Entering this class, I have the most basic knowledge of geology: the Earth is round, rocks have layers, rocks erode, and coal can turn into diamonds. Growing up I moved around a lot, so I have seen some places and been in many different types of environments. I always have liked taking pictures of cool river rocks or caves, and such, but I can't identify a single rock. I am interested in learning more about our Earth and all of its different elements. And also, by knowing how the Earth was formed and how its elements are affected with the non-stop damage we cause to the Earth with different types of pollution, overpopulation, deforestation, and fossil consumption.
For the first student learning outcome for this class, "Identify the dynamics of the Earth's interior", I feel like it will be the easiest for me since it sounds like the basic breakdown of the Earth’s interior which I have some familiarity with. For the last four student learning incomes, I am nervous but excited to learn all the different minerals, their geological processes, how to date different rocks, and their different locations. I want to focus the most on the student learning outcome, "Identifying the rock-forming minerals by their physical properties" because I feel like this is knowledge that I could use in my everyday life, to be able to identify different rocks and minerals just by looking at them and their characteristics. It could come in handy while hiking or exploring!
To be on time and prepared for class with a charged computer and notebook for notes.
To be caught up with the material provided for that day's class while also being prepared for the quiz passed out at the beginning of the class based on the lectures on canvas.
To not let the non-grading distract me from continuing to learn in any way.
Making sure I have a full meal before and after every class to keep healthy.
If this class were to be graded my realistic goal would be able to keep up with all the lectures on canvas, not only do I procrastinate on them, but I also tend to lose attention while watching the lecture videos unless I'm taking constant notes.
I plan on trying to do mental maps with our main topics because they help me a lot because of the way they are formatted and laid out. Instead of having all my information clustered into one page or more.
In order to find the answers to the quizzes, I plan on watching the lectures whether it is before or after the quiz. And also by paying close attention in class and taking notes on the quiz itself about the topics that are mentioned in the quiz.
I plan on trying to follow the class schedule calendar provided on canvas, in order to be ahead on the assignments instead of rushing to finish them or bringing them incompleted.