Author Profile

Brendan Hanger, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology

Your Course

Course Title: Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
Course Level: lower-level for majors
Typical Enrollment: 16-30

Previous syllabus (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 22kB Jul18 17)
Syllabus from Australian course (Acrobat (PDF) 3.4MB Jul18 17)

Your Students

Predominantly interested in oil industry. Mainly taking course as a prerequisite for later courses (e.g. geochemistry, field camp)

Your Motivation to Make Change

It's a course I will be teaching as long as I am teaching. Have been told that it is not well liked by students and high failure rate, slowing down the time it takes students to graduate. Yet when I have taught similar courses in Australia they are very well liked, rated and have low failure rates.

Your SWOT Matrix

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to achieving the objective

Internal Origin

(attributes of the organization)		 It is a core part of Geology, really explaining key concepts and processes. Have access to multiple versions of similar courses, and a current understanding of the state of research in the field. Students have access to texts, samples and microscopes. I hope to run a field trip, and I have until the spring to plan for it. Students see it as a hurdle, most a worthwhile course. Previous editions may have covered too much content. Students don't understand why it is relevant to them - no obvious link between igneous or Metamorphic Petrology and petroleum geology.

External Origin

(attributes of the environment)		 Strong department support, have been given a mandate to improve petrology and mineralogy as a new member of faculty. I will have time to plan and I have experience. I will be teaching it for minimum 3 years, probably much longer. Enrollment fluctuations, may be seen as shaking things up.

Working Space

1a. Established Goals

Describe any established goals (programmatic or institutional) that that your course should support?

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1b. Enduring Understanding

What is the enduring understanding that will have lasting value beyond the course?

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1c. Essential Questions

What are the Essential Questions that will focus, guide, and sustain student learning during the course?

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1d. Course-scale Goals

What are the large-scale goals for your course?

What Students Will Know:

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What Students Will Be Able To Do:

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2a. Learning Outcomes

What are the finer-grained goals you have for student learning outcomes?

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2b. Evidence of Learning

For each of your learning outcomes above, lay out one or more options (performance tasks and other formative or summative evidence) of an assessment aligned with that goal.

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3. Instructional Design

How will your new course activities support student engaging and effective learning, motivation, and metacognition?

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Action Plan

Use this section to lay out your path forward in creating or changing your course based on what you've learned at the workshop

1a. Goals for Student Learning

What changes do you plan to make to the goals for student learning in your course?

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1b. Make a timeline for the changes you intend to make.

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2. Evidence of Student Learning

What changes do you plan to make to how you provide feedback on/gather evidence of student learning?

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3. Instructional Strategies

What kinds of instructional strategies will you explore?

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4. What additional resources do you feel you need to make progress?

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5. How will you know you have been successful? How will you get feedback?

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6. Potential allies and partners

Who will you engage as an ally or partner in this process? What larger initiatives might your changes fit into?

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