Physical Geography: The Atmopshere

Kristine DeLong
Louisiana State University

Summary

This course covers introductory atmospheric science including ocean circulation and the hydrological cycle. It is the the first course in the Physical Geography sequence with Physical Geography: The Land as the second. I teach large (375 student) sections and I am currently transitioning the course to an online version.


Course Type: Intro Level:Physical Geography
Course Size:
less than 15

Course Format:
Lecture only

Institution Type:
University with graduate programs, including doctoral programs

Course Context:

This is an introductory course with no prerequisites but does serve as a prerequisite for other courses in geography and geology. It is a general education science course. Typically, 90% of the students take the course to satisfy a general education requirement. We do not have a course for majors.

In your department, do majors and non-majors take separate introductory courses?
No.

If students take a non-majors course, and then decide to become a major, do they have to go back and take an additional introductory course?
No.

Course Content:

Physical Geography course that focuses on Meteorology, Climatology, and Oceanography. It includes 3 weekly lectures with online weekly activities that are my version on virtual labs. Students learn the processes in the atmosphere and ocean circulation.

Course Goals:

  • Students learn the difference between weather and climate.
     
  • Basic knowledge of energy is distributed in the Earth systems.

What are the main features of the course that help students achieve these goals?

Assessment:

Syllabus:

Geog2050 Spring 2014 syllabus_DeLong (Acrobat (PDF) 129kB Mar11 14)

Teaching Materials:

Geosystems, Christopherson
That was the text the department adopted before I was hired. Not really a fan and we are looking at other options.

References and Notes:

Key Pedagogic Resources:

  • On the Cutting Edge
     
  • http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/circulation/title_page.html