GEOS 655 Structural Styles Around the World Fall 2004
Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-12:15 (likely to change time to 10:45-12)
Dr. Dyanna Czeck (pronounced "Diana Zeck") 324 Lapham Hall; (414) 229-3948
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-2:00, or by appointment.
Email is the best way to get in contact with me: dyanna@uwm.edu
Course Goals:
1. The primary purpose of this class is to help you explore Structural Geology throughout the world. By the end of the course, you should be able to A) describe basic geometries and styles of many of the world's structural terranes, B) analyze how structures fit into a plate tectonic context C) discuss some of the parameters that influence various structural styles.
2. The secondary goal of this course is to expand your scientific reading, thinking, and communication skills.
Required Reading:
Grades:
Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
40% Projects and short (4 page) papers: 10 throughout the semester
30% Essay exams (each worth 10%)
20% Discussion Leads (4 throughout semester: each 5%)
10% Participation in class discussions: required email questions & classroom input
100%
Your final course letter grade will be loosely curved; however, expect that you need at least 90% for an A.
Discussion:
Each student will be required to co-lead 4 discussions throughout the semester. You (and a partner) will be in charge of guiding the class through a discussion of an assigned paper or papers. In preparation for each of these discussions, every student needs to submit 2-3 questions via email to the discussion leaders and me. See the "Guidelines for Discussion."
Attendance and Assignment Deadlines:
Expectations:
The study of structural geology is both challenging and fun. I hope that your experiences in this class are just that, challenging and fun. I use alternative teaching strategies as much as possible in the classroom. Rather than entirely teaching through lecture, I have tried to develop a more interactive course. I have found that this style of teaching is most conducive to student learning. We will be challenging ourselves to understand some difficult material. IT IS NOT EASY TO READ THE PAPERS! Don't expect to breeze through them quickly, but devote some time and effort to understanding them and thinking beyond what is written on the page.
Through this emphasis in critical thinking, I hope you find our class enjoyable and demanding. This style of teaching/ learning requires more from YOU, the learner; but it is more rewarding in the long run. In this class, you will rarely be able to sit down, zone out, and take notes. You will need to be an active participant in the discussions and activities. For this type of learning, it is ESSENTIAL that read the assigned pages prior to class and come to class prepared to participate. As with all 600 level courses, you should expect to spend 3-4 hours outside of class for each hour in class. So for this class, expect to spend 12-16 hours outside of class each week reading, working on the projects and papers, and preparing for the exams.
Course Policies
As a student in this course, you are responsible to abide by
the Department of Geosciences teaching policies (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geosciences/Policies.html) and all
University established policies
(http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Acad_Aff/policy/). Academic dishonesty of any type will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty, a breach of the
standards of academic integrity, includes, but is not limited to, cheating,
plagiarism, and any act designed to give unfair academic advantage to a
student. In this course, the work
you hand in for credit must be entirely your own work, except when group work
is specifically authorized by the instructor.