Syllabus for GOG-230

WORLD GEOGRAPHY


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Focusing on the processes of globalization, this course provides an opportunity to explore all of the world’s major regions, examining the similarities, differences, and interrelationships among places caused by their historic, economic, cultural, and political geographies.

COURSE TOPICS

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

  1. Interpret economic and demographic data.
  2. Describe, compare, and contrast countries and regions.
  3. Analyze social phenomena using physical and environmental conditions and processes.
  4. Articulate the role of historic development of places in the evaluation of their present condition.
  5. Explain the spacial distribution of various social and economic phenomena.
  6. Characterize the influences binding and separating people and places.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbook

  • Rowntree, L.,  Lewis, M., Price, M., & Wyckoff, W. (2012). Diversity amid globalization: World regions, environment, development (5th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

ISBN-13: 978-0321714480

Web Resources

COURSE STRUCTURE

World Geography is a three-credit online course, consisting of ten modules. Modules include an overview, topics, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

             

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

             

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

             

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

             

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

             

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

           

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

             

Course objectives covered in this module include CO1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in ten online discussion forums and an ongoing current events forum, take ten module quizzes, and take a proctored midterm exam and a proctored final exam. See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

You are required to participate in ten graded module discussion forums and one graded current events forum that will be ongoing throughout this course. Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the courses modules. There is also an ungraded but required Introductions Forum in Module 1. See below for more details.

Module Discussion Forums

The course has ten graded discussion forums, all graded with the aid of the Rubric for Online Discussions (see Evaluation Rubrics folder within the course Web site). For each online discussion forum, you are asked to post a well-reasoned and thoughtful short essay of approximately 250–300 words (3–5 well-developed paragraphs), making reference, as appropriate, to your readings. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic. The short essays you write for the discussion forums provide excellent preparation for the short essay component of the midterm and final exams.

All online discussions take place asynchronously in a designated discussion forum. Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates, and each student is expected to be an active participant and contribute to the discussion. During this aspect of the course, you respond to specific questions that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment constructively and critically on their posts. Discussion forum interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning.

Current Events Forum

As you progress through the course, you will realize that sometimes the events that ultimately have the most impact on your lives are not the major headline news stories. Perhaps a plant disease is attacking crops in the Philippines and will affect sugar prices around the globe, or the economy is growing quickly in one region of the world, increasing consumer demand and thus putting pressure on oil prices and driving up the costs of everything that must be transported. Maybe there is a military coup or a shift in the ruling parties in some part of the world that portends changes to the entire region. Perhaps the big story of the week is the development of a new technology or a new application of an existing technology that will ultimately change everything. (Think of how Facebook has changed the world.) You are asked to be explorers of the world, finding new ideas and sources of information. Along with the news story, post your speculation about why this is important and how it may affect the world. Anything is fair game as long as you can connect it to one of our course themes. You will be required to post to the Current Events Forum once per module.

Module Quizzes

Each module includes a short online quiz based on the module's assigned reading. The module quizzes are open book and consist of objective questions (true/false and multiple choice). To maximize your learning experience, we recommend that you take the quiz as a pretest before reading the assigned chapter(s) and then retake the quiz as a posttest after you have read the chapter(s). You may continue to take the quiz as often as you want until the due date, at which time your mentor will “lock in” your last recorded score as your grade on the quiz. The launch link for the quiz is available within the course Web site.

Note: You will see some new questions each of the first several times you attempt the quiz, so multiple attempts should serve as a useful tool in preparation for your exams.

Examinations

For a list of key concepts that may appear on your exam(s), refer to the study guide(s) available in the Examinations section of the course Web site.

You are required to take two proctored online examinations: a midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams require that you use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the "Examinations and Proctors" section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course Web site) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.

Online exams are administered through the course Web site. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.

Midterm Examination

The Midterm Exam is a closed-book exam. It is two hours long and covers all textbook readings and material from Modules 1–5. The exam consists of objective (multiple-choice) questions and short essay questions.

Final Examination

The Final Exam is a closed-book exam. It is two hours long and covers all textbook readings and material from Modules 6–10. The exam consists of objective (multiple-choice) questions and short essay questions.

Statement about Cheating

You are on your honor not to cheat during an exam. Cheating means:

If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in an exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

C+

=

78–79

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–77

B+

=

88–89

C–

=

70–72

B

=

83–87

D

=

60–69

B–

=

80–82

F

=

Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.

Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

Plagiarism

Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.

If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin

Disciplinary Process for Plagiarism

Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.

If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.

If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.

Possible sanctions include:

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