Geography 201 is a General Education course. The course meets all of the General Education course criteria as outlined in the Longwood College Catalog. Specifically, Geography 201 satisfies Goal 8: "An understanding of the forces shaping contemporary society as revealed in the social sciences." Below is a description of the Goal 8 criteria, how the course will satisfy each criterion, and how you as students will be assessed to see if you have mastered that particular criterion. Following that are the nine criteria for all General Education courses and a description of how each of these criteria will be met in this course.
| Required
Outcomes for this Goal
(list below) |
Relevant Course/Institutional Components (refer specifically to course syllabus) | Specific Assessment Method for Outcome |
| Understand
the major
methods of social science inquiry |
Accomplished through lectures (emphasizing the use of maps, remotely-sensed imagery, and statistical data), projects (creation of thematic web pages), and exams that are designed to foster an understanding of the major modes of geographic inquiry | Four
exams (multiple choice, T/F, matching, map, definition, and short essay),
two web page projects (comparable to two papers of four-page length double-spaced),
and current events quizzes
Tracking/reporting: mean score of selected questions on exams |
| Recognize
and explain major
contributions of social science to our cultural heritage |
Throughout the course, students are exposed to geographical concepts that helped shaped the development of Western and world civilization and increased our understanding of the fundamental workings of geomorphology, climate, culture, and economic systems | Four
exams and two web page projects
Tracking/reporting: mean score of selected questions on exams and relevant webpage project |
|
Understand how social science has been used to address significant contemporary issues |
Students are exposed to concepts and models developed by geographers that allow us to effectively deal with natural hazards, environmental problems, population growth, migration, religious differences, warfare, and economic development |
Exams and two web page projects on pertinent geographical subjects and problems in the modern world (geomorphological/environmental and cultural/economic) Tracking/reporting: mean score of selected questions on exams and relevant webpage project |
| General Education Criteria | Relevant Course Components (refer specifically to course syllabus) |
| 1.
Teach a disciplinary mode of inquiry and provide students with practice
in applying inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving
|
lectures/reading
Introduction (understanding the geographer's tools - maps, statistics, and remotely sensed imagery) (week 1) human interaction with weather and climates (week 6) understanding Culture and cultures (week 9) population density exercise (week 10) Demographic Transition model and population pyramids (week 12) applying their knowledge through the creation of web pages |
| 2.
Provide examples of how disciplinary knowledge changes through creative
applications of the chosen mode of inquiry
|
lectures/readings
demonstrations of the many geographic pieces that led to the paradigm shift of Plate Tectonics (week 2) the development of new models for explaining agricultural and industrial patterns (week 12) changing nature of the distribution and form of cities through time and around the world (week 15) |
| 3.
Consider questions of ethical values
|
lectures/readings/classroom
discussion
students are required to learn about and discuss ethical human responses to natural (volcanoes, fire, flood, earthquakes) (week 2) and man-made (ozone depletion, disharmony with local environments, cultural conflict, resource depletion) hazards (weeks 7, 8, 9) they learn about different cultural viewpoints, how they influence ethical values, and how they come into conflict in the modern world (week 9) |
| 4.
Explore past, current, and future implications of disciplinary knowledge
|
Students
learn about:
geography's contributions to the theory of Plate Tectonics and the involvement of geographers in controversies over global warming (weeks 3, 6) the role of geographers in exploration of the world and the spread of civilization (weeks 7, 11) the application of geographical concepts to cultural conflict and warfare the role of geographical models in analyzing and predicting the development of agriculture, industry and urban areas (week 14) |
| 5.
Encourage consideration of course content from diverse perspectives
|
students
read articles and papers written by members of diverse culture groups to
foster better understanding of religious, cultural, and demographic problems
(weeks 10, 12)
they are presented with opposing viewpoints on the controversy over global warming (week 6) throughout the semester they learn how other cultures have contributed to geographical knowledge |
| 6. Provide opportunities for students to increase information literacy through contemporary techniques of gathering, manipulating, and analyzing information and data | students
participate in an exercise on the analysis and mapping of demographic data
(week 10)
during election cycles students map and analyze voting patterns on the state and national level students learn how to use maps, photos, and satellite images as tools of geographic inquiry throughout the semester students use library and Internet resources for the compilation of informational web pages on geographic topics |
| 7. Require at least one substantive written paper, oral report, or course journal and also require students to articulate information or ideas in their own words on tests and exams | Two
web page projects are assigned, each involving the gathering of graphic
images and the writing of descriptive text, each equivalent to four double-spaced
pages
exams include definition questions and short essays |
| 8.
Foster awareness of the common elements among disciplines and the interconnectedness
of disciplines
|
Throughout the semester students are made aware of the connections between geography and other disciplines, such as geology, sociology, anthropology, history, agronomy, and economics (geographers represent the majority among climatologists, demographers, and urban and rural planners) |
| 9.
Provide a rationale as to why knowledge of this discipline is important
to the development of an educated citizen
|
Geography is vital for understanding the locations of, patterns of, and interrelationships of phenomena on the earth's surface. Few fields are better suited for understanding current issues and problems in the world, and for making informed decisions on and strategies for dealing with those issues and problems in the future |