GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
Geography 305, Section
500
Tuesday - Thursday, 2:20-3:35
Topics
Texts | Course Requirements| Exam Policy | Scholastic Dishonesty | Web Resources
1. Three examinations (65% of your
grade).
The exams will cover class lectures, readings from Jordan et.al., and
knowledge and skills gained from completing ARGOT activities and
readings. The tests are not cumulative.
2. Activities and Readings in the Geography of Texas
(ARGOT) activities (35% of your grade).
How much do you know and can do with geography? These
activities are designed to give you hands-on experience in
discovering more about the topics discussed in class. Take time to do
well on these activies. Quality is important. Work with a study group
to ensure accuracy and completeness. Each activity will count equally
and be graded using a scoring rubric. Read the assigned articles
carefully--as you do the text.
The usual grade distribution is approximately:
- 12-15% A's
- 30-35% B's & 30-35% C's
- 12-15% D's &/or F's
3. Attend class.
It is imperative that you attend class on a daily basis in order to
secure the knowledge necessary to succeed in this course. Despite the
fact that this is a large class, I invite questions and comments
about the topic and especially how it relates to current events.
Should you miss class, however, please get the notes from a fellow
student or your study group, not me.
4. Keep up with the reading.
The lectures will be more meaningful and thus valuable if you keep up
with the reading in your text, contemporary events in Texas, and do
ARGOT activities regularly. Discuss issues with members of your study
group.
5. Study group.
I recommend but do not require you to form a study groups with no
more than three other members. This group should serve as a support
group for members that:
Even though each of you is personally
responsible for handing in each workbook activity and taking the
tests, I suggest that you work cooperatively in a study group. More
information on study groups is located in ARGOT.
6. Work with your group.
If you are absent for an exam, there will be a
make-up offered only if (1) you contact me either by phone or in
person within 24 hours of the date, and (2) you provide me with a
written doctor's note stating that you were incapacitated and unable
to attend the exam. I will not contact the Health Center, nor is it a
sufficient excuse for you to have been at the Health Center and thus
to have missed the exam. Check University regulations regarding
excused absences. If in doubt, call.
Please see the University Regulations regarding scholastic dishonesty. I encourage you to work with a study group to complete activities and to learn the material. Note, however, that providing answers for any assigned work or copying someone else's work, either with or without their permission, is considered unethical and a violation of the University Code of Honor. It will cause you to lose all workbook activity credit for the semester. Work cooperatively in your group and contribute; do not copy blindly.
Plagiarism is passing off as one's own the ideas, words, writings, etc. which belong to another. In accordance with this definition, you are committing plagiarism if you copy the work of another person and turn it in as your own, even if you have permission from that person. (after Wayne E. Wylie)
This web site has been created to help you in the course. Check it frequently for class updates. I encourage you to contact me via e-mail and to send me your suggestions. I generally check my mail several times a day and will reply promptly to your inquiries. The ARGOT activities are posted here on the web.