Men are so inclined
to content themselves with what is commonest; the spirit and the senses
so easily grow dead to the
impressions of the
beautiful and perfect, that every one should study, by all methods, to
nourish in his mind the faculty of feeling
these things. ...For
this reason, one ought every day at least, to hear a little song, read
a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it
were possible, to speak
a few reasonable words.
Goethe, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. Bk. v, ch. 1 (Carlyle, tr.)
[source: Stevenson]
Underlying all the university’s programs is the conviction that an educated person is one who knows that which is important for all people to know. Courses required for your major may prepare you for your vocation; the General Education program provides you the integrative intellectual experience common to all Chico graduates.
General Education (GE) will help you to see your major’s place in your total education by showing you that knowledge is not isolated, that what you know of one subject is related to what you know of another, that there is always more to know, and that what you know affects the way you live. By suggesting the essential unity and wholeness of knowledge, GE counteracts the sense of fragmentation you may feel while studying bits and pieces of issues and information through the various colleges, schools, and departments of the university.
You, like many new students, may be uncertain about your choice of a major or career field. Thus, in addition to the primary goal of broadening your awareness and understanding, an early focus on GE may help you become better acquainted with yourself and discover and deepen your interests and abilities in various academic disciplines and programs. If you are undeclared or uncertain about your major, carefully review programs you are considering, taking note of required GE courses and modifications. The Evaluations or Advising and Orientation Offices can help you plan your GE program in such a way that you take full advantage of GE as a powerful career exploration tool.
Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
1.
Good practice encourages student-faculty contact.
Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most
important factor in student motivation and involvement. Faculty
concern helps students get through rough times and keep on
working. Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students'
intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own
values and future plans.
2. Good practice encourages cooperation among students.
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo
race. Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social,
not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases
involvement in learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding
to others' reactions improves thinking and deepens understanding.
3. Good practice encourages active learning.
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much
just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged
assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what
they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and
apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn
part of themselves.
4. Good practice gives prompt feedback.
Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students
need appropriate feedback on performance to benefit from courses.
In getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge
and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities
to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various
points during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect
on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to
assess themselves.
5. Good practice emphasizes time on task.
Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time
on task. Learning to use one's time well is critical for students
and professionals alike. Students need help in learning effective
time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means
effective learning for students and effective teaching for
faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for
students, faculty administrators, and other professional staff can
establish the basis for high performance for all.
6. Good practice communicates high expectations.
Expect more and you will get it. High expectations are important
for everyone-for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert
themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting
students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when
teachers and institutions hold high expectations for themselves and
make extra efforts.
7. Good practice respects diverse talents and ways
of learning.
There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents
and styles of learning to college. Brilliant students in the
seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students
rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory.
Students need to the opportunity to show their talents and learn in
ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learning in
new ways that do not come so easily.
General Education Course Requirements
In this course students will learn how the study of human geography, leads to an understanding of the interdependence of places and regions in a globalizing world. Among the topics we will consider during the course are regions, culture, resources, spatial behavior.
Final grades are based
on % of 425 total points, earned from the categories below.
A=92-100%; B= 80-91%;
C=68-79%; D=50-67%; and F= less than 50%.
| Exam 1 | 50 points |
| Exam 2 | 50 points |
| Final Exam | 100 points |
| Quizzes ~10 X 5 | ~50 points |
| Atlas Exercises ~5 X5 |
~25 points |
| Question
sets ~15 X 5 |
~75 points |
| Assignments | 50 points |
| Total | ~400 points |
Attendance: It has been my experience as a student and instructor that there is a strong correlation between attendance and performance. Students who rarely miss a class and actively participate in classroom discussions tend to perform well on tests, quizzes, and in class discussions; students who lack the discipline required for regular attendance tend to perform poorly. I stronlgy encourage you to attend every class meeting. However, attendance will not affect your final grade.
Make-up Exams: No make-up exams will be given. If a student misses exam 1 or 2 with an appropriate excuse, then the make-up will be the comprehensive final exam, which will then be counted as 150 points. Only one exam can be made up in this fashion. If a student misses a second exam that exam will be recorded as a 0.
Quizzes: Approximately 10 quizzes will be given throughout the semester. They will always occur on Fridays and will be announced on the preceding Monday. There will be no make-up quizzes. Quizzes will cover material from lecture material.
Assignments: Students will complete 3-4 assignments during the semester. Each assignment is worth 25 points. Late assignments will not be accepted. If students will not be in class on an assignment due date, they must turn their assignments in prior to their absense. I will ask students to revise poorly written assignments and grade them only after adequate revision.
Question Sets: To ensure that students keep up with the assigned readings, students must complete question sets that guide them through assigned textbook readings. Students must submit handwritten answers to these questions. Question sets and due dates are posted on the course website. I will not accept question sets after the due date. Students will complete approimately 25 question sets. I will pick up only 10 of the question sets for grading.
Readings and
Participation: A fundamental element of a liberal education is the
development of the ability to read critically. Hence, your success in
this course largely depends on the amount of time and effort you devote
to the assigned readings. To encourage your progress in this matter,
during each of our meetings I will ask particular students to lead
discussions on the required readings. Every student will get a
chance. In addition, test questions will not only be drawn from
lecture materials. Rather, a certain number of test questions
will pertain to information found in the assigned readings.
8/29Orientation paper due:
Orientation Paper Instructions:
Students will turn in a typed, double-spaced, 250-word essay in which they answer the following questions:Ultimate answer explains the proximate causes.
Guns,
Germs, and Steel (GGS) Question Set #1: Due 8/29
Answer
key
GGS
Question Set #2: Due 8/31
Answer
key
Web Resources:
http://www.kcc.org.nz/birds/blackrobin/map.asp
http://www.chathams.com/about/map.html
http://encarta.msn.com/map_701511677/Chatham_Islands.html
Week 2 (Sept. 3-7)
GGS QS #3: Due 9/5
Answer key
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070620-gunshot-video.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006206F/incas_i.htm#sa
GGS Question Set #4: Due 9/7
Answer
key
Week 3 (Sept 10-14)
GGS
Question Set #10: Due 9/24
Answer key
Friday,
9/28. Bring your atlases to class.
http://www.worldmapper.org/
Population
Atlas
Exercise due Monday 10/8
Key
Required
Online Reading:
The two links below contain
information about immigration to Europe. Read them and consider
the parallels between migration of laborers to the US and EU.
http://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/billysjourney.htm
Europe's
Back Doors.
Language
Atlas
Exercise due Monday 10/15
Key
Required reading: What
Global Language? This reading is available at this link:
http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/articles/Whatglobal.html
My
notes for "What Global
Language?"
Web
Resources:
http://www.popvssoda.com/
Folk and
Popular
Culture
Required
Online Reading:
The
McDonaldization of Society
Web Resources:
