HONORS SEMINAR
Dinosaurs - Fearfully great lizards!
Spring, 2006
Instructor: Arthur V. Chadwick
Schedule: Tuesday, 5:00 P.M. Scales Hall, Rm 201
Required Text: None.
Introduction and Objectives: This class is a broadly scientific literature class, considering the writings of various authors on the origin, history and demise of the dinosaurs
So why Dinosaurs? No other group or organisms on earth comes close to competing with dinosaurs for depth of interest and fascination that is not limited by age, race, gender or socioeconomic status. Interestingly, there is no other group of widely studied animals about which so little is known FOR CERTAIN. This makes them an ideal object for study by students and teachers interested in learning to think critically. What do we know for sure and what can we only imagine and what can we learn that is not yet known about these marvelous and mysterious and intriguing creatures that range in size from a small chicken to the largest creatures that ever walked the earth. Did they live on land or in water? Were they warm blooded or cold blooded? What caused them all to die? Are birds dinosaurs? Is there evidence for evolution of dinosaurs through time? Are dinosaurs just a hoax invented by the Evolutionists? These and other questions we will address by studying the relevant literature and discussions in class.
During the course of the semester, each student will read a different book about dinosaurs. We will write a series of short book reports that we will compile into a major report at the end of the semester. The class will end with a final exam, covering the entire scope of the semester's work. The student should come prepared to discuss and to learn, and expect to leave this seminar with a new perspective and fuller grasp of dinosaurs and the issues that surround them.
Class Schedule:
Jan 10 ‑ Introduction to the seminar and planning session.
Jan 17 – A brief history of dinosaurs
Jan 24 – The systematics of dinosaurs
Jan 31 – The Geological Record
Feb 7 – Dinosaurs and the Record
Feb 14 – The demise of the dinosaurs…worldwide catastrophe or slow, measured extinction?
Feb 21 - Imperfections of the Geological Record
Feb 28 – Dinosaurs are real!
Mar 7 –
Mar 14 – Spring Break
Mar 21 - Student Presentations -
Mar 28 - Student Presentations -
Apr 4 - Student Presentations –
Apr 11 - Student Presentations -
Apr 18 - Student Presentations -
Apr 25 - Student Presentations -
Final as Scheduled
Expectations:
Attendance and active classroom participation will be expected. Although the grading of participation can be quite subjective, there are clear objective criteria for distinguishing between absent, present, but silent, present and participating for credit, and present and participating because, having thought through the issues, the student has creative insights to share.
Grading:
Reports: 25% Eight reading reports will be turned in during weeks 2-9, 6 points each.
Participation: 25% Participation rated for each class 16 weeks, 3 points each class
Class Presentation: 25% Graded on preparation, presentation, time and questions (12 pts each)
Final: 25% Comprehensive over class presentations, student presentations; essay
90 - 100 A
80 - 89 B
70 - 79 C
60 - 69 D
below 60 F
Reports:
Choose a book from the QE700-QE900 section of the library. You may also find suitable books in the children’s section of the library, but I am not familiar with the arrangement of books there. The book must have at least 250 pages and make an attempt to be serious science.. Each week read 25+ pages and write a 1 page (single spaced, 12 point) report covering the section you have read. Try to use look-ahead thinking as if you were writing a chapter in a longer document (you are). At the end of the 8 week writing period you will combine all of your reports into a comprehensive thesis on the book. During one of the last five class periods, you will give a powerpoint presentation on the book and turn in your final report. You will also be expected to discuss your reading in class.