How to Succeed in Oceanography
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"I don't like surprises, unless it's my birthday."
"I don't like surprises, unless it's my birthday."
I don't want to surprise you either. My goal is to clearly establish expectations for the class. One of the keys to succeeding in this class--and all of your classes--is to clearly understand the expectations. Read this document to find out how these expectations are established and communicated.
The class follows a regular schedule. We'll follow the same routine, week after week in this class. Get used to this routine and there will be fewer surprises.
Here's the routine for a typical week in class.
Here's the routine for a typical week in class.
Learn the week's material and prepare for the week's quiz by viewing the presentations and videos, and reading the week's reading selection if there is one.
Submit the Week's quiz by Tuesday evening. The weekly quizzes are open book, notes and everything. Do them at home before the Tuesday evening deadline.
Complete the week's lab activity on Wednesday. Attend the face-to-face lab to complete the lab handouts and ensure that you gain experience practicing all of the main skills of the lab. If life challenges prevent you from attending a lab session, communicate with your instructor to determine appropriate accommodations.
Go on to the next week and repeat.
Readings, Presentations, Videos and Lab Activities -- How Should I Prioritize?
Readings, Presentations, Videos and Lab Activities -- How Should I Prioritize?
Think of the presentations as what would be presented in class during lecture if this was a face-to-face class. The presentations provide the fundamental content for learning about the oceans in this class. The lab activities provide the fundamental skills. The content and skills together define the expectations for the class, and the kind of things for which students will be assessed.
The content of the readings and videos will be similar to, but not exactly duplicate, the presentations. They are provided for people who learn well from reading textbook-like material and/or watching videos. Please have a look at them; they're great.
Key point: test material will be taken from presentations and lab material. Content that is not in the presentations or labs will not be on the test, even if it does appear in a reading or video.
So definitely have a look at the weekly presentations and actively engage in the lab activities. Use the readings and videos to reinforce that material and gain a different perspective.
The quizzes and practice quizzes will provide a good idea about the kinds of questions to expect on tests.
How do Test Weeks Differ from Regular Weeks?
How do Test Weeks Differ from Regular Weeks?
The schedule for test weeks is different. The differences include:
The quiz is due on Sunday night. Why? To encourage students to study regularly throughout the week. Studying consistently throughout the week is the surest way to do well on the tests. The best thing you can do the night before the test is go to sleep.
No new material is presented during test week. We'll put all of our energy into doing well on the tests.
There will be a special assignment during test week: prepare and submit a 8.5X11" page of notes for the test. Think of the page of notes as a page of important information designed to help you on the test.
Writing out notes with a pen or pencil is one of the most effective ways to study. Writing out a page of notes using a word processor is second best.
You are encouraged to write out your page of notes with a pencil, create a PDF of it and submit it. One of the test questions will ask you to submit the PDF containing your page of notes.
Everything on the page of notes must be your own writing or drawing. You may not copy and paste anything from any source, including your study partners. Images are encouraged, but you must create them.
The page of notes will be worth approximately 26 points on the first test and something similar on the second test and final. They will be graded on completeness, breadth, organization, and legibility.
To prepare for the tests, review the presentations and lab handouts. Then do the practice quizzes, watch the videos, and look at the readings.
Take the practice quizzes. The practice quizzes are not worth any points, but will have questions very similar to those on the test. Do them as many times as you like in order to understand the expectations.
More test details on the way. As the test dates approach, you will receive lots more information about the content and format of the tests.
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