ESCI 1902 -- Proposed New Course

Mon Feb 6 13:44:29 2017

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Approvals Received:
Department
on 02-06-17
by Sharon Kressler
(kress004@umn.edu)
Approvals Pending: College/Dean  > Provost > LE > Catalog
Effective Status: Active
Effective Term: 1179 - Fall 2017
Course: ESCI  1902
Institution:
Campus:
UMNTC - Twin Cities/Rochester
UMNTC - Twin Cities
Career: UGRD
College: TIOT - College of Science and Engineering
Department: 11130 - Earth Sciences, Dept of
General
Course Title Short: Geology of Minnesota
Course Title Long: Geology of Minnesota
Max-Min Credits
for Course:
3.0 to 3.0 credit(s)
Catalog
Description:
This course addresses important societal questions, such as "Where does my drinking water come from"? Do I really need to buy bottled water? What should my stand be regarding major water-related environmental issues in Minnesota? In this course, we will explore the world around us, and apply what we learn to better contributing to the solutions we will need as a society to deal with impacts on water quality and quantity due to factors such as agriculture, flood control, groundwater pumping, hydroelectric power, integrity of surface water features, interbasin transfers, invasive biota, mining, and shipping. In doing so, we will explore ways for everyone to better take responsibility for their role in optimizing public health, maximizing economic benefits, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting the integrity of surface water features on our landscape. Emphasis will be placed on how our choices and solutions will in the long term affect our principal drinking water source ? the groundwater that is hosted in ancient rocks in the north and in the deep subsurface, younger limestone and sandstone in the south, and the sediments of the most recent Ice Age from which our soils have formed. A full-day field trip planned for a Saturday in September will examine how societal choices affect our use of and protection of water resources in our rivers and lakes, and a second full-day trip on a Saturday in October will address the same issues in relation to our largest source of drinking water - our wells. Those unable to attend a field trip may instead prepare a paper.
Print in Catalog?: Yes
Grading Basis: Stdnt Opt
Topics Course: No
Honors Course: No
Online Course: No
Freshman Seminar: Yes
Is any portion of this course taught
outside of the United States?:
No
Community Engaged Learning (CEL) : None
Instructor
Contact Hours:
3.0 hours per week
Course Typically Offered: Every Fall
Component 1 : LEC (no final exam)
Auto-Enroll
Course:
No
Graded
Component:
LEC
Academic
Progress Units:
Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Financial Aid
Progress Units:
Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Repetition of
Course:
Repetition not allowed.
Course
Prerequisites
for Catalog:
<no text provided>
Course
Equivalency:
No course equivalencies
Cross-listings: No cross-listings
Add Consent
Requirement:
No required consent
Drop Consent
Requirement:
No required consent
Enforced
Prerequisites:
(course-based or
non-course-based)
001475 - Freshman and FRFY for Freshman Seminar Courses
Editor Comments: Harvey Thorleifson
Earth Sciences
Wednesdays
10:10-11:50 a.m.
Two Saturday field trips.
East Bank
Harvey Thorleifson is the State Geologist of Minnesota. In this capacity, he is Director of the Minnesota Geological Survey, which was established by Legislative Act on March 1, 1872 to ensure the availability of the regional geological, geophysical, and geochemical information that the people of the State require to ensure wise stewardship of their water, land, and mineral resources, and to thus realize societal benefits related to economic prosperity, public health, natural hazards, as well as appreciation and preservation of our natural heritage. He previously carried out research on gold, diamonds, offshore mapping, climate change, shoreline erosion, and water supply across much of Canada.
Proposal Changes: Creating a 'new/regular' course for this previously taught freshman seminar.
History Information: <no text provided>
Faculty
Sponsor Name:
Josh Feinberg
Faculty
Sponsor E-mail Address:
feinberg@umn.edu
Student Learning Outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes: * Student in the course:

- Can locate and critically evaluate information

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

Students are required to do several take-home exercises in which they explore web content and other sources to address societal issues primarily related to drinking water; these exercises are then discussed in class, for example in relation to the reliability of various information sources.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

In instances where non-peer-reviewed sources are used, students will be expected to critically examine the information to understand issues of intent, bias, and whether information is supported by reasonable, factual detail.

Liberal Education
Requirement
this course fulfills:
ENV Environment
Other requirement
this course fulfills:
None
Criteria for
Core Courses:
Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed core requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or method.

Core courses must meet the following requirements:

  • They explicitly help students understand what liberal education is, how the content and the substance of this course enhance a liberal education, and what this means for them as students and as citizens.
  • They employ teaching and learning strategies that engage students with doing the work of the field, not just reading about it.
  • They include small group experiences (such as discussion sections or labs) and use writing as appropriate to the discipline to help students learn and reflect on their learning.
  • They do not (except in rare and clearly justified cases) have prerequisites beyond the University's entrance requirements.
  • They are offered on a regular schedule.
  • They are taught by regular faculty or under exceptional circumstances by instructors on continuing appointments. Departments proposing instructors other than regular faculty must provide documentation of how such instructors will be trained and supervised to ensure consistency and continuity in courses.

<no text provided>
Criteria for
Theme Courses:
Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed theme requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or methods.

Theme courses have the common goal of cultivating in students a number of habits of mind:
  • thinking ethically about important challenges facing our society and world;
  • reflecting on the shared sense of responsibility required to build and maintain community;
  • connecting knowledge and practice;
  • fostering a stronger sense of our roles as historical agents.


This course addresses important societal questions, such as ?Where does my drinking water come from?? Do I really need to buy bottled water? What should my stand be regarding major water-related environmental issues in Minnesota?

Through classwork and field trips, students will be encouraged to think ethically about challenges related to drinking water quality and quantity in Minnesota. In particular, this course will describe the imbalance between the availability of river and groundwater versus the increasing societal needs for water from residential, industrial, and agricultural constituents. Through class discussions, students will have to determine an ethically defensible and environmentally reasonable way to address such imbalances.

By understanding the manner in which water moves through the geology of the state, students will see that many players are involved in protecting and remediating groundwater.  In this way, the course aims to foster a shared sense of responsibility that is required to build and maintain community in Minnesota, as well as optimize public health, maximize economic benefits, maintain biodiversity, and protect the integrity of surface water features on our landscape.

Two field trips will enable students to establish connections between their knowledge of ground water processes and real-world practices related to ground water (including a field trip to a nearby ground water well).

Perhaps most importantly, this course aims to teach students that ground water is strongly influenced by a variety of human behaviors and that we ourselves are powerful historical agents in the availability and quality of drinking water throughout the state.
LE Recertification-Reflection Statement:
(for LE courses being re-certified only)
The focus of the course is on threats to drinking water quality and sustainability, and ways for everyone to take responsibility for their role in preserving public health, maximizing economic benefits, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting the integrity of surface water features on our landscape. Topics are addressed broadly, to ensure that societal mechanisms are considered concurrent with the science, to strengthen a sense of shared responsibility throughout society; the science is linked to regulatory mechanisms and promotion of societal standards; the need for successive generations to recognize their role in leaving the best possible world for future generations is addressed. This course examines the role of human activity in inducing changes to the availability and quality of drinking water throughout the state of Minnesota. Students will discuss the roles of residential, industrial, and agricultural water use. How we choose to live our lives directly affects the quality of water available to us. We will be examining the geology and hydrology across the state of Minnesota in order to more clearly grapple with water quality and availability issues. Underlying Earth Sciences and Civil Engineering principles related to agriculture, flood control, groundwater pumping, hydroelectric power, integrity of surface water features, interbasin transfers, invasive biota, mining, and shipping will be addressed in this course. We will discuss the limitations of our ability to model groundwater flow in complex fractured hardrock and sedimentary rock environments, and the ramifications of this limitation on the development of reasonable zoning regulations, agricultural practices, and groundwater quality criteria. By reading and discussing literature from peer-reviewed sources, as well as news articles meant for the general public, we will practice responsible interrogation of information and how it impacts our societal decisions regarding environmental iss
Statement of Certification: This course is certified for a Core, effective as of 
This course is certified for a Theme, effective as of 
Writing Intensive
Propose this course
as Writing Intensive
curriculum:
No
Question 1 (see CWB Requirement 1): How do writing assignments and writing instruction further the learning objectives of this course and how is writing integrated into the course? Note that the syllabus must reflect the critical role that writing plays in the course.

<no text provided>
Question 2 (see CWB Requirement 2): What types of writing (e.g., research papers, problem sets, presentations, technical documents, lab reports, essays, journaling etc.) will be assigned? Explain how these assignments meet the requirement that writing be a significant part of the course work, including details about multi-authored assignments, if any. Include the required length for each writing assignment and demonstrate how the 2,500 minimum word count (or its equivalent) for finished writing will be met.

<no text provided>
Question 3 (see CWB Requirement 3): How will students' final course grade depend on their writing performance? What percentage of the course grade will depend on the quality and level of the student's writing compared to the percentage of the grade that depends on the course content? Note that this information must also be on the syllabus.

<no text provided>
Question 4 (see CWB Requirement 4): Indicate which assignment(s) students will be required to revise and resubmit after feedback from the instructor. Indicate who will be providing the feedback. Include an example of the assignment instructions you are likely to use for this assignment or assignments.

<no text provided>
Question 5 (see CWB Requirement 5): What types of writing instruction will be experienced by students? How much class time will be devoted to explicit writing instruction and at what points in the semester? What types of writing support and resources will be provided to students?

<no text provided>
Question 6 (see CWB Requirement 6): If teaching assistants will participate in writing assessment and writing instruction, explain how will they be trained (e.g. in how to review, grade and respond to student writing) and how will they be supervised. If the course is taught in multiple sections with multiple faculty (e.g. a capstone directed studies course), explain how every faculty mentor will ensure that their students will receive a writing intensive experience.

<no text provided>
Statement of Certification: This course is certified as Writing Internsive effective  as of 
Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus:

For new courses and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed, please provide a syllabus that includes the following information: course goals and description; format; structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (text, authors, frequency, amount per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated.

Please limit text to about 12 pages. Text copied and pasted from other sources will not retain formatting and special characters might not copy properly. The University "Syllabi Policy" can be found here

Any syllabus older than two years should be replaced with a current version when making ECAS updates.



FALL 2017
ESCI 1902 – Geology of Minnesota– 3 credits

Syllabus

INSTRUCTOR:
Professor Harvey Thorleifson, UMN Professor & State Geologist, thorleif@umn.edu
Room 313 Vincent Hall
Class hours:         Wednesday,10:10-11:50 am
        Required Field Trip 1: 0930&#8208;1730, Saturday, September 16, 2017
        Required Field Trip 2: 0930&#8208;1730, Saturday, September 30, 3017&#8232;
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment due to off campus location (please send me email)

Course Description:
A liberal education invites students to investigate the world from new perspectives, learn new ways of thinking, and grow as an active citizen and lifelong learner. This course meets the University’s liberal education requirements for all students and is taught regularly by full time faculty.

This course addresses important societal questions, such as “Where does my drinking water come from?” Do I really need to buy bottled water? What should my stand be regarding major water&#8208;related environmental issues in Minnesota? In this course, we will explore the world around us, and apply what we learn to better contributing to the solutions we will need as a society to deal with impacts on water quality and quantity due to factors such as agriculture, flood control, groundwater pumping, hydroelectric power, integrity of surface water features, interbasin transfers, invasive biota, mining, and shipping. In doing so, we will explore ways for everyone to better take responsibility for their role in optimizing public health, maximizing economic benefits, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting the integrity of surface water features on our landscape. Emphasis will be placed on how our choices and solutions will in the long term affect our principal drinking water source – the groundwater that is hosted in ancient rocks in the north and in the deep subsurface, younger limestone and sandstone in the south, and the sediments of the most recent Ice Age from which our soils have formed. A required, full&#8208;day field trip planned for Saturday, September 16 will examine how societal choices affect our use of and protection of water resources in our rivers and lakes, and a second required, full&#8208;day trip on Saturday, September 30 will address the same issues in relation to our largest source of drinking water &#8208; our wells. Those unable to attend a field trip may instead prepare a paper.

This course fulfills the Liberal Education (LE) Environment Theme through its focus on the relationship between Minnesota’s natural history and geology and its connection to water availability and quality for communities. The course assignments will enable students to make the connections between knowledge about natural processes operating on a variety of timescales and the human activities that modify water quality in Minnesota. Successful students will learn and be able to do the following upon completion of this course:
1.Define in broad terms the factors that influence water quality and quantity in Minnesota, explain natural and anthropogenic processes that contribute to environmental, economic and social water sustainability, and propose solutions to water systems problems.
2.Explain how residential, industrial, and agricultural water usage behavior can have an impact (positive or negative) on natural resources and the environment.
3.Describe the basic geological foundations of the hydrologic cycle.
4.Identify the potential benefits, limitations, misconceptions and ethics of water usage in Minnesota by various constituencies.
5.Critically evaluate and summarize main points of a scientific article and compare primary sources of information with how information is presented in the media
6.Develop a philosophy for personal water usage and gain insight on the choices related to water availability and quality across different constituents and socio-economic levels in Minnesota.

While this course meets portions of many of the University’s mandated Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), it focuses primarily on ensuring that students Can locate and critically evaluate information. Students are required to do several take&#8208;home exercises in which they explore web content and other sources to address societal issues primarily related to drinking water; these exercises are then discussed in class, for example in relation to the reliability of various information sources. In instances where non-peer-reviewed sources are used, students will be expected to critically examine the information to understand issues of intent, bias, and whether information is supported by reasonable, factual detail.

Activities & Workload
Class time will be distributed as 40% lecture, 30% group exercises, and 30% field trips. Students will complete weekly assignment and two term papers focusing on major water-related environmental policy issues in the region. Over the course of the semester, students should expect up to 20 pages of reading per week, 30 pages of writing per semester, 15 weekly assignments, 2 field trip reports, and 1 paper (due Dec. 14) &#8232;

Course Materials
Students will complete weekly assignments and two term papers focusing on major water&#8208;related environmental policy issues in the region. All course communications and materials will be distributed via email.  &#8232;

Course Grades
Grades will be assigned using the following proportions:
•60% participation and assignments
•20% field trip reports
•20% papers

Grade Distribution
The University intermediate grades scheme will be used (A, A-, B+, etc.). For students taking the course S-N, an 'S' will be equivalent to a 'C minus' or better.

Incompletes
The University only allows an incomplete to be given when a student has previously signed an incomplete agreement form.

Individual participation
Active participation is highly encouraged. Please don't be afraid to ask questions.
I hope you learn a good deal in this class, and also have fun!!

Use of Electronic Devices: The use of cell phones and computers in class, can be potentially distracting.  While electronic devices are allowed, please be respectful of the other students in the class as well as to the instructor.

Accommodations, Classroom Conduct, Student Code of Conduct, Equity and Diversity
This course adopts the university policies regarding disability accommodations, classroom conduct, academic integrity, use of personal electronic devices, absences, class notes, sexual harassment, equity and diversity, and mental health. These policies are important and I encourage you to refer to the following University policy pages for more detailed information:
https://diversity.umn.edu/disability/ http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/STUDENTRESP.html http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Equity_Diversity_EO_AA.pdf http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Academic_Freedom.pdf http://www.mentalhealth.umn.edu/ http://www.mentalhealth.umn.edu/stressmgmt/index.html http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/SexHarassment.pdf

FALL 2017       
ESCI 1902- FRESHMAN SEMINAR
Geology of Minnesota


SEMINAR CONTENT

Planned weekly topics and activity leaders:
•Week 1&#8232; - Harvey Thorleifson - Context for major environmental issues in MN       
•Week 2 - Harvey Thorleifson - Capacity and vulnerability of our water resources
•Saturday, required field trip
•Week 3&#8232; - Julia Steenberg - Sedimentary rocks&#8232;
•Week 4        Julia Steenberg - Role of sedimentary rocks in our water supply
•Saturday, required field trip
•Week 5 - Val Chandler - Subsurface mapping based on geophysical surveys
•Week 6 - Val Chandler - Subsurface mapping based on geophysical surveys
•Week 7 - Rich Lively - Deleterious elements in our water
•Week 8 - Harvey Thorleifson - Role of sediments in our water supply&#8232;
•Week 9 - Harvey Thorleifson - Water resource capacity and security at the county scale
•Week 10 - Amy Radakovich - Igneous and metamorphic rocks&#8232;
•Week 11 - Amy Radakovich - Mining and its impacts&#8232;
•Week 12 - Harvey Thorleifson - How our large lakes work&#8232;
•Week 13 - Bob Tipping - The hydrological cycle&#8232;
•Week 14 - Bob Tipping - Groundwater in Minnesota&#8232;
•Week 15 - Harvey Thorleifson - Student presentations and synthesis.

Strategic Objectives & Consultation
Name of Department Chair
Approver:
Donna Whitney
Strategic Objectives -
Curricular Objectives:
How does adding this course improve the overall curricular objectives ofthe unit?

Freshman seminars are important to the department's curricular objectives in the following ways (1) these courses introduce Earth-science topics to students who might not otherwise gain this exposure, giving them a new perspective on how the physical environment is important in their daily lives; (2) the small classes allow for active-learning and project-based education, which are beneficial to both students and faculty; (3) although not our main objective, some students in freshman seminars have been inspired to major or minor in Earth Sciences; and (4) we are required by the University to teach 3 freshman seminars per year, and as part of fulfilling this requirement, we are committed to creating excellent and interesting seminars on a diverse range of topics.
Strategic Objectives - Core
Curriculum:
Does the unit consider this course to be part of its core curriculum?

No.
Strategic Objectives -
Consultation with Other
Units:
Before submitting a new course proposal in ECAS, circulate the proposed syllabus to department chairs in relevant units and copy affiliated associate dean(s). Consultation prevents course overlap and informs other departments of new course offerings. If you determine that consultation with units in external college(s) is unnecessary, include a description of the steps taken to reach that conclusion (e.g., catalog key word search, conversation with collegiate curriculum committee, knowledge of current curriculum in related units, etc.). Include documentation of all consultation here, to be referenced during CCC review. If email correspondence is too long to fit in the space provided, paraphrase it here and send the full transcript to the CCC staff person. Please also send a Word or PDF version of the proposed syllabus to the CCC staff person.

No overlap in Geology of Minnesota course.
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