be the one dropped.(In case of emergency, contact Dr. Bartels at 773-442-6052 as soon as reasonably possible).

Incompletes will be given only in accordance with University policies as published in the catalog.

Important information useful for all of your courses:

Drop Date:The last date to drop a course in the Summer IA session is Friday June 18.

Student Responsibilities and Academic Integrity:

“Each student is responsible for knowledge of, and adherence to, all University requirements and regulations.”[From NEIU 2002-2003 catalog, p.30]

“NortheasternIllinoisUniversity students are expected to exhibit the highest standards of academic integrity.Academic misconduct such as plagiarism or cheating is unacceptable and will be investigated in accordance with University policy on academic misconduct. (See Student Survival Kit)”[From NEIU 2002-2003 catalog, p. 31]