• Course Description
• Instructor Information
• Material and Computer Requirements
• Course Prerequisites
• Learning Outcomes
• Methods of Learning
• Methods of Assessment
• Course Schedule
• Grading Policy
• Participation Policy
• Late Policy
• Student Rights and Responsibilities
• Technical Support
• Instructions for Using Course Content Web Pages
• How to Use Basics Pages
• How to Use Focus Pages
• How to Use Virtual Field Sites
• How to Use the Glossary
• How to Proceed Through a Week of Pacific Northwest Geology

Course Description

This course is for those who enjoy looking closely at the world around them and want to learn the geology behind the beautiful landscapes of the Northwest. In this course you will examine the present-day geology as well as the geologic history of the Pacific Northwest. Lab work is included. In the labs you will learn by practicing how geological knowledge is deduced from field sites, rocks, sequences of rock layers, fossils, and geologic structures. Topics include plate tectonics, volcanism, rocks and minerals, faults and folds, age determination, map reading, mountain building, and glaciation. Successful completion of the course requires a field excursion to a site chosen by the student. The course includes lab work and counts as 5 credits in a standard Washington state community college academic term.

Unless you are clearly informed otherwise, this course follows the WashingtonOnline schedule, in which each week begins on Thursday and ends the following Wednesday.

Instructor Information

Instructor: Dr. Ralph Dawes
Address: Note that materials sent by mail MUST say PNW to get through:
Ralph Dawes PNW
Wenatchee Valley College
1300 Fifth Street
Wenatchee, WA 98801

E-mail: my e-mail address is rdawes@wvc.edu.
Note that the subject line in emails MUST say PNW to avoid having the email dumped in the spam trash can. In addition, be sure to write your name in the body of your email.

Phone: Telephone, preferably for urgent matters (509-682-6754).

Instructor Biography: Ph.D. in Geology, University of Washington, 1993. Born and raised in Edmonds, on Puget Sound north of Seattle. Started teaching geology in 1985; started teaching at community college in 1992. Currently teaches earth sciences (geology, meteorology, astronomy) full time at Wenatchee Valley College, and part time at other selected colleges online. Actively involved since 1995 in using technology to help provide better opportunities for learning.

Material and Computer Requirements

• Wenatchee Valley College students should purchase the rock kit from:
  
  Wenatchee College Bookstore
  1300 Fifth Street
  Wenatchee, WA 98801
  
  (509) 682-6530
  
  It may take 4-6 business days to deliver, so order now!

  
  

Walla Walla Community  College students should purchase the rock kit from:

WWCC Bookstore
500 Tausick Way
Walla Walla, WA 99362

(509) 527-4255

Walla Walla CC also has a small bookstore in their Clarkston business office.

Textbook: The necessary text is provided in the form of Web pages online. No textbook is required for this course. You may choose to purchase the following optional book: Northwest Exposures: A Geologic Story of the Northwest, by David Alt and Donald Hyndman, Mountain Press, Missoula, Montana, ISBN 0-87842-323-0, paperback.

• The textbook can be purchased from the Wenatchee Valley College or Walla Walla Community College bookstore. See above.
  

Computer Requirements: Computer with reliable Internet service connection and an up-to-date Web browser such as a recent edition of Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Printer, preferably color.

You are responsible for having regular Internet access to the class.

TECHNICAL HELP

Your instructor is not a technician. If a Web page will not open, if Angel is not working, or if Angel is not letting you post submissions, you should tell your instructor about immediately it if it results in you not getting an assignment turned in on time.

To get the problem fixed, you should ask for technical help. Technical help is available as listed on the Angel login Web page, copied here:

NEED HELP?

WashingtonOnline Support Desk
http://angel.waol.org/default.asp
(Toll free) 1-866-425-8412

Email WAOL (General Questions Only)
wa-online@ctc.edu

Course Pre-Requisites

Before taking this class, you should have the following abilities.

• College-level reading, writing, and reasoning skills
• Ability to operate a Web browser and word processor on a computer
• Ability to correspond via email
• Willingness to meet due dates and participate with others in the virtual classroom

Late Policy

Work that for any reason is turned in late will not receive full credit. In addition, there is absolutely no guarantee that late work will receive any credit whatsoever. Work that is less than a week late might, by prior arrangement, receive partial credit, but never full credit, and again, there is no guarantee it will ever receive any credit once it is late. Work more than a week late is not opened and therefore not graded.

Work that arrives after the scheduled last day of the online quarter is also not opened.

It is MUCH better to turn in an imperfect paper on time than to turn in a perfect one late.

Quizzes and written lab answers that are not submitted the standard way through the online classroom will not be eligible for full credit. For example, although you may send in lab maps and drawings by US Post Office for grading, the lab written answers must be submitted online, using the online lab answer form, for credit.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will:

1. Have a much greater awareness and understanding of the geologic origins and activities of the land around you.
2. Be able to describe the geologic history of the Pacific Northwest, from Archean basement and Proterozoic Belt Supergroup, through terrane accretion, subduction, and mountain building, to Pleistocene glacial effects and recent geologic activity. (You will also know what all the specialized terms mean.)
3. Be able to point out on a map all the landscape regions of the Pacific Northwest, such as the Columbia Plateau, Snake River Plain, and Rocky Mountains, and explain how they relate to Northwest geologic history,
4. Be able to identify from hand samples several of the most common mineral and rock types.
5. Be able to describe the origin of most common rock types, and explain how a rock reveals its origin.
6. Be able to determine from stratigraphy and structure, and list in proper order, a relative geologic age sequence.
7. Be able to correlate key aspects of Pacific Northwest geology with plate tectonic theory.
8. Be able to correlate geologic features with how they are portrayed on a map, recognizing such basic fault and fold types as anticlines, synclines, and thrust faults.
9. Be able to recognize and describe field evidence of continental glaciation and glacial lake outburst flooding.
10. Be able to interpret geologic history from field evidence, as demonstrated in a report based on a field excursion that includes labeled drawings or photographs of geologic features observed in the field.
11. Be able to use facts or observations to distinguish a valid hypothesis from an invalid one, and demonstrate this ability in lab work and written assignments.
12. Upon visiting the different landscape regions of the Pacific Northwest in person, be able to recognize and summarize their geologic origins.

Methods of Learning

• Communication over the Internet, through Web pages and email; the course may also make use of a chat room and online whiteboard
• Study and respond to Web pages of specially prepared Pacific Northwest Geology text, images, and learning exercises
• Study geology in virtual form by analyzing and interpreting digital images, maps, and diagrams of various Pacific Northwest geologic sites
• In lab exercises, analysis of maps by drawing map units and identifying and labeling various map features; maps are part of the class lab kit
• In lab exercises, description, identification and interpretation of rocks from the Pacific Northwest, which are purchased as part of the class lab kit
• Preparation of a term project, which includes a geologic summary and geologic history of an outdoor field site chosen by the student

Methods of Assessment

• Degree of participation in email discussions of selected topics, and in posting weekly summaries of learning.
• Sum of scores on ten weekly basic knowledge quizzes, which are taken online.
• Ten lab exercises, one each week, assessed for completeness and level of critical understanding. Labs include emphases on the following two avenues of inquiry:
  • Virtual field trip portions of labs, assessed especially on the basis of essay questions.
• Identifying actual rocks (assessed for correct answers) and working with actual geological maps (assessed by assigned drawings that reveal level of insight into the mapped geology).
• Term project, assessed for
1. level of observational detail
2. proper terminology in description of field site geology
3. sequential narrative of the geologic history of the field area
4. clear links between the geologic history and the observations documented by the student

Course Schedule

Normally 10 weeks, asynchronous. For details of weekly activities, go to the Course Schedule.

• Note: Summer quarters are 8 weeks long. Nonetheless, you are required to cover as many topics and spend as much time studying and learning as during a 10-week quarter, because you are earning exactly the same credits. As a result, there may be two weeks during summer quarter in which you take two quizzes and perform two labs. You will be notified of this in the online classroom when it occurs.

Grading Policy

Grades will be based on point values assigned to the assessments described above, with an A grade for a total of 94% or more of all the possible points, B 83-88%, C 72-78%, D 56-67%. Plus (+) or minus (-) grades are assigned to values in-between those listed.

Participation Policy

It is understood that one of the main motivations for taking an online course is that other obligations make it difficult or impossible to attend scheduled, "on-the-ground" college classes. Therefore the basic unit of time in the course is the week. Tests or quizzes will be taken and material will be posted or otherwise turned in by a specific deadline, but you will always have at least a week's warning about exactly what is due on that date so that you can do it at any time during the week.

To learn well in this class and thus earn a high grade, you will need to spend about 12 to 15 hours a week on the course (or up to 18 hours during some weeks in summer quarters). This time will be spent reading, thinking, writing, discussing your ideas with others, and in online sessions. You should log onto the virtual classroom at least 5 times a week, starting in the first two days of the week. It is best to log in to the class at least once a day, or at minimum 5 days a week, if just to retrieve e-mail and read what is new since last time. If you procrastinate and fail to log in for more than a few days, you will begin to get lost. Keep checking in.

The weekly online discussions are rich, ongoing opportunities for learning, for sharing and growing your knowledge with a group of people, and for demonstrating your commitment to learning the geology of the Pacific Northwest scientifically. As a result, the weekly online discussions are the one type of learning opportunity in the class for which failing to participate at all produces a negative score.

Ask questions if you don't understand something.

Late Policy

Regardless of the reason, work that is turned in late will not receive full credit. In addition, there is no guarantee that late work will receive any credit whatsoever. Work that is less than a week late might, by prior arrangement, receive partial credit, but never full credit, and again, there is no guarantee it will ever receive any credit once it is late, regardless of any discussions or correspondence with the instructor. Work more than a week late is not opened and therefore not graded.

Work that arrives after the scheduled last day of the online quarter is also not opened.

It is MUCH better to turn in an imperfect paper on time than to turn in a perfect one late.

Quizzes and written lab answers that are not submitted the standard way through the online classroom will not be eligible for full credit.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

RIGHTS

You have the right to expect that your instructor will:

• provide a comprehensive syllabus and course schedule
• display all due dates for readings and assignments
• grade or otherwise respond to all assignments within a week of the due date
• monitor your participation in the virtual classroom weekly and occasionally comment on it
• inform you of your current grade and relative class standing upon request
• respond to any e-mail and answer all appropriate questions
• behave in a professional manner, respecting you as an individual of intelligence and sensitivity

RESPONSIBILITIES

As a student, you have the responsibility to:

• behave to all others in the class in a professional manner, being especially careful in email and other electronic communications to avoid personal attacks, harsh criticisms, and objectionable language
• pay attention to the course calendar, keep up with the course work, submit your work on time, and support your group members to establish a genuine learning community
• follow your school's academic code, which includes not committing plagiarism
  • Note: Plagiarism is any copying from another source without due credit being given to the source. If plagiarism is committed on an assignment in PNW Geology, it results in a score of zero on that assignment and a warning. If plagiarism is committed again by the same student it is grounds for an F for the class and may be the basis of academic action against the student by the college.

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Technical Support

Your instructor is not a technician. If a Web page will not open, if Angel is not working, or if Angel is not letting you post submissions, you should tell your instructor about immediately it if it results in you not getting an assignment turned in on time.

To get the problem fixed, you should ask for technical help. Technical help is available as listed on the Angel login Web page, copied here:

WashingtonOnline Support Desk
http://angel.waol.org/default.asp
(Toll free) 1-866-425-8412

Email WAOL (General Questions Only)
wa-online@ctc.edu

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Instructions for Using Course Content Web Pages

The content of this course contained in Web pages organized into five categories-Home-Course Information, Lectures, Basics, Focus Pages, and Virtual Field Sites. As an aid to navigating the course Web site, links to the index of each category are included at the top and bottom of each page. The index page for each category provides direct links to each of the individual pages within that category. To make the most of these Web pages, please read and follow the instructions below.

How to Use Basics Pages

The Basics Pages explain the essential topics of physical geology that are needed to understand the geology of the Pacific Northwest. For most students, especially those who have not had a previous college-level course in geology, the basics pages are a quick way to get up to speed on the basic geological knowledge that provides the foundation on which the rest of the course is built. If you have already taken a course in physical geology, then the basics pages will be a review. Either way, you should read and study them as instructed.

You will be referred to the relevant Basics Pages in the lectures as the quarter proceeds. Along with each week's lecture, read the referenced Basics Pages. As you study the Focus Pages and Virtual Field Sites, refer to the Basics Pages for any basic geological topic that you need to have clarified. Many of the Basics Pages provide links to outside Web sites that offer additional discussion of the topic.

How to Use Focus Pages

The Focus Pages explain the main geological themes in the geologic history of the Pacific Northwest. They provide detailed examples of places, rocks, and geologic structures in the Northwest and help you to understand how they originated. The Focus Pages also link things together. They link the geologic basics to examples of how they apply to the geology of the Northwest. They link the course Web site with outside Web sites that provide you with further information to explore.

The weekly lectures will refer you to the Focus Pages that will help you gain more insight into the weekly topics. Each week, read the focus pages to which you are referred. As time allows, study as much as you can of the information on the other, outside Web sites listed in the Focus Pages.

How to Use Virtual Field Sites

The Virtual Field Sites enable you to make geologic field trips while sitting at a computer. The geology of the earth itself is the source of geologic knowledge, and the best way to study it is to see it in place, in the field. That is what the Virtual Field Sites allow you to do.

Each Virtual Field Site consists of four parts.

1. An introduction gives you a written summary of the key features of the site next to a representative photograph of the site.
2. A sequence of thumbnail pictures is accompanied by detailed captions that describe what each thumbnail illustrates. To see a thumbnail picture as a larger picture and study it in detail, click on it.
3. A location map shows you where the field site is located in the Pacific Northwest.
4. A stratigraphic column summarizes the sequence of rock formations present at the field site.

The stratigraphic column is important because it represents the sequence of geologic history at the Virtual Field Site. The stratigraphic columns generally follow the tradition of starting with the oldest layer at the bottom and proceeding up to the youngest layer at the top. The causes of exceptions to this rule, such as a thrust fault causing older rocks to sit on top of younger rocks, will be made clear in the stratigraphic column. Be sure to examine the stratigraphic column at the end of each Virtual Field Site.

How to Use the Glossary

Geologic terms used in the course Web site are defined in the glossary Web page. In each Basics page and Focus Page, the terms that appear in the glossary are linked to it, usually the first time they appear in the text. At the end of each Basics Page, Focus Page, and Virtual Field Site, the glossary terms used are listed and linked to the Glossary.

It is recommended that the first time you read through a course Web page you not click on the linked glossary terms. The general meaning of many of the terms will be suggested by the context, and it is important to read each page completely.

After you have read all the way through the text, click on those terms you do not know and read their definitions. The second time you read through the text you can click on a linked term when it appears within the text. You also have the alternative option of referring to the complete list of linked glossary terms provided at the end of each page.

Finally, if you encounter a geologic term you are not sure of but it does not appear linked to the glossary, you can open up the glossary yourself and look up the term.

If you encounter what you think is an important geologic terms and find that it is not in the glossary, please let the instructor know.

How to Proceed Through a Week of Pacific Northwest Geology

The course proceeds on a week-by-week basis. In accord with the Washington Online program, each week begins on Thursday and ends the following Wednesday. To successfully proceed through a week in the class, follow this guideline.

1. Read the weekly agenda. The agenda lists the goals and learning activities for the week. It also gives you the weekly discussion question(s).
2. Read the weekly lecture. The beginning of the lecture tells you which Basics Pages and Focus Pages to read. It is important to study them; they are the online textbook for the course. The lecture weaves together the main topics for the week.
3. After reading the weekly lecture and the relevant Basics and Focus Pages, take the weekly online quiz.
4. Send in your first contribution to the weekly discussion early in the week. Your participation in the weekly discussion is a key part of your participation and counts for a large part of your grade. Continue to make contributions to the weekly discussion as the week proceeds.
5. Complete the Lab Assignment for the week, which includes one or more assigned Virtual Field Trips. Labs sent in online are due by Wednesday of each week.
   Lab written answers must be submitted online, in the lab answer form(s) for that week, to receive credit.
   Many labs have printed materials that you must draw on and label and send in as part of the lab. Mailed hard copies must be postmarked by Thursday. Mail hard copy to:
   
   Ralph Dawes PNW (note that it is important to include the PNW)
   WVC
   1300 Fifth Street
   Wenatchee, WA 98801
   
   Lab assignments turned in after Wednesday (or mailed by US Postal Service later than Thursday) will not receive full credit and have no guarantee of receiving any credit. Assignments more than a week late will not ever receive even partial credit.
6. Take the weekly online quiz a second time after seeing which questions you may have missed on your first try. Submit your answers for automatic grading before the end of the online week.
7. At the end of the week, after completing all your other work, write your weekly summary. Take the time to thoroughly reflect on what you learned and write a thoughtful summary. Your summary should be 150 to 250 words in length. It is also one more chance to ask questions about the learning topics. Your weekly summary is VERY important. It is a chance for you to summarize what you learned and use some of the terminology you learned during the week.
   • Post your weekly summary of what you learned about the geology of the Pacific Northwest in the Weekly Summaries folder in the Discussion Board (you may have to scroll down to find the folder).

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