Syllabus for EAS-201
THE SCIENCE OF NATURAL DISASTERS
Designed both for professionals working in the field and for students seeking a science elective, this course focuses on developing a scientific understanding of the causes and mechanisms of common natural disasters. The perspective is global and historical while focusing on contemporary events and potential for catastrophe. The emphasis of the course is on earthquakes, volcanic activities, flooding, and severe storms and the consequent secondary disasters they can trigger. The course also addresses some of the social, economic, and political ramifications of these events.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
CO 1 Define basic terminology foundational to the study of natural disasters and apply this vocabulary to specific situations.
CO 2 Identify and discuss major geological and meteorological theories and concepts (including specific facts and classifications of phenomena).
CO 3 Articulate how and why specific events occur, explaining specific causal factors and where these situations coincide.
CO 4 Develop mitigation strategies or evaluate existing mitigation plans.
CO 5 Differentiate between natural disasters and human-induced phenomena.
CO 6 Interpret real and hypothesized scenarios, some involving multiple variables operating simultaneously.
CO 7 Identify specific risks associated with specific geographical locations and resulting from specific phenomena.
You will need the following materials to complete your coursework. Some course materials may be free, open source, or available from other providers. You can access free or open-source materials by clicking the links provided below or in the module details documents. To purchase course materials, please visit the University's textbook supplier.
The Science of Natural Disasters is a three-credit online course consisting of six modules. Modules include an overview, list of topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
Course objectives covered in this module: CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, CO 4, CO 5, CO 6, CO 7
Course objectives covered in this module: CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, CO 5, CO 6, CO 7
Course objectives covered in this module: CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, CO 4, CO 5, CO 7
Course objectives covered in this module: CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, CO 5, CO 6, CO 7
Course objectives covered in this module: CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, CO 4, CO 5, CO 6, CO 7
Course objectives covered in this module: CO 1, CO 2, CO 5, CO 6, CO 7
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in eight graded discussion forums (six module discussions and two ongoing, weekly forums), complete six written assignments, and take two online examinations: a proctored midterm and a proctored final exam.
Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in SafeAssign.
The Science of Natural Disasters requires you to participate in eight graded discussion forums (six module discussions and two ongoing, weekly forums). There is also an ungraded but required Introductions Forum in Module 1.
These discussion forums will encourage independent research to support your thoughts and/or stance on various weather-related topics, such as major earthquakes, the advantages and disadvantages of living near an active volcano, and the possibility of mass extinction. You should take the opportunity to engage in lively discussion with your classmates by commenting on, debating, and asking questions about their responses.
Communication and collaboration among fellow students and with the mentor is a critical component of online learning. Participation in online discussions involves two distinct activities: an initial response to a discussion question and subsequent comments on classmates' responses. Meaningful participation is relevant to the content, adds value, and advances the discussion. Comments such as "I agree" and "ditto" are not considered value-adding participation. Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement. You will be evaluated on the quality and quantity of your participation, including your use of relevant course information and your awareness of and responses to the postings of your classmates. Remember, these are discussions. Responses and comments should be properly proofread and edited, professional, and respectful.
For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course website.
You will be required to post weekly in two discussion forums, located in the Course Communication section of the course website. The two weekly forums—titled What Is a Natural Disaster? and Disasters Update—enable you to address questions like, what constitutes a natural disaster? and what role does humankind play in creating and exacerbating natural disasters? on an ongoing basis throughout the course.
In the What Is a Disaster? forum, you will post weekly updates to your definition of what constitutes a natural disaster based on your reading and your growing awareness of the field.
In the Disasters Update forum, you will report on one natural disaster (or potential disaster) in the news each week, providing a link to the story, if possible, and writing a brief summary of what is happening and why you think it is significant. You may report on a natural disaster in progress or update information about the impact, recovery, or mitigation plans of a recent event.
You are required to complete six written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules in order to help prepare you for your exams, as well as encourage you to develop a deeper and more thorough understanding of the concepts covered throughout each module.
Read through the written assignment questions before you begin each module. Your answers to the assignment questions should be well developed and convey your understanding of the course materials. Formulate responses in your own words (do not merely copy answers from your reading materials), citing text materials where appropriate and in an appropriate manner.
Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.
Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.
For help regarding preparing and submitting assignments, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course website.
You are required to take seventeen quizzes, one per chapter. All quiz questions are multiple choice. You may use any materials that you like in taking the quizzes, and there is no time limit for taking each quiz.
Students find that quiz-taking is one way to prepare for examinations. Therefore, you will be able to take each quiz an unlimited number of times. This arrangement will allow you to go back and reread portions of the text that you need to review and then take the quiz again for further practice.
For a list of key concepts that may appear on your exams, refer to the study guides available in the Examinations section of the course website.
The Science of Natural Disasters has two proctored examinations. See the Course Calendar for the dates of your exam weeks.
You are required to use the University’s Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see the General Information area of the course website) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to make your scheduling arrangements for exams within the first week of the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course website.
The midterm exam is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is one hour long and covers material from Modules 1 through 3 of the course. The exam consists of multiple-choice questions from the same topics as those assessed on the quizzes. Fully answering the written assignment questions for these modules will also help you prepare for the exam.
The final exam is a closed-book, proctored exam. It is one hour long and covers material from Modules 4 through 6 of the course. The exam consists of multiple-choice questions from the same topics as those assessed on the quizzes. Fully answering the written assignment questions for these modules will also help you prepare for the exam.
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.
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).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
To ensure success in all your academic endeavors and coursework at Thomas Edison State University, familiarize yourself with all administrative and academic policies including those related to academic integrity, course late submissions, course extensions, and grading policies.
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