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Course Overview and Philosophy: Earth ScienceMr. Lanik 2016-2017“Hard Work” is overated. The goal isn’t to work hard for the sake of working hard: the goal is to work with a clear sense of purpose, and to accomplish that work as efficiently and enjoyably as possible.About Grades:Too often, students make the mistake of believing that their primary focus in school is to make their teachers “happy”, and that by making teachers happy, they earn “good” grades. The actual purpose of school is to master skills and concepts that will assist you in making your life as wonderful and meaningful as you want it to be, and the responsibility of teachers lies in making sure that the grades that we give you help you to achieve that goal.The grades that you will be earning in this class serve one primary purpose: to provide you with feedback on the progress that you are making towards mastering the ideas and skills that we will be exploring and practicing this year. To help you with this, I give you opportunities to improve grades that you have received:I) Every assignment in this class is open note, open book, open laptop.II) On any test or quiz, you will have the opportunity to raise your grade to an 85% anytime that you earn below an 85% for a grade. To earn these points, you will need to meet with me to go over the test/quiz that you struggled on, and then you will receive a take home, open note make up assignment that will help you master the ideas that you struglled with on the original test.III) For any other class assignment (in-class activities, labs and lab reports, any writing assignment) you are encouraged to correct and resubmit your work for a higher grade. To earn satisfactory grades in this Earth Science course, please be prepared to: a) consistently focus on developing/practicing/modifying the writing and communication skills that we emphasize in this course, b) understand that you, as a student, have the responsibility for setting goals for yourself, and for working with me to reach those goals as efficiently as possible, c) demonstrate that you clearly understand the underlying concepts of the course, and d) approach the class with purpose and good intent, with a clear understanding of how your attitude towards the class impacts everyone around you.How to make the most of your experience in this Earth Science class:How you should be spending your time in class-Class Involvement and Risk Taking- Accept the responsibility of staying focused, enthusiastic, and positive throughout each and every learning activity, in each and every class; ask thoughtful and insightful questions as part of the learning process; engage in discussions, approach all work in this class with a sense of purpose; ask/answer questions in every aspect of our coursework; respect classmates as work partners, and as human beings; push yourself to try new things and to get outside of your “comfort zone”, bring all required materials to class, bes prepared for class.Group/Partner Work- Consistently strive to incorporate the class’s “Guidelines for Being an Effective Partner” when working with classmates. Be helpful to partners, speak up for yourself and share your ideas, find a balance between doing too much of the work and too little of the work, respect what other partners contribute. Keep a positive attitude and help all members of the classroom maximize their learning opportunities in this classroom. Grading is based on:15% Journaling, Goal Setting, and Writing- Student uses journaling as an opportunity to clarify understanding/misunderstanding and to develop technical writing skills. Student utilizes editing and rewriting to improve writing. Student understands the value of goal setting and demonstrates a willingness to create meaningful goals, and to focus on improving those goals throughout the year.35% Class Activities/Labs- Utilizes class activities and labs to develop skills and to master the core concepts of the course. demonstrates good scientific approaches to data analysis, consistently and proactively makes connections between activities/labs and class notes/related coursework. Student is a self-starter, student works in a purposeful manner, student works independently, teacher does not need to push student to use class time effectively.25% Projects- Recognizes that successful project-based work involves foresight and planning, independent research, making connections between course concepts and design, trial and error, and thorough follow-up analysis. Demonstrates a willingness to take risks, accepts that failure is an important part of the scientific process, and makes efforts to learn from failure. Willingness to reflect on entire project experience from “start to finish” and to use those reflections to set goals for future projects.25% Tests and Quizzes-Clearly demonstrates an understanding of the central concepts contained in the unit. Shows all work, expresses thoughts clearly, completely, and concisely. Prepares notes and other materials to maximize success on tests.Feedback Guidelines for Partner Work, Class Involvement, and Risk TakingStudent behavior in class will be assessed according to a scale in which Full Credit (a score of 100%) will be assigned a value of 5 points each time that I choose to grade classroom participation and involvement (generally about once per week). These scores are not part of your grade in the course; rather, this is simply feedback to help you reflect on your strengths and weaknesses in how you use your time in class. Students that demonstrate awareness of our classroom expectations, and incorporate those expectations into their interactions with classmates, will earn 4 or 5 points. These scores will be used to determine your HOW progress.5 Points: If a student consistently demonstrates awareness of classroom goals and expectations, uses classtime as productively and positively as possible, shows a willingness to try on new roles, and is aware of how their approach to class impacts everyone in the classroom.4 Points: If a student often (but not always) demonstrates awareness of classroom goals and expectations, uses classtime as productively and positively as possible, shows a willingness to try on new roles, and is aware of how their approach to class impacts everyone in the classroom.3 Points: If a student genuinely wants to use classtime productively and responds to efforts to modify their behavior, but often forgets to demonstrate awareness of classroom goals and expectations, doesn’t always use classtime as productively and positively as possible, is often unwilling to try on new roles, and is not aware of how their approach to class impacts everyone in the classroom.0,1,2 Points: Students that demonstrate behavior that is unacceptable (because it negatively impacts the learning opportunities of other classmates, or of the student him/herself), students that do not use classroom time productively, students who show little awareness of how their approach to class impacts others, students who do note care about how their attitude in class hurts others in the class will earn 2-0 points, depending on the frequnecy of such behavior over the course of the week. ................
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