Pacific Seminar II Lesson Plan - Week #8
From Syllabus
Monday: Walden - Higher Laws. Env Consulting VII - Contaminant Remediation Devices
Wed: Stuff article. Env Consulting VIII - Final Deliverable, Working w/Clients
Friday: Env Sci Article #9 -
Cell Phones Qualify As Haz Waste y #10 - Manure Management Reduces Levels Of Antibiotics & Resistance Genes

Topics/Concepts: Walden; Env Consulting; Env Sci Articles

Time: 100 minutes * 3

Objective (s):
(i) what the learner should be able to do, specifically -
(ii) under what conditions
(iii) student centered, active, higher level -
(iv) to what level/degree you will expect outcomes -
(v) measureable -

Pacific Rising Addressed:
1. Expand innovation in academic programs through an ongoing innovation process, support to pedagogy and research and new education and service delivery models.
4. Advance faculty teaching, scholarship and research by expanding faculty development and increasing resources for scholarship and research.
5. Pursue University-wide marks of distinction, specifically in leadership development, experiential learning, international programs and student achievement.
7. Strengthen the liberal arts and sciences core through General Education, improved student writing and better integration of liberal arts and sciences with professional education.

Pac Sem II Objectives/Course Objectives Addressed:
At a minimum, upon successful completion of this learning opportunity, the student will:
► make distinct, clear, global connections synthesizing conceptual frameworks between Pacific Seminar I and II through continuing the study of the question “What is a Good Society?" through hands-on, contextual discovery in the discipline-specific perspective of environmental science (the connections will be measured through formal/informal writing/presenting in/outside of class and the degree for determining success will be 90% accuracy);
► develop and actively engage in academic/college writing and research skills appropriate to the high aptitude students at Pacific relatively new to the academe of higher learning within this writing intensive course (the skills and ability to DO writing will be measured through formal and informal writing deliverables to the degree of 90% accuracy for success);
► develop and model Bloom's critical thinking and best-practices for learning, and engaging in high quality, frequent oral presentations (the ability to transfer the thinking into tangible products will be determined specifically by a formal Critical Thinking Activity evaluated and success quantified to the degree of 90%); and
► broaden their own social awareness by interacting with the content and regional society, through on-site visits to landfills, water treatment plants, environmental consultants, etc. as well as and be fully participatory in engaged citizenship; connecting the local hydrological cycle and the respective issues with a the global community; (the success of these connections will be evaluated using a culminating opportunity, which will be measured based on criteria of how complete the student integrates 90% of the concepts discussed throughout the course).

Activities:
1)
One minute paper
2) Think/Pair/Share

3) Muddiest Point 
4) Finger Signals 
5) Note Comparison/Sharing
6) Work at the Blackboard 
7) Concept Mapping
8) Role Playing
9) Debates

10) Materials:

Procedures: key higher level questions:
I. Knowledge
(factual, testing recall) - Who, What, Why, When, Where, How, How Much, Describe, Define, Match, Select, Which One, Choose, Omit.
II. Comprehension
(translate, interpret and extrapolate):  State in your own words; What does this mean; Give an example; State in one word; What exceptions are there; What are they saying; Show in a graph or table; Classify, Infer, Indicate, Outline, Summarize.
III. Application
(to situations that are new):  Predict, Choose, Select, Explain, Identify, Tell.
IV. Analysis (breaking down into parts) :  Distinguish, What assumptions; What conclusions, Make a distinction, What is the premise; What ideas apply; What is the function of; What statement is relevant; State the point of view; What ideas justify the conclusion; What is the theme; What is the relationship between.
V. Synthesis (combining elements into a pattern):  Create, How would you test; Propose an alternative; Solve the following; Plan; Design; Compose; Formulate a theory, Develop.
VI. Evaluation (according to criteria and state reasons):  Appraise, Judge, Criticize, Defend, Compare.

Opening (hook – gain their attention and hold it [IP]):

Middle (procedural steps):

Close (what the students have learned; ensure connections):

Follow Up (extend/enrich; transition; advance organizer):

Assessment (relate to objectives, focus on formative/authentic/active):
Begin class with Post-It Note questions:
1.
2.
3.

 

Resources:

Creative Writing
   
NYU Application Response to "Are there any significant experiences you have had that have helped define you as a person?
    I am dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice with my bare hands.  I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat transfer.  I write award winning operas.  I manage time efficiently.  Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.  I cook thirty minute brownies in twenty minutes.  I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love and an outlaw in Peru.  I was scouted by the Mets.  I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst and a ruthless bookie.  I don't perspire.  I bat .400.  Children trust me.  I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket.  I sleep once a week.  The law of physics do not apply to me.  I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic and my bills are all paid.  I participate in full-contact origami.  Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down.  I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka and spelling bees at the Kremlin.  But I have not yet gone to college.  He was accepted.

Thought Card
   
The course was taught by a very unusual professor, Dr. Simon.  His policies and procedures were unique, his grading policy revolutionary, his teaching methods unsettling.  People talked about Dr. Simon.  During our first class, Professor Simon explained that every Tuesday, each student must bring a 4x6 index card with their name and the date on the top line. As for the rest of the card, you can write anything - a thought, a feeling, a concern, a question or whatever is on your mind.  It is you way of communicating with him directly.  He returned them the following day with his comments and responses.  On the first Tuesday, I dutifully brought my index card and wrote "All that glitters is not gold."  Dr. Simon replied, "What does this quote mean to you? Is it significant?"  This comment made me uneasy - apparently, he was taking these cards seriously. 
    Dr. Simon was brilliant.  He taught by asking questions, raising issues that none of my teachers had ever raised before.  He challenged us to think, and to think deeply.  Social issues, political issues, personal issue all were the grist of the class.  It was a class in methods of teaching science.  There was something delightful, refreshing and inviting about his teaching, but since I had rarely experienced this style, I had no "coping strategies" to help me deal with him. 
    The next Tuesday I wrote on my card, "A stitch in time gathers no moss."  He responded, "You seem to have a sense of humor.  Is that an important part of your life?"
    What did he want?  What was going on here? I couldn't remember a teacher caring personally about me since elementary school.  What did this man want?
    Now I raced down the hallway, ten minutes late to class.  Just outside the door, I took the index card and thinking about a fight with my dad I wrote "I am the son of an idiot!"  I handed it to the professor and took my seat.  The moment I sat down, I felt overwhelmed with dread.  What had I done?  Now he'll know my anger about my dad, about my life! 
    The next day came and I arrived to class, sat at the back and tried to be hidden.  Dr. Simon returned the cards faced down to everyone. He responded, "What does the son of an idiot do with the rest of his life?"  I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.  I had discussed my problems with my friends, but never did anyone ever challenge me to take responsibility of my own future. 

A on Final Exam
   
During my senior year in college I served as a teacher's assistant.  One of my roles was to administer and proctor exams to very large classes.  The students were provided exams and I would give instructions when to begin and when to stop.  When the final exams came, the students understood the system well.  The exam ended and I called for everyone to stop, but I noticed one young man at the back that continued to write.  Everyone else stopped and begin to hand in their exam, but the young man kept writing.  Finally, he came down to turn in his final and I told him that I could not accept his exam because he did not stop when instructed.  He pleaded, but I could not accept it.  He turned and walked away very disappointed.  Then I saw him boldly turn around and jog back down to me.  he questioned softly, "do you know who I am?"  Since it was a very large class, I responded that I did not know his name.  He asked again, if I were certain that I did not know his name.  Was this the dean's son, the presidents, what had I gotten myself into?  Finally, he said, "Well good!" and he shoved his exam into the middle of the stack of papers and ran out the door!

Legacy
   
I had a philosophy professor who was the quintessential eccentric philosopher.  His disheveled appearance was highlighted by a well-worn tweed sport coat and poor-fitting thick glasses, which often rested on the tip of his nose.  Every now and then he would go off on one those esoteric and existential "what's the meaning of life" discussions. 
    "How many of you can tell me something about your parents?" Everyone's hand went up.
    "How many of you can tell me something about your grandparents?" Many hands went up.
    "How many of you can tell me something about your great-grandparents?" No hand went up.
    "Look around the room - in two short generations hardly any of us even know who our own great-grandparents were.  Think about that.  Within three generations our ancestors are all but forgotten.  Will this happen to you?  Is your life going to be a warning or an example?  What legacy will you leave?  The choice is yours.  Class dismissed.

Barometer Soup
   
The final exam question was "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer."  The student had answered "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope.  The length of the rope is the height of the building."
    Should the student receive full credit, since this was not the intended response?
    The student was given additional time to answer the question with a warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. He had several answers and was unsure which to write.
    "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge.  Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch.  Then, using the formula S=1/2AT2, calculate the height of the building."
    "Or take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the building."
    "Take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs.  As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall.  You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units. 
    "Or tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of the building.  From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building in principle can be calculated.
    "Or take the barometer and use it to knock on the superintendents door and ask him how tall the building is?"
    At this point, the student admitted he knew the answer, but was fed up with professors trying to teach him how to think.

Where to Tap?
   
Boilermaker was asked to repair a huge steamship boiler system that was not working.  After listening to the description from the engineer, he went to the boiler room.  He looked at the maze of pipes, listened to the thump of the boiler and the hiss of the steam for a few minutes.  Then he hummed softly, reached into his overalls pulled out a small wrench and tapped a bright red valve one time.  Immediately, the entire system began working perfectly and he went home.  When the owner received a bill for $1000, he complained the boilermaker was only there for fifteen minutes and requested an itemized bill.  So the boilermaker sent the following bill:
    Tapping on the valve = $0.50
    Knowing where to tap = $999.50
    Total = $1000.00

Perspective Letter
   
From a college student to her mother and father:
    Dear Mom and Dad;
    I'm sorry I haven't written in a long time, but something I smoked seemed to have affected my eyesight for a while.  The problem is better now.  When I was in the emergency room I met a really fine man.  He gave me some crystals to meditate on, and well, to make a long story short, you'll soon have your wish of becoming grandparents.  Don't worry.  He's mature; he's twenty years older than I am and he has a steady job at the hospital.  Who knows, we might even get married.  I knew that you would want to be the first to know.
    P.S. I really didn't do any drugs, and I wasn't in the hospital, and I'm not pregnant.  I don't even have a boyfriend.  But I did flunk chemistry.  I just wanted you to view this problem in proper perspective.