Ocean 115

Traditional In-person (BV-112)

16-week Fall Semester 2026 (Aug 31 - Dec 18)

T/Th 9:10 - 10:35 AM (Ticket # 1804)

Welcome to Oceanography!

You are invited to join me on a learning voyage into the depths.

My name is Rachel Ridgway, and I will be your virtual ship captain.

We will visit not only ocean depths, but also the depths of our minds as we practice metacognition to learn how to grow in our capacity to learn.

Together we shall venture into the depths on a learning voyage about the Earth and learn how we are all part of the whole, greater than the sum of our parts.

What it means to join our crew

All are welcome in our classroom and any online learning spaces we co-create!

Canvas will provide the resources we need to navigate our learning journey.

Aboard our learning vessel, we all have responsibilities to maintain the ship and stay the course so that no one gets lost at sea.

Let us recognize that we all come to this class with diverse experiences and background knowledge. Everyone is welcome in this on this voyage, wherever they are in their learning journey.

Each voice in the classroom has something of value to contribute. Let us take care to respect the different experiences, beliefs and values expressed by those aboard this ship.

How to contact me

Email: rridgway@glendale.edu

GoogleVoice Phone (Call or text): (657) 667-3423

In-person Open Office Hours :

To Be Announced

Or by appointment - Book on Calendly

On-campus office: BV 324 (Link to GCC campus map)

Zoom room: Provided on Canvas

Blog: All Who Wander the Earth

Social Media: Facebook GoodReads Twitter Instagram

What are student office hours?

Why should I visit?

Every week I set aside a certain amount of time to visit with students one-on-one or in small groups via Zoom (link available through Canvas). This is YOUR time, not mine. There are lots of good reasons to come to office hours. Here are just a few:

If you are confused or stuck, I can help guide you toward clarity.
If you are curious about a topic and want to know more, we can find out together.
If you are anxious about your performance, I can help you develop an action plan to help you earn the grade you want to earn.
If you’re not sure how to study or what’s expected from an assignment, please come see me.

You are a seaworthy shipmate

What does it take to make it on this voyage? Show up and engage your curiosity with compassion, about yourself and your relationship to the ocean world you are a part of.

I encourage each of you to evaluate your prior experiences and current attitudes about math and science, and the beliefs that arise therefrom. Your success in this class depends on your own evaluation of your growth. In this class, you will develop the skills to advocate for yourself and your ideas, using evidence as the basis for your claims.

Whether you consider yourself “good” or “bad” in these subjects, the fact is – these are just stories we tell ourselves. We all start where we begin.

YOU are the author of your life. You get to tell the story. You CAN succeed at anything you set out to accomplish.

Set your goals high. It will require a lot of hard work, but it is worth it.

Know this: I am one of many who support your efforts.

Where will we go on our learning voyage together?

This journey consists of three voyages, each made up of a series of segments, or legs, in which we will explore the:

1. GEOSPHERE
2. HYDROSPHERE
3. BIOSPHERE

In the first leg, we will explore how the Earth came to be an ocean world and the processes that have continued to shape it since its earliest days. We will examine evidence for the Theory of Plate Tectonics and put the Scientific Method into practice by examining the records of history preserved in marine sediments.

In the second leg, we will turn our attention toward climate, which will ask us to stretch our imagination to picture how nature dances on multiple scales - from individual atoms and molecules to massive aggregations of these tiny particles that cause powerful winds and ocean currents. We will learn how the ocean and the atmosphere are twin sisters, always in the process of exchanging matter and energy and build a conceptual model to show the interconnections between the many parts of our climate system.

In the third leg, we will ride the waves and learn about the forces that produce and propel them. We will swim through history again as we examine the evolution of life in the oceans and contemporary communities. We will also turn our spyglasses toward human life and investigate our relationship with the ocean and the ways our mutual dependencies affect one another.

Each voyage will require that you:

submit weekly ship's logs,
complete checkpoint quizzes, and
achieve group and individual research objectives

Each leg will invite you to "swab the deck" - this is the participatory classwork that will help you achieve the learning objectives of each mission. This may include individual or group reflections, exit tickets, surveys, or other relevant learning tools. These activities are designed to support you in designing and completing your capstone projects and making connections with the study of oceanography.

What will it be like aboard our learning vessel (BV 112)?

HOW OUR CLASSES WILL WORK:

Canvas will help us navigate toward success. From the Course Home Page on Canvas, you will find links for:

1. Detailed schedule with assigned HW
2. Assigned readings & Checkpoint quizzes
3. Modules to complete for group and individual research objectives

In our classroom (BV 112) - Here is a link to a campus map to help you locate our learning space:

Please come to class healthy and prepared to learn and take notes, whether by hand or electronically. We may occasionally meet at other locations on the Verdugo campus (dates TBA).

If you are feeling sick, please stay home and take care of YOU. We'll get you caught up when you feel better.

Before/After our Class Sessions

You will have homework that will include assigned readings and written reflections. You will find links to these on the Course Home Page.

Please make sure to do the assigned reading before our next class meeting.

You are always welcome to reach out to me with questions if anything in the material or instructions is unclear. I will be happy to respond. =)

About the course

Catalog Statement: OCEAN 115 is an introduction to the physical, chemical, and geological aspects of oceanography.

Course Objectives

After taking this course, you will be able to:

Understand & appreciate the processes which continue to shape the Earth, especially the physical oceanic environment.
Analyze global oceanographic problems from a geologic perspective.
Discuss the ocean as a major influence of weather and climate.
Understand the physiography and formation of the ocean basins.
Discuss factors that affect coastal habitat.

Course Outline of Record

Required Materials

Whether you choose to take the fully online class or the remote synchronous version, readings will be provided through Canvas. You are expected to take hand-written notes on both lecture materials and assigned readings.

The following texts are useful guides to the interdisciplinary subject of oceanography.

FREE TO DOWNLOAD (Click the titles below)

Webb, Paul, Introduction to Oceanography, 2020. Pressbook (CC/BY), Published under creative commons license and freely available for download.
Hlebakos, Jason. Environmental Science 101. LibreTexts(CC/BY), Published under creative commons license and freely available for download.

OPTONAL SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE OR RENTAL (You are not obligated to acquire these, but they are good references)

Garrison, Tom S., Oceanography: An Invitation to Marine Science. 9th ed,Cengage, 2016. Print and/or eText with or without MindTap online product. 12th Grade Reading Level. ISBN: 9781305710443 or 9781305710245
Trujillo, Alan P. and Harold V. Thurman, Essentials of Oceanography.12th ed,Pearson, 2017. Print and/or eText with or without MasteringOceanography online product. 12th Grade Reading Level. ISBN: 9780134113043 or 9780134298214 or 9780134298054

A shipshape plan for success

Please bring your textbook to class and come prepared to think and question. This class emphasizes reading for understanding – a big part of which is metacognition, or thinking about thinking. As you read, pay attention to your internal dialog, especially when you feel lost or confused. Over the course of the semester we will work on developing strategies to improve your confidence and competence with reading and understanding, with particular focus on the way science is communicated.

To aid learning, and maximize your efforts to earn top marks, you should plan to engage with the material three times:

Actively read and review the assigned material before class meets. (Ask questions as you read)
Attend class and take notes during lecture. (Ask questions when they arise)
After class, take time to review, rewrite and re-organize your notes. (Compile questions)

How will you earn the grade you want?

Like the tides, our class will have a predictable rhythm, with assignments regularly due at End-of-Day (EoD) as follows -- just make sure you meet these deadlines and you will remain on target:

EoD Thursdays: In-class notes
EoD Mondays: Ship's Logs
In-class Tuesdays and/or Thursdays: Checkpoint quizzes
EoD Fridays: Check for Capstone Project milestones met

Out of 100%: A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 65, D ≥ 55, F <55

Curve may be applied at captain's discretion.

In-class notes may be submitted as photos or scanned documents of your hand-written class notes.

Ship's Logs are informal Science Journals that invite you to engage with the material in two ways: (1) through Metacognitive Reflections and (2) connecting to current events through New-of-the-Week (NotW) reporting.

Metacognition is the practice of thinking about your thinking. By getting under the hood, so to speak, we are able to fine tune the process and become better thinkers and learners. Each week, you will be invited into the practice of metacognition through Evidence/Interpretation Logs that ask you to interpret evidence from our weekly readings.
Current events appear as headlines in the news and sometimes through our social media feeds -- by curating and reporting on recent news stories, you will be asked to think critically about your news sources and integrate with concepts learned in class.

Checkpoint Quizzes are low-stakes quizzes designed to hold you accountable to completing weekly readings. They will give you practice thinking about and solving oceanographic problems. They are designed to help you assess your own learning. Class time will be devoted to reviewing challenging questions on the quizzes.

Capstone Projects involve both group and individual work that you and your groupmates will plan and execute in draft iterations one piece at a time with opportunities for peer review and a final presentation.

Final Assessment is cumulative, which means it will include material from Weeks #1 through #15. You will have the chance to demonstrate your knowledge of oceanography and apply your metacognitive skills to graphical analysis and evidence interpretation. You can expect to respond to a series of short answer questions, which will be made available one week prior to exam. In addition, there may be multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and/or fill-in-the-bank, graphical analysis, and reading comprehension type questions.

Itinerary*

Week #1: Course intro; Review the scientific method and its application to oceanography, an interdisciplinary science.
Week #2: Become familiar with geographic coordinate system and historical developments in oceanography.
Week #3: Interpret evidence as it relates to the history of the Earth and her Ocean.
Week #4: Examine the evidence for Plate Tectonic Theory. Explain how tectonic processes affects the distribution of land forms.
Week #5: Explain the formation of seafloor features and their distribution. Classify sediments based on size and source and explain how these affect their distribution.
Week #6: Launch: Ocean Capstone Project
Week #7: Describe the physical properties of seawater. Explain how these influence ocean structure (stratification) and the propagation of light and sound in ocean water.
Week #8: Examine the sources of salt in the world ocean, describe ocean salinity and other chemical properties gas concentration and its influence on pH.
Week #9: Apply what you learned in Weeks #7-8 to explain global wind patterns and how the interaction of ocean and atmosphere affects weather and climate.
Week #10: Apply what you learned in Weeks #7-8 to explain ocean circulation and how the interaction of ocean and atmosphere affects weather and climate.
Week #11: Revisit: Ocean Capstone Project with Climate Addendum -- Prepare for Final Presentations
Week #12: Describe the forces responsible for producing waves and tides
Week #13: Relate waves and tides to coastal processes like erosion and deposition. Explain how the longshore current arises and influences the shape of coastlines.
Week #14: Explore how the ocean is able to support life - including human life. Explain how resource extraction and other human activities are adversely affecting the ocean environment.
Week #15: Revisit: Ocean Capstone Project with Human Impacts Addendum -- Prepare for Final Presentations
Week #16: Final Assessment & Presentations

* Subject to revision

Ship's Policies

- ·Academic Honesty: You are expected to uphold Glendale College's standards of student conduct. Students who cheat or plagiarize will earn no points for that test or assignment and may be referred to the dean for disciplinary action.
- Attendance: You are expected to attend all legs of each voyage. That said, it is understood that some absences may occur. Missing 5 class meetings can cause an F in the course at the instructor’s discretion.
- Classroom community: Everyone has a shared responsibility to ensure that the classroom is a safe place to support learning. This includes the virtual classroom in Canvas. All online communication must abide by the rules of netiquette.
- ·Communication: Students are always welcome to reach out to me. I will respond to electronic communication within 24 hours during weekdays and up to 48 hours during weekends. If you do not hear back, then chances are the message was not delivered and you should verify my email address and re-send . Confidential information such as grades can only be communicated through your official student email account. Please use this account for confidential correspondence.
- Credit: For each hour spent in class, you should expect to spend 1.5 hours studying outside of class. This means that each week, you can expect to spend about 4.5 hours outside of class: reading assigned material; writing reflections in your ship's log; completing checkpoint quizzes, compiling a list of questions; reviewing, re-writing and re-organizing lecture notes; studying with a group; meeting in student office hours; etc…. Spending this extra time outside of class will help you to connect the material throughout the semester and to earn the grade you deserve.
- Disability Accommodations: Any students with disabilities are encouraged to contact me. Assistance is available on campus to facilitate reasonable accommodations through the Center for Students with Disabilities. They can be reached at (818) 240-1000, ext. 5905
- Drop Policy: Instructor will not drop students from the class for non-attendance or non-participation. If a student no longer wishes to be enrolled, it is the student’s responsibility to drop the class.
- Extra Credit: Up to 5% extra credit may be earned. This would be in addition to the 4.5 hours of normal weekly study time outside of class. Extra credit opportunities to be announced en route.

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