Core 160 - Natural World Perspective / GC seminar

Energy and Environment

Syllabus, May term, 2017

Here is the catalog description of our course. But another way to put it is...

The goal of this course is to use energy as a way to think together about the relationship of humans to our environment on planet Earth.

• energy: a central--maybe *the* central--concept of physics. Some related concepts include "work", power, and the various forms of energy (gravitational, kinetic, chemical, and more...) This is a Natural World Perspective course. Many people view science as a collection of *facts*. But we will see that it is more useful to think of science as a *process* for evaluating "guesses" (hypotheses or theories) about how the physical world works.
  
  
• think together: We will use writing as a tool for learning, for thinking, for discovering your own voice, and for advancing conversations about the environment and other important issues. This course is a GC Seminar: The second writing-focussed course in the the GC Core curriculum.
  
  
• the relationship of humans to the environment: Each GC seminar revolves around a larger cross disciplinary question or theme. This one has theological, biological, commercial, physical, spiritual, and psychological aspects, to name a few.

You have had at least one college-level writing course. This course builds on that to enhance your writing and communication skills.

You have attained at least algebra-level math skills. This course builds on those to enhance your numerical and analytical skills.

Welcome to the course. I hope that through our opening exercise you start to see writing as an important means of learning...even in a physics course!

I've composed this syllabus as an open agreement between us and a means of keeping us on task. I may need to change parts of it as need arises, but will strive to be fair. I expect you to hold me to its terms, as I hold you accountable to its terms.

Unlike a math problem with a definite answer, writing is never finished and done. I see myself on the same journey as you towards better writing. We writers must work to strengthen all aspects of the writing process--brainstorming, drafting, rewriting, copy-editing...

I will work hard to have all students meet these goals:

1. Be able to identify energy transformations and be able to use energy conservation in calculations.
2. Be able to put numbers in context with units, by making comparisons, identifying common reference amounts.
3. Identify terms, components and stages of the writing process: freewriting, drafting, re-writing, copy editing
4. Develop your curiousity and find no shortage of topics to write about.
5. Connect writing with real world problems, and enable you to take part in discussions and contribute your insights and perspectives to conversations on issues that matter.
6. Acknowledge the social aspects of writing: the need for giving and receiving feedback.
7. Increase your independence as a writer, gaining in the ability to organize your own writing project and solicit specific feedback.

I want a certain amount of freedom to respond to everyone's writing and so the schedule is a guideline, not a precise map. By the same token, you should bring up issues as needed whether they're laid out in the schedule or not.

We learn a lot about writing by looking at each other's writing. So, except for writing of a personal nature, I will assume your permission to share your work (without identification) with the rest of the class. I want to respect your privacy. Please mark passages pre-emptively that you would not want shared if you have any hesitation. I will have some help from writing assistants to give you feedback. I have asked them not to share about what you write except with me and with the other assistants.

Quality writing is not something you can force. But we know for certain that if there is no writing, that no quality writing will happen! So, we will write frequently and regularly, and I will endeavor to organize plenty of feedback. Gary Shafer's philosophy is worth quoting:

Good Writing is "accidental". It makes sense that writers--people who write and count words--produce the most good writing. They work hard at it daily and thus bring about the most "accidents".

Grading vs. Assessing

Just like a baseball team, writers need to train hard, regularly, and receive feedback on their training. But there is no score for training, only for the games.

I am choosing to assess (give feedback and offer reactions) more, and grade less. My hope is that student writers can play with writing in constructive ways more often, and that I can offer more in the way of feedback, if we forget about grading during the "training" period. The grading will also come, but only once, and at the very end. That's what we'll be training for.

Of course, that doesn't mean the training is easy. But if you work really, really hard on the tasks assigned in this course, I will assure you of a final grade of a B.

This contract for a B has been inspired by Gary Hafer, inspired in turn by ideas of Peter Elbow and Jane Danielewicz who liken this approach to an informal "home studio": An artist offers to those who would learn encouragement, and evaluative feedback, pointing out areas for improvement, but doesn't put a grade on a painting. Copious sketches are a means for arriving at inspiration for the final canvas, but are not graded. But a beautiful canvas is unlikely to emerge without a preceding sketchbook.

The contract for a B

So, to be clear about my expectations of what it means to work hard at the material of this course:

1. Get ready. Read the assigned readings ahead of time. Go beyond skimming and pass it through your mental digestive tract before class.
2. Practice. You must complete at least 88% of the writing assignments (typically 2 points each) and lab reports (4-6 points each).

   There are assignments leading up to the final paper which are mandatory to keep the contract (including, for example, drafts). I will designate these with double asterisks (**) in Moodle.

3. Peer feedback. You must be able to speak and write observations of work that is read aloud from others. Take an active role in small group discussions. Take notes on your own work when it's your turn to receive comments. File these in your work folder (which might be an online folder, or a physical folder).

   The same goes for quantitative assignments. You should be able to participate in a discussion, and take ownership in group decisions about improving quantitative work.

4. Competence evidenced on quizzes and exams. Study the material assigned for quizzes and exams. You should average at least 72% (after any curving) on quizzes and exams.
5. Prolific, unstructured writing. I expect you to be able spew words onto the page any time you're conscious, both in and outside of class. Concretely, I will expect you to write--"freewrite"--for ten minutes outside of class every class day during the term. Some of the topics will be assigned. But frequently the topics will be your choice. Use this as an excuse to get in touch with your own curiousity! We will also write at times in class.

   
   by Teun Hocks

   The idea of unstructured writing is to do a "brain dump". Write as continuously as possible, without pausing. The point is to dump your brain into words.You need not spend time going back to correct or re-write or erase. If you can't think of what else to write, it's OK to write, "I can't think of anything to write" for a while, until you get tired of that.

6. Structured writing. I expect you to be able to make good faith improvements to your unstructured writing through re-writing, editing, imposing a structure, and incorporating feedback.
7. Rewriting. I expect you to be able to re-write at will. By re-writing I mean incremental improvements at the sentence level and below: Identifying key sentences for improvement, generating options for consideration, and then choosing the best among the options. [Ponsot and Deen make a distinction between this kind of re-writing and revising, by which they mean a more wholesale re-consideration of a piece of writing. We will frequently work on re-writing, but probably not at all on revising.]

   Re-writing would typically account for 50-80% of the time you put in on a draft.

8. Polishing. Second draft pieces, and the final draft should be copy-edited and proofread. By copy-editing I mean tidying up the spelling, grammar, capitalization, etc, and checking the facts. By proofreading I mean a final read through for formatting and checklists. *Everyone* should visit the writing center or consult with a friend whose writing you respect. But don't expect them to be able to do it as rigorously as you can for yourself.

   First drafts do *not* need to be polished: The effort would be wasted, because you will be re-writing and making other changes based on feedback received.

9. Deadlines. Often the point of an assignment is to have worked something up to the point where we can productively discuss it in class with each other. So, I will not accept late work. I will not accept work handed in by a friend, or handed in ahead of time.
10. Absences. Don't miss more than three hours of class. You don't need to give me any excuse for missing up to three hours. (Though a brief e-mail ahead of time if you know you'll be gone would be nice). Beyond three, I will start to wonder whether you are having health / psychological / relationship problems and will initiate a discussion with you to see what the problem is. You will need a note from someone else (doctor, coach, therapist,...) justifying your absence to avoid breaking the contract. You are still responsible for any learnings from the days you missed.
11. Self-accountability. Keep track of whether you're staying up with this contract. This includes completing any self evaluations as we go along.

This is likely a different structure than most classes you have taken. But some advantages...

• A goal of this contract is to make a B available to any student, irregardless of your "skill" at writing coming into this class, or what your past experiences of writing have been.
• The emphasis of this contract is on your effort. No attempt is made to judge the quality of your work. Your work should show evidence of a mind at work, trying out changes, making deliberate choices in re-writing.

A, A-, B+

A "B" grade is obtained by completing tasks. Higher grades depend on going beyond this, and producing excellent work.

For a B, you do not have to worry about my judgements or standards of quality at all. But we will have sessions in which we try to jointly identify excellent writing.

Actually, as you become a more self-conscious writer--choosing your own style, and paying attention to your own voice--you should find yourself increasingly pursuing an internal sense of excellence that may or may not parallel my standards. Every voice can light up, and is valuable. There is no single correct way of writing. Still, all writers benefit from hearing reactions from others. A self conscious writer will not simply accept all suggestions, but, as in re-writing, will choose what seem the best options for her among the choices generated.

The final portfolio will play the biggest role in deciding on excellent grades.

Instructor

Paul Meyer Reimer

Sci 011   ·   x7318   ·   GV (text) (574) 312-3395
e-mail: paulmr@goshen.edu

I don't have regularly scheduled office hours. Stop by or drop me an e-mail to schedule a time to conference, formally or informally.

Contributions to class material (particular laboratory) come from Prof. Carl Helrich and past laboratory assistants.

Online

You can find the syllabus, class notes, and other materials related to this course on the web at:  

tiny.cc/gcEE  (Open in Safari, then "Add to Homescreen" or "Add Bookmark")

Grades and other items will be available on moodle.

I use your "goshen.edu" e-mail address for many class communications. Read your e-mail daily for class resources and announcements.

Course materials

All of these are required unless otherwise noted.

Writing supplies: Keep a "daybook" or journal for class notes. Note in there questions that arise for you. Also bring paper to class every day. You can accomplish all these goals with a cheap but standard-size paper notebook. At right: 1 subject notebook, 70 pages, \$1 from Dollar General, and the spiral binding doubles as a pen holder!!.

You'll also use write using digital tools. For writing that you hand in via Moodle, I suggest composing in Google Docs or MS-Word, and then pasting text in to Moodle. This will make it easiest for us to comment and give feedback in-line. I may occasionally ask you to submit in other formats.

Do keep copies of what you've submitted online. You will re-write some of these pieces after they are first written.

Textbook: Art Hobson, Physics: Concepts and Connections, 4th edition (2005). The physics department has purchased used copies of this worthy textbook for our class. I will collect a deposit of \$15 each when distributing copies at the beginning of the term and return \$5 at the end of the term if you turn it in. The difference covers buying more used copies, and copying/copyright costs.

Writing handbook (1 choice of several required): Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual 4th edition (2004) or newer. I'll be referring to the 5th edition--2009.