Hot%20Topics%20in%20Global%20Warming

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Hot Topics in Global Warming

• An Information Literacy and Science Writing
  Project

Elizabeth A. Johnson and Gerald L. GillJames
Madison University johns2ea_at_jmu.edu
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Why a course project?

• GGEOL115 Earth Systems Climate Change
• Help students achieve two General Education
  objectives
• Find, evaluate, and use scientific resources.
• Communicate information about climate science
  correctly and in an understandable, interesting
  way.

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Why a course project?

• Allow students to develop their own interests in
  climate change
• Textbooks cant keep up with new results

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Project Goal

• Turn this

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Project Goal

• Into a newsletter or blog article (audience
  general public or JMU students)

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Project Timeline

• Project instructions and librarian visit to class
  (Jan 31)
• Part 1 Find a scientific research article using
  IPCC report (Feb 28)
• Part 2 Peers edit and comment on article draft
  in class (April 8)
• Part 3 Final article due / present to group in
  class (April 22)
• Post to a Wiki

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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• 2007 Fourth Assessment Report
• Working Group II Impacts, adaptation, and
  vulnerability
• http//www.ipcc-wg2.org/

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Part 1 Pick an interesting topic and find a
citation
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Part 1 Locate and read the peer-reviewed journal
article

• Complete citation
• Describe data collection or model construction
  methods
• Why choose this paper?
• Discourage procrastination
• Encourage thoughtful choices

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Part 2 Edit draft in class

• Two other students read and make suggestions
  based on grading rubric
• Divide class into full draft, incomplete draft,
  outline only
• Peers dont actually grade paper
• Discourage procrastination
• Improve writing

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Part 3 Newsletter article

• Provide style examples from Geotimes
• Length guidelines
• Present findings informally in a group in class

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Post to a Wiki.

• Wetpaint http//wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/
• PB wiki http//www.pbwiki.com/

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Potential Hang-ups

• Pick unreadable paper in Part 1
• Review article
• Look up more than one citation?!?
• Difficulty using library resources
• Quoting parts of scientific paper to avoid
  interpretation
• Peer review effective and helpful?
• Writing in a newsletter style difficult even with
  examples provided
• Do not ask for help

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Adaptations

• Different course different primary resource
• i.e. Geology instead of IPCC
• Peer editing on Wiki before final article due
• 100 students online?
• Focus on writing- you choose a set of articles
  for students