CPSG100 Science & Global Change First Year Colloquium I
"Awful Changes": The Reality of Environmental Crises & the Nature of Science
ONLINE Tues. 3:30-4:50 pm Eastern
SGC Website
Course Syllabus Website
Course Schedule Website
ELMS Canvas Website

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND EVENTS

Week Date & Topic

Week of 8/31 Before 9/1: New SGC Student Background Survey due
9/1 Zoom: Introductions; Logistics of Class
Lecture: Practical Advice for Being an Effective University Student
Before watching lecture: Pre-Course Knowledge Survey due
Lecture: What is Global Change, and Why Should I Care?
Week of 9/8 9/8 Zoom: Campus Resources Overview and Introduction of Wellness Modules
Lecture: What is Science?
Reading: Kida Introduction and Chaps. 1-3
Week of 9/14 9/15 Zoom: Review of Science (so far); The Scope of Global Change Issues
Lecture: Scientific Method 101: Observations & Hypotheses
Reading: Kida Chaps. 4-6; Sagan Preface & Chap. 1
9/18 Quiz 1 due
Week of 9/21 9/22 Zoom: Opportunities on Campus Student Panel
Lecture: Scientific Method 201: "Just a Theory"
Lecture: Overview of the Portfolio; Files, Folders, Servers & Uploading a File
Reading: Kida Chaps. 7-9
Week of 9/28 9/29 Zoom: Falsifiability and Hypotheses
Lecture: Anatomy of a Scientific Paper
Reading: Kida Chaps. 10-12, Epilogue
10/2 Quiz 2 due
Week of 10/5 10/6 Uploaded image due
10/6 Zoom: Anatomy of a Scientific Paper Small Group
Lecture: Argumentation and Logical Fallacies
Lecture: HTML and Website Design (see assignment and template)
Reading: Sagan Chaps 1-4
10/9 Anatomy of a Scientific Paper Takehome due
Week of 10/12 10/13 Zoom: Identifying Logical Fallacies
Lecture: Sagan's Toolbox
Reading: Sagan Chaps 5-8
10/16 #ScholarsServes choice due
Week of 10/19 10/20 Base portfolio due
10/20 Zoom: Using Sagan's Toolbox; Website Troubleshooting
Lecture: Modern Plesiosaurs, Ancient Astronauts, and Hollow-Earth Antarctic Space Nazis: the Lure and Lore of Pseudoscience
Reading: Sagan Chaps. 9-12
10/23 Quiz 3 due
Week of 10/26 10/27 Zoom: Pseudoscience Today
Lecture: The First Word in "Science Fiction"
Lecture: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
Reading: Sagan Chaps. 13-16
Week of 11/2 11/3 Zoom: Troubleshooting CSS
Lecture: Reading the Rocks: Earth and Life Through Time
Lecture: Effectiveness and Honesty
Reading: Kolbert Prologue & Chaps. I-III
11/6 Quiz 4
11/6 CSS-modified Portfolio due
Week of 11/9 11/10 Zoom: The Honor Code, Academic Honesty & You
Lecture: Environments of the Past: Every Rock is a Record of the Environment in Which it Formed
Reading: Kolbert Chaps. IV-VII
Week of 11/16 11/17 Zoom: TBD
Lecture: Awful Changes: The Fossil Record of Environmental Crises
Reading: Kolbert Chaps. VIII-X
11/17 #ScholarsServes Report due
11/20 Quiz 5
11/20 Peer-Review Group Assessment of Portfolio due
Week of 11/23 11/24 Zoom: The Sixth Extinction: Reflections and Discussions
Lecture: TBD
Reading: Kolbert XII-XIII
Week of 11/30 12/1 Zoom: Human History and Climate Change
Lecture: Climate and Cultures
12/4 Quiz 6 due
Week of 12/7 12/8 Zoom: Climate Change in the News; Semester Wrap Up
12/11 Final Quiz due
Week of 12/14 12/14 "Expectations vs. Reality" Reflection Essay due
12/14 Wellness Modules due
12/14 Excursion Report due