Assessment of Course Goals

Course Assessments

Section 1

Module 1: The Societies and Economics of Coastal Regions

• Formative Assessment: Cities at risk for flooding — Students explore selected coastal cities using Google Earth and GeoMapApp.
• Summative Assessment: Cities at risk for coastal hazards — Students compare the physical and human vulnerability of two cities at risk to coastal hazards.
• Section 1, Module 1 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 29kB Oct10 16)

Module 2: A Global Glance of the Geology of Coastal Landscapes

• Formative Assessment: Coastal Morphologies — Students observe different coastal morphologies in Google Earth and consider the impact of plate tectonic setting.
• Module Summative Assessment: Evolution of Coastlines — Students explore their understanding of the various coastal classifications and understanding of the role that various coastal processes exert in coastal evolution and morphology.
• Section 1, Module 2 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 42kB Oct10 16)

Module 3: Coastal Systems: Landscapes and Processes

• Formative Assessment: Coastal Evolution
• Formative Assessment: Beach Profiling Exercise — Students observe how the profile of a beach has changed over time and explore the causes of that change.
• Section 1, Module 3 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 31kB Oct10 16)

Capstone Stage 1

• Capstone Stage 1 — Students begin their Coastal Vulnerability Audit — Instructor's Materials / Student Materials

Section 2

Module 4: Understanding Sea-Level Change

• Formative Assessment Part 1: Interactive Earth asks the students to work with visualization tools to evaluate models of short- and long-term sea-level change in the form of tides, storm surge, and longer-term sea level rise. Students will be able to toggle different scenarios and evaluate spatio-temporal implications of different parameters of the coastline and various physical parameters. Students will then complete three multiple choice/ranking questions to demonstrate their abilities to apply critical concepts.
• Formative Assessment Part 2: Sea-Level Rise for Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida focuses on the use of a GIS-based data visualization tool to explore the real impact (spatial range) of Hurricane Katrina's storm surge, and various sea-level rise scenarios from 1 to 6 feet. Students will interact with different base maps (satellite imagery, street maps, and terrain or topographic maps), and population distribution maps to make assessments about the real and potential impacts of short- and long-term sea-level rise along the entire Gulf Coast region, and particularly on the Biloxi, Mississippi, region. Students complete nine multiple-choice questions.
• Summative Assessment: Tide Gauge Data was designed to 1) help students learn how to access, plot, and analyze archival instrumental tide gauge data sets that they select from disparate regions around the globe, and 2) allow students to self-assess how sea level is changing regionally, and globally. Through this assessment, students develop individual data analysis skills, but more importantly, they are able to contribute to class learning outcomes by sharing their individual findings. Students' understanding of sea-level change can thus be developed through their own logic when presented with clear class aggregate data that show an overwhelming number of sites that show clear evidence of sea level rise. Moreover, given the learning outcomes focused on understanding coastal geology in Unit 1 (modules 2 and 3), students should have the background information to assess the geologic settings of their selected tide gauging station in order to better interpret why there are some sites that are showing asynchronous sea-level fall.
• Unit 2, Module 4 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 24kB Oct10 16)

Module 5: Coastal Catastrophes: Storms and Tsunamis

• Formative Assessment: Historical Hurricane Track Analysis Option A: Cyclone Monica OR Formative Assessment: Historical Hurricane Track Analysis Option B: Hurricane Andrew. Students observe historical hurricane tracks and impacts at landfall.
• Formative Assessment: 2004 Sumatran Tsunami Analysis. Students study the mechanics of tsunami genesis and the assess the impact of the 2004 event.
• Summative Assessment: Analyzing the Honshu Tsunami Wave Propagation. Students observe the arrival times of the 2011 Honshu tsunami around the Pacific, determine wave velocity and compare wave height with model estimates.
• Section 2, Module 5 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 23kB Oct10 16)

Module 6: Impacts on the Societies and Economics of Coastal Regions

• Formative Assessment 1 — Section A Community Profile Philippines and one other: Students use online sources provided (World Bank Climate Portal) to populate a chart that outlines coastal hazard vulnerability, economics and other factors, and ways the population has responded to hazards such as typhoons — in two locations — the Philippines and one other.
• Formative Assessment 2 — The Outer Banks: Communities at Risk: Students provide written response to materials on "Communities at Risk in Outer Banks, NC., and develop a scenario for the future for the Outer Banks, North Carolina.
• Summative assessment — Developing a Coastal Hazard Scenario for Capstone coastal city: Students develop a coastal hazard scenario for the coastal city chosen for their Capstone Project. They apply knowledge gained from Module 6 to begin to think about how this community should respond to a coastal hazard that could affect their city.

• Section 2 Module 6 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 13kB Oct12 16)

Capstone Stage 2

• Capstone Stage 2 — Instructor's Materials / Student Materials

Section 3

Module 7: Hard Structures and Coastal Modifications through Mimicking Natural Processes

• Formative Assessment 1: Longshore Transport at Ocean City Inlet, MD: Students learn about how coastal erosion works and how it impacts sediment transport.
• Formative Assessment 2: Shoreline change due to the presence of a groin: Students evaluate the impact of hard structures on the evolution of a coastline
• Formative Assessment 3: Calculating erosion using Google Earth: Students measure short-term and long-term erosion rates using Google Earth and detect trends in eroding coastlines
• Summative Assessment: Protection of Ocean Beach: Students analyze the benefits of soft versus hard mitigation strategies.
• Section 3, Module 7 Formative assessments with rubrics (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 30kB Oct10 16)

Module 8: Managed Retreat/Multi-Layered Protection

• Formative Assessment: Louisiana Coastal Flooding: Students analyze hypothetical storm surge impacts on communities on the Louisiana coast from Google Earth and online tools.
• Summative Assessment: Recommendations for the Louisiana coast: Students formulate detailed recommendations for the future of a coastal community, using real examples from the Louisiana coast.
• Section 3, Module 8 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 30kB Oct10 16)

Module 9: Smart Building

• Formative Assessment: Hazard mitigation utilizing smart building and layered defenses. Students design effective smart building development in a city that is threatened by sea-level rise and storms.
• Section 3, Module 9 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 23kB Oct10 16)

Capstone Stage 3

• Capstone Stage 3 — Instructor's Materials / Student Materials

Section 4

Module 10: Vulnerability to Coastal Hazards

• Formative Assessment: Hurricane Sandy: Students quantify physical vulnerabilities in terms of exposure (geologic setting, coastal hazards, bathymetry, climatic setting, etc.) in the New York-New Jersey region
• Summative Assessment: Three Dimensions of Vulnerability: Students apply the three dimensions of vulnerability to assess and compare the vulnerability of residents in three coastal counties in the United States to hurricane winds and storm surge
• Section 4, Module 10 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 148kB Oct10 16)

Module 11: Tsunami and Storm Surge Policy

• Formative Assessment: Analyzing a storm surge risk map: Students analyze the vulnerability of Sarasota County infrastructure to storm surge.
• Summative Assessment: Post-Disaster Recovery Plan: Students develop a post-disaster recovery plan for Sarasota County, Florida, to storm surge and other kinds of coastal hazards.

Module 12: Sea-Level Rise Policy

• Formative Assessment: Mapping Vulnerability: Students use the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer to identify areas in Miami that have the highest physical and social vulnerability to sea-level rise, and therefore should be protected first.
• Summative Assessment: Sea-Level Rise Policy Options for Norfolk, Virginia: Students play the role of a local government official preparing to lead a participatory planning activity for sea level rise in the Norfolk, Virginia, metro area.
• Section 4, Module 12 rubric (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 108kB Oct11 16)

Capstone Stage 4 (Final Stage)

• Capstone Stage 4 — Instructor's Materials / Student Materials