GGR 299, Spring 2002      Office Hours:
Prof. Tom Paradis           Monday 9:30-11:30
1 Credit hour                   Wednesday 9:30-11:30
Syllabus                           (or by appointment)
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION
         A vital component of a student’s education in geography or planning involves practical activities and field experiences outside of the traditional classroom setting.  This one-credit course is designed to serve as a formalized club where students participate in, and help to organize, a wide variety of activities related to geography and planning.  Unlike most courses, the Geography Club is repeatable from one semester to the next.  Further, students may accumulate these credits hours and apply them to their degree requirements.  Each semester will feature a new set of activities and events with minimal repetition.   One faculty advisor, who monitors the Geography Club each semester, will meet with students for one hour each week to discuss and help coordinate the activities and events scheduled for that semester.
         Because this course is designed to function more like a club, students will be able to choose some of their own activities for the semester, within reason, and they will be expected to organize and promote the activities themselves.  The faculty advisor will arrange other activities in advance.  Some activities designed and organized by Geography Club members (students who earn credit for the course) will be open to all other students, faculty, and staff at Northern Arizona University, as long as there are no restrictions on attendance for particular events.  Club members will be responsible for advertising the events well in advance, and they will encourage other students in their liberal studies and upper level courses to participate.
         Most often, the Club activities will generally consist of a series of short field trips around the Flagstaff area, and each student will be responsible for conducting a short research project to learn about one of the places visited.  In turn, each student (or group of students) will be required to teach the others about that place.  Indeed, one of the primary purposes of the Club is for students to experience local and regional places that might not be visited otherwise during their time as college students.  At the same time, students should be learning some of the basic concepts within the field of geography, and Club field trips will play an important role in this aim.  Such trips will promote geographic understanding and awareness, as well as an enhanced familiarity with northern Arizona and perhaps surrounding areas as well.  The total amount of time devoted to field trips, planning, and other activities outside of the regular meeting time will be the equivalent of 2 hours per week, given the normal expectation that students are required to spend two hours of work on a course for every one hour it meets in the formal classroom.  Finally, the Geography Club is designed to foster student and faculty interaction throughout the Department of Geography and Public Planning.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• Students will participate in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities and field trips related to geography and planning.  These activities will supplement their formal classroom training within the Department and contribute greatly to their overall undergraduate education.
• Students will learn organization and teamwork skills necessary for success in any job or career situation.  All Club activities will be organized and promoted by the students who are taking the Geography Club for credit.
• The Geography Club will encourage social interaction and academic discussion among students and faculty who participate in the Club’s activities.
• Other university students in geography and planning classes will be encouraged to attend Club activities, further exposing them to geography and planning students, faculty, and academic programs.
• Students will have fun as they learn.  The Club should be something that students look forward to participating in each semester, given that they will help to determine the semester’s activities based on their own interests and ideas.
• The Club will help to satisfy the continuing desire by both faculty and students to add more practical experiences, field trips, and other events to the geography and planning curriculums at NAU.

CLUB STRUCTURE
         This semester the club will be organized based on the activities that are arranged.  Each major club activity will be matched with a committee of two or three club members.  Thus, each committee will be responsible for organizing and promoting the activity assigned.  Committees and activities will be determined during the first meetings.  The committees will answer directly to the faculty advisor, considered to be the club’s leader.  Club members will be allowed to attend or organize activities outside of those planned for the club, but they will not “count” as club-sponsored events.  Should club members seek to create further “official” activities for sometime during the semester, however, that can be done with the approval of the faculty advisor and a majority vote of club members.  Otherwise, if students wish to participate in alternative activities with other club members, the club members themselves will be responsible for organizing such events.

EVALUATION METHODS
         The Club is not designed to operate like a formal course where students complete term papers, exams, and other assignments.  Instead, students will be evaluated based on four criteria: 1) attendance and participation at weekly meetings, 2) successful organization and implementation of specific activities and events approved by the faculty advisor, 3) attendance and participation in the events and activities sponsored by the Club, and 4) One oral presentation that teaches the club something about the places being visited.  To obtain credit for participation, club members will sign an attendance sheet at all club-sponsored events, lunches/dinners, and gatherings.

ACTIVITIES, EVENTS, and REQUIREMENTS for SPRING 2002
 
1) Club members are required to help organize one of the following mandatory events and
 participate in 4 out of 5:

• Roadside Cleanup Day, north of Williams, AZ., with coinciding field trip to Williams.
• Field Trip: Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monuments
• Field Trip: Prescott, AZ.
• Hike: to be determined by club members (Oak Creek, West Fork Trail?)
• Wildcard Event: to be chosen by club members by the third club meeting.

2) Geography Club Dinners.  Club members will meet twice a month for dinner at the Dubois dining facility throughout the semester.  Dinners will be held immediately following the Monday club meetings.  While the dinners will be scheduled for every other week prior to Reading Week, students will be required to participate in a minimum of six dinners.  Hopefully, students will enjoy meeting occasionally for dinner anyway, so this requirement will mean little.  Still, to earn a passing grade, students must attend at least six dinners during the semester, with at least two other club members present.
 Once a month (three times total) the club will sponsor a “Take Your Professor to Dinner” day (though the professor is expected to pay for his/her own meal J).  One or more professors from the Department of Geography and Public Planning will visit club members for lunch at the regularly scheduled meeting place, or another place chosen by the Club.  The faculty advisor will arrange this with the professors in advance.  Club members are required to participate in two out of the three “Take Your Professor to Lunch” days.

3)  Club meetings: Regular club meetings will be held in Room 003 on Monday afternoons.  Attendance will be taken, and club members are not allowed to miss more than two meetings during the semester.  Meetings every week will probably not be necessary, to be determined as the semester progresses.  Meetings will be used for planning upcoming events, updates from committees, and occasional presentations or activities for club members.
 
IN SUMMARY:
 To receive a passing grade in the Geography Club, members must complete the minimum requirements for Spring, 2002:

• Six dinners, two with professors.
• Four out of five mandatory activities listed above.
• Assist with the organization and implementation of one mandatory activity listed above.
• Conduct some brief research on a place to be visited, and present it to the Club.
• Regular attendance at Monday club meetings.

These minimum requirements will be strictly enforced.  Should a club member not meet all the requirements in one semester, that student will receive an “F” as a grade, and the student will be able to sign up for the Club in a following semester (or semesters) in order to receive a passing grade.  If a club member has demonstrated a consistently positive attitude regarding his/her participation in club events, but ends up just short of the minimum requirements, this will be considered by the club advisor when final grades are tallied.