Class Meetings: MWF from 9:00-9:50 am, Room 107 Biological Sciences

Paul's Office Hours: Tuesdays from 1:00-3:00 pm ... or by appointment ... or by drop in.

Paul's Office: 305B Slone Research Building (SRB, at the Bus Stop on Washington St., behind Funkhouser Bldg.)

E-mail (the Best way to contact): phowell@pop.uky.edu 

Class Web page: http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Geology/howell/101/welcome.html 

Phone: 257-3932 (Paul's office).  Leave a message if I don't answer.

Textbook: Lutgens and Tarbuck, Essentials of Geology, Prentice Hall Publishers, 6th edition, 1998.

Also note this place: Pirtle Geology Library, Bowman Hall (corner of Washington and Rose streets).

Teaching Assistant (for grading and questions):
Xin-Yue Yang (pronounced "Shin-You")
   email: xyang0@pop.uky.edu
   office: 310 Slone Building
   office hours: Mondays, 2-3 pm

Course Objectives: What are minerals? How do rocks form? What is soil? Can rocks bend? How do we know the age of rocks?  Physical Geology covers the fundamentals of earth processes and materials. We examine the geological processes responsible for shaping our small blue planet, including processes that build mountains and erode them, processes that create new rocks and minerals, transform them, and destroy them. We emphasize learning how the processes operate and why, so that you can examine a new area that hasn't been discussed and consider which processes may be active there and why - we want YOU to have the tools to be able to examine geological processes and responses yourself. Throughout the course, there will be an effort to show the relevance of geological processes and products to societal needs.

Your expectations of me: You should expect a teacher who cares about teaching and who makes an honest effort to engage your interest in the subject. You should expect to be treated fairly as students, to not be ridiculed or made to feel embarrassed in class. You should expect graded work to be evaluated in a timely fashion, because coursework loses meaning without evaluation. You should expect the material covered to be interesting and challenging, because you are adult students capable of learning all types of new material. You should expect questions raised during the class period to be addressed at that time, if they are relevant.

My expectations of you: I expect you to be students who wish to learn, who come to college to learn and who expect that it takes some effort to learn something well. I expect to be treated fairly as your teacher; you should give me your attention in class, and respect the other students in this class who have come here to learn. I expect you to ask me questions in class when a topic is confusing to you. Newspapers or other reading materials have no place in the classroom once the class is underway. I expect you to be on time to class, to sit toward the front of the room when you come in, and to not leave early for your next class. I expect that you will keep up with the course materials between classes (average 1-2 hours per hour spent in class), with such activities as homework, recopying your notes, reading the chapters assigned, discussing the material with classmates, and preparing questions to ask me in class.

Course Evaluation....
    50% of final grade from writing assignments, and
    50% of final grade from quizzes and the final exam.

In Class Writings and Homework: We assign writing exercises to help you learn the material better. About once a week there will be a writing assignment either in class (related to the topic of the day) or assigned as homework. Most of these will be short (page length), a few may be longer. These will test your ability to understand and apply the material we've covered. Some of these will be collaborative exercises where you are expected to share your knowledge with the other students around you.  Each writing assignment will be worth around 4% of your final grade (50% divided by the number of assignments given). I will "throw out" your lowest written assignment grade in calculating your final grade (thus if you don't turn in one of the assignments, that will be your lowest grade thrown out).

Writing assignments will be graded on a 5-point basis, including both content and presentation:

5 pts = excellent understanding of the material demonstrated, nearly perfect job overall

4 pts = good job, but either some misunderstandings, or problems with writing/grammar/presentation

3 pts = considerable confusion concerning material covered, usually coupled with presentation problems

2 or 1 or 0 pts = very weak attempt made on the assignment.

In depth evaluation of each assignment is impractical due to size of the class and the large number of assignments -- for some assignments we will place copies of some well-done assignments on reserve in the Pirtle Library for you to compare yours with so that you can see how to improve your work. Examine these sample essays after receiving your graded paper back to get a feel for other approaches to the assignment and to compare yours with ones we thought particularly good. If you have questions about our evaluation of an assignment, use this self-evaluation before coming to see either me or the T.A. about it. But please feel free to talk with us about these assignments, especially if you feel you are having trouble with them.

Other stuff on Homeworks:  Homework assignments must be typed (unless I say otherwise - 10% penalty for assignments not typed) and are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Assignments turned in late, but by 4 pm the same day to my office or mailbox (101 Slone), will be graded with a 10% penalty. No later assignments will be accepted, even if you simply forgot it at home. Make-ups will only be given for verifiable written excuses specifically recognized by the University (illness of the student, or of an immediate family member, death of an immediate family member, participation on trips related to certain University functions, major religious holidays [if notice given prior to last day for adding class] : the Dean of Students office can assist if you need written verification for an absence: x7-3754).

Quizzes and Final Exam: BRING PENCILS! There will be quizzes given at the end of class on Wednesday every other week of the semester (see class schedule below).  There will be six quizzes given, with each quiz consisting of 10-12 multiple choice or true/false or matching questions.  Each quiz will be worth 5% of your final grade (30% total for quizzes).  
   Every other week will be a make-up quiz.  If you miss the first quiz, you can take the quiz the second week. If you took the first quiz, you may elect to take the second quiz and average your two quiz scores.
   The final exam is cumulative and is worth 20% of your final grade. It will consist of approximately 30-40 multiple choice questions and a few essay questions.
   There will also be an optional alternative final exam.  The alternative consists of a final quiz (worth 10%, and given on the last Wednesday of classes during dead week) and a final paper due before the time of the official final exam.  Details on the requirements for the final paper will be explained in class later in the semester.

   Quiz and final exam material derives primarily from lecture material, and secondarily from assigned textbook readings. The only time I test on material that is in the textbook or readings but is not in the lecture material is if I explicitly tell you to BE SURE TO READ a certain section from the textbook.

Grading: No +/- grades. Classwork totals over 90% are required for an "A", 80% for a "B", 70% for a "C" or for a "Pass" if the course is taken Pass/Fail, and over 60% for a "D" grade.

Extra Credit: None. Don't ask. Likewise, don't ask to makeup missed assignments due to unexcused absences.

Office Hours and Email: The point of having a teacher (and not taking this as a correspondence course) is to have a person to talk to, to increase your learning. Please avail yourself of our office hours to seek help on the course materials. You can come talk about things if you are having serious trouble, or if you think you know it well already, but would like to make sure, or even extend your knowledge. If you can't get to the office, try emailing a question to one of us. 

Class Attendance: If you do not attend class you will miss assignments on a regular basis. Geology is a complicated, rigorous subject that we will attempt to portray to you in a sensible fashion. You will enjoy the course more (and in all probability get a much better grade) if you attend regularly. If you have two or more unexcused absences, you can reasonably expect your grade to be one letter grade lower because 1) the chances are good you will miss in-class assignments, and 2) you will have missed out on explanations and discussions in class.

On Working Together and Plagiarism: You are encouraged to work together on homework assignments and to study together for tests or quizzes. Students in the past have found that such collaborative learning helps in understanding the sometimes confusing concepts we will cover in this class. Any work that is turned in for a grade, however, must be your own expression of your own understanding of the material. Your ability to express yourself in writing is a key component of this course and an essential goal of this college, and your writing can too easily be influenced by word choices of classmates. DO NOT copy directly from anyone else. DO NOT even look at what they have written. Ask questions and argue with a classmate about bauxite or the significance of oil shale, but DO NOT ask to look at what a classmate has written on the subject. DO NOT copy sentences directly from a book or article. Do your own writing based on your understanding of the material. See the UK "Student Rights and Responsibilities" handbook for a discussion of Plagiarism if you have questions on this matter.  Also, contact me directly if you have any question in your mind as to where the line is to be drawn between collaboration and plagiarism -- ignorance of the rules is no excuse for breaking them.

If we have reason to suspect plagiarism, we will bring the matter to your attention and show you the reason for our suspicion. In the case that there is a misunderstanding about the assignment and the line between collaboration and plagiarism, we will clarify the issue for you and ask you to redo the assignment in question. Recurrent problems will be dealt with more severely. The minimum penalty for plagiarism at UK is failure for the course.

My common sense advice on getting the grade you want in this class...

How to do really WELL in this class: Think about it. To get an "A", you must minimally achieve a 90% average on the quizzes and final exam, and get half 5's and half 4's on every written assignment, or the equivalent (e.g., higher quizzes, lower writing scores). My courses are generally easy to pass but difficult to get an "A". Not necessarily difficult, but you have to take them seriously and study in a serious fashion.

My advice:
   #1) Be attentive in class and take voluminous notes because the tests come primarily from the lecture material, not the textbook.
   #2) Read through the chapters before coming to class. Spend time with your notes.
   #3) Ask questions in class or at help sessions.
   #4) Know what every term means, and how it differs from every other term.
   #5) Find someone to study with who cares about doing well.

How to do really POORLY in this class: Think about it. To get a "D", you must minimally achieve a 60% average on the tests and make an honest attempt on every single written assignment, or the equivalent (e.g., higher tests, lower writing scores). If you get a "C" average on the tests, but miss a few of the assignments, you may be in danger of failing the course. Even if you get an "A" average on the quizzes and final exam, you can still flunk if you don't do the homeworks! My course is generally easy to pass, but only if you honestly make the effort to do so. Don't miss class. I have never had to flunk anyone who made an honest effort in my class. I do flunk a number of students each semester. Actually, they flunk themselves by skipping the homeworks.

Note: long term average for this class is about a 78% (a high "C" grade).  Approximately 10% of the class gets an "A" and about 5-10% of the class flunk themselves (see above).

GLY 101 Special Days Schedule:
Wed. January 15 - First day of classes
Mon. January 19 - MLK Day, No Classes.
Wed. January 21 - practice quiz
Wed. January 28 - First quiz
Wed. February 4 - make-up for First quiz
Wed. February 11 - Second quiz
Wed. February 18 - make-up for Second quiz
Wed. February 25 - Third quiz
Wed. March 4 - make-up for Third quiz
Wed. March 11 - Fourth quiz
Fri. March 13 - Last day to withdraw from courses.
Mon-Fri. March 16-20 - SPRING BREAK!  NO QUIZ!
Wed. March 25 - make-up for Fourth quiz
Wed. April 1 - Fifth quiz
Wed. April 8 - make-up for Fifth quiz
Wed. April 15 - Sixth quiz
Wed. April 22 - make-up for Sixth quiz
Wed. April 29 - Optional, Alternative Final (Seventh) Quiz
Fri. May 1 - Last day of classes, last in-class exercise.
Thursday May 7 - Official Final Exam (1pm)

Planned Topics:

- Introduction, Uniformitarianism, Plate Tectonics (Chapter 1)
- Minerals, Rocks and Weathering (Chapters 2-7)
- Earth's Surface Processes (Chapters 8-13)
- Oceans, Earthquakes, Plates and Mountains (Chapters 14-17)
- Geologic Time, Kentucky Geology (Chapters 18-19)