Agronomy 406

World Climates

Spring 2018 Syllabus

 

Class meetings:	9:30-10:50 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays 0108 Curtiss Hall
Instructor:	Raymond Arritt
	3009 Agronomy Hall
	phone: 294-9870
	Office Hours: 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays or by appointment
	email: agron406@gmail.com

Learning objectives

This course is meant to help students understand how and why climate varies around the world, and how we humans interact with our varying climate. We will focus on the following concepts and skills:

• Thinking of climate as a coupled system involving the atmosphere, land, oceans, and humans.
• Understanding radiation and energy transports as the driver of climate.
• Recognizing the effects of terrain and oceans on climate.
• Awareness of the global distribution of climate types.
• Appreciation for how and why climate affects agriculture.
• Familiarity with both natural and human-induced causes of climate change.
• Interpreting, synthesizing, and critically evaluating information about climate.
• Ability to communicate climate-related information to others in an understandable and effective way.

See the course schedule for a more detailed list of topics.

The course is taught for your benefit, so you are welcome to suggest topics that you think we should cover. I cannot guarantee that we will be able to include all topics of interest, but will try to fit your suggestions into the course.

Prerequisite

AGRON/MTEOR 206

The prerequisite can be waived with permission of the instructor. Students who earned a grade lower than B- in AGRON 206 are not encouraged to take AGRON 406.

Course materials

There is no written textbook. We will use an online climate textbook and readings from other source. Assigned readings for each day will be linked at Course Schedule entry for that date.

Bring a scientific calculator to class every day.

Academic accommodations

I want every student to be able to perform at his or her best. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible so we can make sure your needs are met. Please work with the Disability Resources (DR) office, located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076. Their phone number is 515-294-6624, TDD 515-294-6335.

Learning teams

Each member of the class will be part of a team of about 4 students. You will do some of your work as part of your team. The team approach encourages everyone to learn cooperatively and is repeatedly stressed by employers as an important professional skill. It is important that you contribute fully to your team's work.

Working in teams does not mean that everyone in the team gets the same grade! Therefore all work submitted as a team must include a brief explanation of which team member did what part of the work. Your team's work will not be graded if it does not include this explanation.

Grading

Course grades will be derived from four components: class assignments, a midterm exam, a final exam, and your climate report.

• Class assignments: We will have quizzes, in-class assignments, and homework assignments during the course. Additionally, each team will be responsible for a presentation on a climate issue currently in the news.
• The midterm exam is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 23. This date will likely change depending on how we progress through the material.
• The final exam will be held during the final examination period scheduled by ISU, which is Thursday, May 4, 9:45-11:45 am. (This is a tentative date; the ISU Registrar's Office will confirm final exam dates later.) The final exam will be comprehensive.
• Each student will be responsible for preparing a report on some aspect of climate for a region outside the United States. This report also will be presented in a poster session.

The weights on each grade component are as follows:

• 25% class assignments and team participation
• 25% midterm exam
• 25% final exam
• 25% climate report

Climate report

Each student will report on an aspect of climate for a particular region of the world outside the United States. This can include analysis of the physical climate or the impact of climate on human activities. Examples of topics include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Description of the region's climate and its variations across different parts of the region.
• Effect of the region's climate on agriculture.
• Effect of climate on human settlement and history.
• Effect of climate on hazards to people and property (includes natural hazards such as severe storms as well as human-induced hazards such as pollution).
• Potential effects of future climate change within your region.

Your climate reports will be graded both on the the quality of your presentation (clarity, organization, grammar, etc.) and on content.

Carefully review the standards for written project reports. Your grade will depend on how well you follow these standards.

If you have any questions about the requirements, please ask.

Checkpoints for your report:

• Project proposal: Choose a topic and submit your tentative title and brief description of your topic by email to agron406@gmail.com not later than Tuesday, January 17. The purpose is to ensure that the scope of your project is appropriate (not too broad or narrow) and that there are not duplicates or near-duplicates within the class.
• Each student must complete a plagiarism tutorial and post-test by the start of class on March 28. The purpose is to help you understand what plagiarism is and is not as you prepare your project report.
• An in-class workday for your climate reports will be held about four weeks ahead of the due date. As well as a spur for you to work on your own report, this is a chance to compare notes with other students on strategies for finding references, organizing your report, and so on. Attendance is required for everyone on this date.
• Annotated bibliography: Submit an annotated bibliography that summarizes your source material by Thursday, March 30. The annotated biblography needs to include a full citation for each source along with a brief (few sentences) summary of how the source relates to your paper and what material you expect to use from it. The summary must be in your own words – do not copy from the source itself. Include the completed "Evaluation sheet for non-peer reviewed information sources" for each source that is not from a peer-reviewed journal.
• Written reports are due by the start of class on Thursday, April 13. LATE REPORTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Yes, this includes emergencies! It is a good idea to complete your report comfortably ahead of this deadline in case you get sick, your computer crashes, your printer runs out of ink, or some other emergency arises.
• A poster session will be held during our regular class period on April 18 and 20. Here you will summarize and present your findings. The poster session will be open to the public and will include peer evaluations of posters.

Professional ethics

You will be expected to adhere to ISU standards of ethical conduct. For most students this is not a concern. In past semesters the only problem has been cases where students plagiarized all or part of their semester project. Since most of you are juniors or seniors you should understand what plagiarism is by now, but if you have any questions please chat with me before turning in your work. A plagiarism tutorial is assigned so that everyone knows what is expected.

Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for your entire climate report, not just the written part. This means 25% of your semester grade will be a zero. ISU regulations require that any academic misconduct will be referred immediately to the Dean of Students.

Iowa State University academic policies

Academic Dishonesty

The class will follow Iowa State University’s policy on academic dishonesty. As required by ISU policy all cases will be reported to the Dean of Students Office. See http://www.dso.iastate.edu/ja/academic/misconduct.html for details.

A plagiarism tutorial is assigned to help you understand what plagiarism is and is not. Any instance of plagiarism on your regional climate project will result in a grade of zero for the entire project.

Dead Week

This class follows the Iowa State University Dead Week policy as noted in section 10.6.4 of the Faculty Handbook: http://www.provost.iastate.edu/resources/faculty-handbook

Harassment and Discrimination

Iowa State University strives to maintain our campus as a place of work and study for faculty, staff, and students that is free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and harassment based upon race, ethnicity, sex (including sexual assault), pregnancy, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or status as a U.S. veteran. Any student who has concerns about such behavior should contact his/her instructor, Student Assistance at 515-294-1020 or email dso-sas@iastate.edu, or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance at 515-294-7612.

Religious Accommodation

If an academic or work requirement conflicts with your religious practices and/or observances, you may request reasonable accommodations. Your request must be in writing, and your instructor or supervisor will review the request. You or your instructor may also seek assistance from the Dean of Students Office or the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance.

Contact Information

If you are experiencing, or have experienced, a problem with any of the above issues, email academicissues@iastate.edu.