Spring 2022 Course Syllabus Course: GEOL-1104- Section: 71 Historical Geology

Instructor Information
Instructor	Karen Stelly
E-mail	stellyks@lamarpa.edu
Phone	(409) 984-6341
Office	Location: Educational I - Room: 133 Hours: Office Hours: By phone Virtual Hours: 10 am to 5 pm phone or text, 8-10 pm text only, Sunday-Saturday Office Phone: 409-554-3493
COVID 19 Information	The Lamar State College Port Arthur (LSCPA) Student Code of Conduct COVID 19 Policy requires students who have been exposed to COVID 19 or diagnosed with COVID 19 to report their condition on the COVID 19 Notification Form (available via a link on the Student Code of Conduct COVID19 webpage). This information will be provided to the Dean of Student Services. In addition, this policy requires all students to wear face coverings in compliance with the criteria included in the policy. For more information please refer to the COVID 19 link on the LSCPA website.
Course Information
Description	This laboratory-based course accompanies GEOL 1304, Historical Geology. Laboratory activities will introduce methods used by scientists to interpret the history of life and major events in the physical development of Earth from rocks and fossils.
Prerequisites	None
Learning Outcomes	Upon successful completion of this course, students will: Classify and interpret depositional environments using sedimentary rocks and fossils. Taxonomically classify samples of geologically important fossil groups and use them to interpret the age of rocks on the Geologic Time Scale. Apply relative and numerical age-dating techniques to construct geologic histories including the correlation of stratigraphic sections. Reconstruct past continental configurations. Integrate multiple types of data to interpret Earth history.
Core Objectives	* Communication skills: Students will demonstrate effective written, oral and visual communication. * Critical Thinking Skills: Students will engage in creative and/or innovative thinking, and/or inquiry, analysis, evaluation, synthesis of information, organizing concepts and constructing solutions. * Empirical and Quantitative Skills: Students will demonstrate applications of scientific and mathematical concepts.
Program Student Learning Outcomes
Textbooks	Textbook Purchasing Statement: A student attending Lamar State College Port Arthur is not under any obligation to purchase a textbook from the college-affiliated bookstore. The same textbook may also be available from an independent retailer, including an online retailer. Historical Geology Lab 1104 Interpreting Earth History Ritter and Petersen Waveland Press 978-1-4786-1145-5
Lecture Topics Outline	Lab: Week 1    Chapters 3, 4 Sedimentary rocks and Depositional Environments Week 2        Lab 1 due Week 3    Chapters 1, 2 Relative Dating and Radiometric Dating     Week 4        Lab 2 due         Quiz 1 due Week 5    Chapters 8, 9 Fossils, and Evidence of Evolution Week 6        Lab 3 Due         Quiz 2 due Week 7    Chapters 5, 6 Stratigraphy and Physical Correlation Week 8            Lab 4 due             Quiz 3 due Week 9     Spring Break Week 10    Chapters 7, 12 Facies and Sea Level Change, and Index Fossils Week 11        Lab 5 due              Quiz 4 due     Week 12    Chapters 11, 13, 14 Plate Tectonics, Geologic Maps, and Canadian Shield Week 13        Lab 6 due              Quiz 5 due     Week 14        Quiz 6 due
Major Assignments Schedule	Lab: Week 1    Chapters 3, 4 Sedimentary rocks and Depositional Environments Week 2        Lab 1 due Week 3    Chapters 1, 2 Relative Dating and Radiometric Dating     Week 4        Lab 2 due         Quiz 1 due Week 5    Chapters 8, 9 Fossils, and Evidence of Evolution Week 6        Lab 3 Due         Quiz 2 due Week 7    Chapters 5, 6 Stratigraphy and Physical Correlation Week 8            Lab 4 due             Quiz 3 due Week 9     Spring Break Week 10    Chapters 7, 12 Facies and Sea Level Change, and Index Fossils Week 11        Lab 5 due              Quiz 4 due     Week 12    Chapters 11, 13, 14 Plate Tectonics, Geologic Maps, and Canadian Shield Week 13        Lab 6 due              Quiz 5 due     Week 14        Quiz 6 due
Final Exam Date	May 2, 2022 - 12:00 AM   Through  May 2, 2022 - 12:01 AM
Grading Scale	The grading scale for Lab is as follows: 600-540 points – A 539-480 points – B 479-420 points – C 419-360 points – D 359 and lower – F To calculate your combined score, take your lecture points times 0.075, (your lab grade divided by 600) times 0.025, add the two numbers together for your final average.
Determination of Final Grade	Lab Grade: Each lab is worth 50 points, each lab quiz is 50 points. There are 6 labs and 6 quizzes, for a total point availability of 600 points.
Course Policies
Instructor Policies	Rules for lab work Download attachment with each lab assignment. After you are finished, save as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file type for posting. Handwritten scans will NOT be graded. In Word, I can make comments on the good, the bad, and the wonderful. I do not just read it, slap a number on it, and send it back. Do not change font style. Do not change font color. Do not remove extra lines. Do not add extra blank lines; extra lines for explanations are ok. Put your name on the lab; no name will lose 2 points. Where the instructions say answers must be unique, they must be in your own way of explaining things. To help guide you, here is a link to assist you with how to paraphrase. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1t0G7ZnRG8 If you do not understand it well enough to put in your own words, please ask me! A wise man said, if you cannot explain something in simple terms, you do not understand it. That’s where I come in. (I’m really a very nice person!) Lab is not a group effort; this is distance learning and not everyone can meet with other class members for ‘assistance.’ I understand working in groups, but when one answer is wrong, it gets repeated across the group. If you are confused, ask me, not your equally confused classmates. There is an area in the discussion board for lab questions, from which all can benefit, or you can email me, or call me during posted phone hours. Identical papers will get zeros; I do not want to hear “but we worked together…” Unique means just that. Unique. Humans have different ways of expressing themselves, so even if you work together, you should still explain things in your own words. If you cannot, see rule 8. To post your lab work, click on the assignment name. This will take you to a screen where you can attach your work. Any work that must be drawn MUST have your name, in ink, on the actual drawing, not in the margins. Duplicates of drawings will earn zero points! To find your grades and feedback attachments, go to the left side of the screen to ‘My Grades’ then click on the assignment, then click on the score. This should take you to a screen where you can see and open any attachments. WARNING Due to the passing around of various labs in the past, there are select answers which, if seen, will result in 10 points lost for those specific questions. If three of those grossly incorrect answers show up in one paper, the entire paper will earn 0 (zero) points without opportunity to re-do. The main thing is that if you do not use the materials provided, and investigate your own answers, you will not have any idea if those answers are out to lunch. The answers in question, most of the time, are things that cannot be found in the lab materials provided and maps themselves. But if you personally use the lab materials provided, you will not be able to come up with those answers, so you will have nothing to worry about. If you are confused, or just can’t figure something out, ask me! You have been forewarned! If you have questions, ask me! Karen
Attendance Policy	Attendance will be meet by turning in labs and quizzes. Please see course schedule for due dates.
Academic Honesty	Academic honesty is expected from all students, and dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. Please consult the LSC-PA policies (Section IX, subsection A, in the Faculty Handbook) for consequences of academic dishonesty.
Facility Policies	No food or tobacco products are allowed in the classroom. Only students enrolled in the course are allowed in the classroom, except by special instructor permission. Use of electronic devices is prohibited.
Important Information
ADA Considerations	The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the the Office for Disability Services Coordinator, Room 231, in the Madison Monroe Building. The phone number is (409) 984-6241.
MyLSCPA	Be sure to check your campus E-mail and Course Homepage using MyLSCPA campus web portal (My.LamarPA.edu). When you've logged in, click the email icon in the upper right-hand corner to check email, or click on the "My Courses" tab to get to your Course Homepage. Click the link to your course and review the information presented. It is important that you check your email and Course Homepage regularly. You can also access your grades, transcripts, and determine who your academic advisor is by using MyLSCPA.
Other	Rules for lab work Download attachment with each lab assignment. After you are finished, save as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file type for posting. Handwritten scans will NOT be graded. In Word, I can make comments on the good, the bad, and the wonderful. I do not just read it, slap a number on it, and send it back. Do not change font style. Do not change font color. Do not remove extra lines. Do not add extra blank lines; extra lines for explanations are ok. Put your name on the lab; no name will lose 2 points. Where the instructions say answers must be unique, they must be in your own way of explaining things. To help guide you, here is a link to assist you with how to paraphrase. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1t0G7ZnRG8 If you do not understand it well enough to put in your own words, please ask me! A wise man said, if you cannot explain something in simple terms, you do not understand it. That’s where I come in. (I’m really a very nice person!) Lab is not a group effort; this is distance learning and not everyone can meet with other class members for ‘assistance.’ I understand working in groups, but when one answer is wrong, it gets repeated across the group. If you are confused, ask me, not your equally confused classmates. There is an area in the discussion board for lab questions, from which all can benefit, or you can email me, or call me during posted phone hours. Identical papers will get zeros; I do not want to hear “but we worked together…” Unique means just that. Unique. Humans have different ways of expressing themselves, so even if you work together, you should still explain things in your own words. If you cannot, see rule 8. To post your lab work, click on the assignment name. This will take you to a screen where you can attach your work. Any work that must be drawn MUST have your name, in ink, on the actual drawing, not in the margins. Duplicates of drawings will earn zero points! To find your grades and feedback attachments, go to the left side of the screen to ‘My Grades’ then click on the assignment, then click on the score. This should take you to a screen where you can see and open any attachments. WARNING Due to the passing around of various labs in the past, there are select answers which, if seen, will result in 10 points lost for those specific questions. If three of those grossly incorrect answers show up in one paper, the entire paper will earn 0 (zero) points without opportunity to re-do. The main thing is that if you do not use the materials provided, and investigate your own answers, you will not have any idea if those answers are out to lunch. The answers in question, most of the time, are things that cannot be found in the lab materials provided and maps themselves. But if you personally use the lab materials provided, you will not be able to come up with those answers, so you will have nothing to worry about. If you are confused, or just can’t figure something out, ask me! You have been forewarned! If you have questions, ask me! Karen
HB 2504	This syllabus is part of LSC-PA's efforts to comply with Texas House Bill 2504.
Department	General Education and Developmental Studies Chair: Dr. Michelle Davis E-mail: davisml1@lamarpa.edu Phone: (409) 984-6341 If you have a grievance, complaint, or concern about this course that has not been resolved through discussion with the Instructor, please consult the Department Chair.