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Field Studies [clear]
| Title | Offering | Standing | Credits | Credits | When | F | W | S | Su | Description | Preparatory | Faculty | Days | Multiple Standings | Start Quarters | Open Quarters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Abir Biswas
Signature Required:
Fall Winter Spring
|
Research | JR–SRJunior–Senior | V | V | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | S 14Spring | Abir Biswas | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter Spring | |||||
|
Alison Styring
Signature Required:
Fall Winter Spring
|
Research | JR–SRJunior–Senior | V | V | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | S 14Spring | Alison Styring | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter Spring | |||||
|
Dylan Fischer
Signature Required:
Fall Winter Spring
|
Research | JR–SRJunior–Senior | V | V | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | S 14Spring | plant ecology and physiology, field ecology, restoration ecology | Dylan Fischer | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter Spring | ||||
|
Emilie Bess
|
Course | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 4 | 04 | Weekend | Su 14 Session II Summer | From parasites to pollinators, insects have shaped human society from the beginning. explores our intimate relationships with the bugs that we rely on and the bugs that we fear, the central role that insects play in our biosphere, and the unique adaptations that have led to their unparalleled diversity. This class introduces students to insect diversity and ecology, field techniques, and specimen preservation. Each full-day session includes outdoor field work. We learn to draw insects, emphasizing the importance of careful observation of morphology and behavior as learning tools. We also discuss the influence of insects on pop culture and modern society. Graphic arts, such as graphic story telling (e.g. comics), design of insect costumes, and other visual learning tools are integrated into student projects. | Emilie Bess | Sat | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | |||||
|
Rebecca Chamberlain
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 8 | 08 | Day, Evening and Weekend | Su 14 Session II Summer | This class is focused on fieldwork and activities designed for amateur astronomers and those interested in inquiry-based science education, as well as those interested in exploring mythology, archeo-astronomy, literature, philosophy, history, and cosmological traditions. Students will participate in a variety of activities from telling star-stories under the night sky to working in a computer lab to create educational planetarium programs. We will employ qualitative and quantitative methods of observation, investigation, hands-on activities, and strategies that foster inquiry based learning and engage the imagination. Through readings, lectures, films, workshops, and discussions, participants will deepen their understanding of the principles of astronomy and refine their understanding of the role that cosmology plays in our lives through the stories we tell, the observations we make, and the questions we ask. We will participate in field studies at the Oregon Star Party as we develop our observation skills, learn to use binoculars, star-maps, and navigation guides to identify objects in the night sky, and operate 8” and 10” Dobsonian telescopes to find deep space objects. We will camp in the desert and do fieldwork for a week. | Rebecca Chamberlain | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | ||||||
|
Alison Styring
|
Program | JR–SRJunior–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | W 14Winter | Birds are considered important indicators of habitat quality and are often the focus of conservation-oriented research, restoration, and monitoring. A variety of field and analytical methods commonly used in bird monitoring and avian research will be covered. Theory will be applied to practice in the field and lab where students will develop skills in fieldwork, data management, and statistical analysis. Students will demonstrate their learning through active participation in all class activities; a detailed field journal; in-class, take-home, and field assignments; and a final project. An understanding of avian natural history is important to any successful project, and students without a working knowledge of the common birds in the South Puget Sound region are expected to improve their identification skills to a level that will allow them to effectively contribute to class efforts both in the field and in class. | Alison Styring | Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | ||||||
|
Frederica Bowcutt
Signature Required:
Winter
|
Program | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | This two-quarter program allows students to learn introductory and advanced plant science material in an interdisciplinary format. The program is suitable for both advanced and first year students who are looking for an opportunity to expand their understanding of plants and challenge themselves. Students will learn about plant anatomy, morphology and systematics. Lectures based on textbook readings will be supplemented with laboratory work. The learning community will explore how present form and function informs us about the evolution of major groups of plants such as mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants. Students will get hands-on experience studying plants under microscopes and in the field. To support their work in the field and lab, students will learn how to maintain a detailed and illustrated nature journal. Instruction will be given in the history and practice of botanical illustration.A central focus of the program is people's relationships with plants for food, fiber, medicine and aesthetics. Economic botany will be studied through seminar texts, films, and lectures that examine agriculture, forestry, herbology and horticulture. Students will examine political economic factors that shape our relations with plants. Through economic and historical lenses, the learning community will inquire about why people have favored some plants and not others or radically changed their preferences, for example considering a former cash crop to be a weed. Readings will examine the significant roles botany has played in colonialism, imperialism and globalization. Students will also investigate the gender politics of botany. For example, botany was used to inculcate "appropriate" middle and upper class values among American women in the 19th century. Initiatives to foster more socially just and environmentally sustainable relations with plants will be investigated.In winter, students will write a major research paper on a plant of their choosing. Through a series of workshops, they will learn to search the scientific literature, manage bibliographic data and interpret and synthesize information, including primary sources. Through their research paper, students will synthesize scientific and cultural information about their plant. | Frederica Bowcutt | Mon Tue Wed Fri | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | ||||
|
Andrew Buchman, Doreen Swetkis and Zoe Van Schyndel
|
Program | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | This program is a tour of social forces that shape our arts communities, including cultural, organizational, managerial, financial and historical. By examining art, music and theatre worlds, we will discover structures that help foster vibrant artistic communities. We will meet business and nonprofit leaders (often artists themselves) who bring artists and art lovers together. Artistic entrepreneurs with business savvy, as we will see, often make the art world go 'round.The program is designed for students with a strong interest in making a living as an artist, musician or performer, operating in the nonprofit art world, or making a career in creative industries, and bridging the conventional gaps between creativity, business sense and social engagement. Each quarter's work will include an optional week of travel and study an art center in the United States: to New York City during the fall and Los Angeles during the winter. Students unable to travel to these cities can pursue related studies in Seattle and Portland.The program will combine studies of the arts, business and nonprofit administration and management through a rich mix of critical and creative projects, such as analyzing a local arts business or nonprofit organization. An artist who understands the principles of a well-run business and can deal effectively with contracts, grants and negotiations, we'll find, is likely to gain more artistic and professional freedom. Business people who understand and care about the arts, we'll discover, can build careers that include doing good as well as doing well. Organizations built around art forms can help support local cultures and create sustainable manufacturing ventures, too.The nonprofit arts community encompasses a broad range of artistic endeavors such as summer arts camps and festivals, art and music therapy, community theaters, arts foundations and after-school arts programs. For-profit and nonprofit organizations are different, and we want to make sure students gain knowledge of the vast range of ways they can make a living in and around the arts.By the end of the program we expect you to be able to think creatively about ways to connect your own artistic and wage earning work, have an impact on organizations in communities you care about, acquire first-hand knowledge of a diversity of successful arts initiatives, and communicate effectively in the language of business and nonprofit administration. | Andrew Buchman Doreen Swetkis Zoe Van Schyndel | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | |||||
|
Marja Eloheimo
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 8 | 08 | Day | Su 14 Session I Summer | In this 8-credit summer program, we will explore ways in which various types of gardens can contribute to community and health. We will spend much of our time outdoors, visiting medicinal, ethnobotanical, reservation-based, and urban food forest gardens, and engaging in hands-on and community-service learning experiences. We will also consider themes related to sustainability, identify plants, learn herbal, and horticultural techniques, and develop nature drawing, and journaling skills. We will deepen our understanding through readings, lecture/discussions, and seminars as well as projects and research. This program is suitable for students interested in environmental education, community development, health studies, plant studies, sustainability, ethnobotany, and horticulture. | Marja Eloheimo | Tue Wed Thu | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | |||||
|
Rita Pougiales
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 8 | 08 | Day | Su 14 Session I Summer | The processes of economic and political globalization reshape and undermine the lives of people and communities throughout the world. Some anthropologists have turned their attention to the effects of globalization on traditional and modern societies, attempting to bring to light the full complexities and consequences of these transnational practices. For example, Joao Biehl develops an argument linking global economic activity in Brazil to what he calls the development of "zones of social abandonment" in most urban settings. Anthropologists conduct their studies through research, which involves gathering data, over long periods of time, as both "participant" and "observer" of those they are studying. Doing ethnographic research is simultaneously analytical and deeply embodied. This program includes an examination of ethnographic research methods and methodologies, a study of varied theoretical frameworks used by anthropologists today to interpret and find meaning in data, and an opportunity to design an ethnographic project of interest. Students will read and explore a range of ethnographic studies that reveal what an anthropologist—whom Ruth Behar calls a "vulnerable observer"—can uncover about the lives of people today, and advocate on their behalf. | Rita Pougiales | Mon Wed | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | |||||
|
Dharshi Bopegedera and Abir Biswas
Signature Required:
Winter
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | This interdisciplinary, introductory-level program will explore topics in physical geology and general chemistry. It is designed for students with a desire to have a broader and deeper understanding of the Earth, the structure of matter that makes up the Earth, and their interconnectedness. The study of lab and field sciences through rigorous, quantitative, and interdisciplinary investigations will be emphasized throughout the program. We expect students to finish the program with a strong understanding of the scientific and mathematical concepts that help us investigate the world around us.In the fall quarter we will study fundamental concepts in Earth science such as geologic time, plate tectonics, and earth materials supported by explorations into the atomic structure and bonding. We will focus on skill building in the laboratory with the goal of doing meaningful field and lab work later in the year. Winter quarter will focus on Earth processes such as nutrient cycling and climate change supported by the study of stoichiometry, chemical equilibria, acid-base chemistry, and kinetics. Quantitative reasoning and statistical analysis of data will be emphasized throughout the program and students will participate in weekly geology and chemistry content-based workshops focusing on improving mathematical skills. Opportunities will be available for field work and to explore topics of interest through individual and group projects. | Dharshi Bopegedera Abir Biswas | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | |||||
|
Alison Styring
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 8 | 08 | Day | Su 14 Session I Summer | Flight is one of the most fascinating phenomena in nature. It has evolved independently numerous times across several groups of animals. This program will investigate the evolution of flight and its ecological consequences. We will gain experience with standard methods for studying flying animals as we conduct biodiversity surveys at several field sites in the Olympia area. During the course of this program, we will learn key biological, ecological, and conservation concepts relating to flying organisms as well as field, analytical, and laboratory methods associated with the study of biodiversity. As a group, we will produce comprehensive inventories for key taxa (birds, dragonflies, and butterflies) at ecologically important field sites. This is a field-intensive program, and students an expect to spend time in the field Tuesdays-Thursdays. Early morning work will occur 1-2 mornings per week, starting as early as dawn (ca. 5:15 a.m.) | Alison Styring | Mon Tue Wed Fri | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | |||||
|
Grace Huerta and Leslie Flemmer
|
Program | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | Are educators challenged to meet the needs of diverse learners in the public schools? While scholars generate research to illuminate the lived experiences of marginalized students, why are such findings missing from educational policy, curriculum development and teacher practice today? As we strive to make connections between critical race theory and schooling, we argue that the voices of diverse populations are necessary for a thorough analysis of the educational system.In order to pursue these essential questions, our program will interrogate how dominant theories of learning and knowledge are often legitimized without regard for race, class, culture and gender. Critical race theory (CRT) provides a framework to consider multiple perspectives specific to history, diaspora, language and power. Through these perspectives, we will analyze diverse ways of knowing that inform new systems of educational policy and teacher praxis. This work will be useful for those students considering graduate school in educational policy, qualitative research and teacher preparation.Through the fall and winter, we will practice qualitative methods to describe and analyze diverse perspectives through our community service in the schools and field research. Student teams will conduct their own project and learn how to: 1) identify a research problem and question; 2) select qualitative research methods (i.e. participant observation, counter-narratives and oral history) to answer their question and prepare a human subjects application; 3) complete a literature review; 4) collect, code and analyze data; and, lastly; 5) write and present their research findings to targeted audiences.Over the course of this program, students will develop analytical skills to identify how CRT frameworks inform institutional practices. Program participants will meet with educators, advocates and students to analyze the various theories at play in various sites of study, as well as in the classroom. In order to demonstrate their understanding of CRT and qualitative research, students will complete a formal paper for possible conference submission, a policy brief or grant proposal, and recommendations to present to community stakeholders. | Grace Huerta Leslie Flemmer | Mon Tue Thu | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | ||||
|
Dylan Fischer and Alison Styring
Signature Required:
Spring
|
Program | JR–SRJunior–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 14Spring | This program is designed to provide a premier hands-on experience on learning how to conduct field science in ecology at the advanced undergraduate level. We will focus on group and individual field research to address patterns in ecological composition, structure and function in natural environments. Students will participate in field trips to local and remote field sites and they will be expected to develop multiple independent and group research projects. During the second week of the quarter, the program will be divided into two smaller groups: a Northwest Science group and a Grand Canyon Plants group. A small group of 20 students will participate in a two-week trip to the Grand Canyon, which will include a four-day backpacking excursion and several day trips where we will conduct individual and group research related to plant ecology. Students will be selected for the Grand Canyon experience based on their application and interest. Students in the Northwest Science group will focus on research in ornithology and Northwest ecosystems with associated workshops in research methods.We will work as a community to develop and implement field projects based on: 1) workshops that will train students in rapid observation and field data collection; 2) participation in large multi-year studies in collaboration with other universities and agencies; and 3) student originated short- and long-term studies. Students will focus on field sampling, natural history and library research to develop workable field data collection protocols. Students will implement observation- and hypothesis-driven field projects. We will then learn to analyze ecological data through a series of workshops on understanding and using statistics. Students will demonstrate their research and analytical skills via writing and presentation of group and individual research projects. Student manuscripts will be "crystallized" through a series of intensive, multi-day paper-writing workshops at the end of the quarter. Students will also give public presentations of their research work in a final research symposium.Specific topics of study will include community and ecosystem ecology, plant physiology, forest structure, ecological restoration, riparian ecology, fire disturbance effects, bird abundance and monitoring, insect-plant interactions, disturbance ecology and the broad fields of bio-complexity and ecological interactions. We will emphasize identification of original field research problems in diverse habitats, experimentation, data analysis, oral presentation of findings and writing in journal format. | Dylan Fischer Alison Styring | Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||||
|
Frederica Bowcutt
Signature Required:
Spring
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 14Spring | This program fosters the skills needed for field work in the fields of floristics and plant ecology particularly vegetation studies. Students will learn how to use Hitchcock and Cronquist's , a technical key for identifying unknown plants. We will spend time in the field and laboratory discussing diagnostic characters of plant families. Seminar readings will be focused on floristics, biogeography and vegetation ecology. Students will learn how to collect and prepare herbarium specimens and apply this knowledge to a collaborative research project. Students will also learn about herbarium curation.A multi-day field trip to the Columbia River Gorge will give students an opportunity to learn about Pacific Northwest plant communities in the field, including prairies, oak woodlands and coniferous forests. Students will be expected to maintain a detailed field journal and will be taught basic botanical illustration skills to support this work. Through the field trip, students will learn qualitative vegetation sampling methods and how to analyze their observations. The field trip is required.Students who successfully complete the course will earn 16 units of upper-division science credit in field plant taxonomy, vegetation ecology of the Pacific Northwest, and floristic research. | Frederica Bowcutt | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||||
|
Noelle Machnicki
|
Program | JR–SRJunior–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | Fungi. What are they? Where are they and what roles do they play in terrestrial ecosystems? How do they get their energy? How do they grow? What do they taste like? How do they interact with other organisms? During this two-quarter long program we will answer these and other questions about fungi. Fall quarter will cover the fundamentals of fungal biology, ecology, diversity and systematics, with an emphasis on the musrhoom-forming fungi of the Pacific Northwest. Students will learn to describe and identify fungi using morphological and microscopic techniques and utilize a variety of taxonomic keys. Students will participate in a quarter-long project to curate their own collections of herbarium-quality mushroom specimens and learn to identify local mushroom species on sight. Several multi-day field trips and day trips will provide students with an opportunity for collecting specimens and studying the natural history of western Washington. During winter quarter, we will explore the diversity other groups of fungi and and study fungi through the lens of forest ecology. Forest ecosystems rest on a foundation of fungi, and students will read the primiary scientific literature to learn about the pivotal roles fungi play as mutualists to plants and animals, as nutrient cyclers, disease-causing agents, and indicators of environmental change. Lab work will focus on advanced methods and examining taxonomically-challenging groups of fungi. Students will also learn about museum curation by organizing and accessioning the class mushroom collection for submission into the Evergreen herbarium. Students will engage in a two-quarter-long group research project relating to fungi. Research topics may include ecology or taxonomy-focused lab and field studies, cultivation or herbarium research. During fall quarter, students will participate in research and writing seminars and quantitative skills workshops to inform their research. Each group will prepare a concise research proposal including a thorough literature review and a pilot study exploring the most appropriate data collection and analysis methods for answering their research questions. During winter quarter, students will conduct research experiments in the field and/or lab, analyze their data and write a research paper outlining their results. | Noelle Machnicki | Mon Mon Tue Thu Thu | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||
|
Donald Morisato and Heather Heying
|
Program | JR–SRJunior–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | The theory of evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology, unifying disciplines as diverse as molecular genetics and behavioral ecology. Evolution provides an explanation for the extraordinary biological diversity on this planet. What is the best way to study this process—by focusing on the mechanisms producing genetic variation, by looking at modern organisms for evidence of past evolutionary forces or by generating theory that fits with what we already know? At what level does natural selection act—on genes, on organisms, or on groups of organisms? This program will present and discuss some of the big ideas in evolution and at the same time, examine how we, as scientists, with distinct processes and cultures, approach these questions. We will study several aspects of microevolution—the change that occurs within populations, over time spans that are directly observable by humans—and spend time in the field early in the quarter as a class. Our microevolutionary focus will be animal behavior and students will work in pairs on field-based projects throughout the quarter, while regular workshops in statistics will allow students to conduct their own analyses on their data. On a parallel track, we will consider some of the genetic processes underlying this evolutionary change. We will begin with classical Mendelian genetics and move on to a formal treatment of population genetics and analysis of complex traits. We will be undertaking a laboratory project using . This upper-division science program will have an intensive workload, including reading the primary literature and carrying out experimental work in the laboratory and in the field. Student learning will be assessed by problems sets, writing assignments, statistics workshops and exams. | Donald Morisato Heather Heying | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||||
|
Ryo Imamura
Signature Required:
Spring
|
Contract | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 14Spring | This is an opportunity for sophomore, junior and senior students to create their own course of study and research, including internship, community service, and study abroad options. Before the beginning of spring quarter, interested students should submit an Individual Learning or Internship Contract to Ryo Imamura, which clearly states the work to be completed. Possible areas of study are Western psychology, Asian psychology, Buddhism, counseling, social work, cross-cultural studies, Asian-American studies, religious studies, nonprofit organizations, aging, death and dying, deep ecology and peace studies. Areas of study other than those listed above will be considered on a case-by-case basis. | Ryo Imamura | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||||
|
Cheri Lucas-Jennings
Signature Required:
Fall
|
Contract | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day and Evening | F 13 Fall | Individual studies offers important opportunities for advanced students to create their own course of study and research. Prior to the beginning of the quarter, interested individuals or small groups of students must consult with the faculty sponsor to develop an outline of proposed projects to be described in an Individual Learning Contract. If students wish to gain internship experience they must secure the agreement and signature of a field supervisor prior to the initiation of the internship contract.This faculty welcomes internships and contracts in the areas of the arts (including acrylic and oil painting, sculpture, or textiles); water policy and hydrolic systems; environmental health; health policy; public law; cultural studies; ethnic studies; permaculture, economics of agriculture; toxins and brownfields; community planning, intranational relations.This opportunity is open to those who wish to continue with applied projects that seek to create social change in our community; artists engaged in creative projects and those begining internship work at the State capitol who seek to expand their experience to public agencies and non-profit institutions; and to those interested in the study of low income populations and legal aid. | Cheri Lucas-Jennings | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||||
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Grace Huerta
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 4, 16 | 04 16 | Day | S 14Spring | The intent of this 16-credit program is to undergraduate students to the foundational theories, research and pedagogies specific to teaching English language learners (ELLs) in adult and K-12 classroom or international settings. Students will examine how such conditions as history, political climate, school policies and program models impact the access and quality of education ELLs receive. Students will then focus on the study of language as a system with an emphasis on three important aspects of ELL pedagogy: a) literacy development, b) academic language/content area instruction, and, c) assessment of language proficiency and performance. Students will analyze the central theories, structures and conventions presented in functional linguistics and language acquisition research. With this knowledge base, students will design literacy curriculum and instructional strategies that align with Washington’s K-12 English language development and Common Core standards and competencies, or the TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) standards for adult ELLs.Next, students will explore methods for content-area teaching (i.e. math, science, social studies) and formative and summative assessments specific to the Common Core and four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as the four developmental levels of language proficiency: pre-production, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Students will also learn the principles of backward design lesson planning, analyze instructional tasks for ELLs, provide ELLs opportunities for comprehensible input (receptive language instruction) and comprehensible output (productive language instruction); and offer content-area lesson demonstrations for peer feedback. A field experience, in which students will tutor ELLs in a bilingual school setting one day a week, is a required component of the "Making Meaning" program.Lastly, students will conduct a case study in which they will interview and examine the philosophy and experiences of a professional ELL educator. By analyzing the interrelationship between language learning and communities of practice, students will consider how ELLs' sociocultural experiences influence the language acquisition process.Students taking the 4-credit option will join the rest of the program during our review of language acquisition theories and will use that knowledge to design curriculum, instructional and assessment strategies for English language learners (ELLs). Students will also explore the underlying assumptions that impact language learning and how such assumptions can be addressed through the Washington state K-12 ELL and/or TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) standards. | Grace Huerta | Mon Tue Thu | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Gerardo Chin-Leo and Erik Thuesen
|
Program | JR–SRJunior–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | W 14Winter | S 14Spring | This program focuses on marine life, the sea as a habitat, relationships between the organisms and the physical/chemical properties of their environments, and their adaptations to those environments. Students will study marine organisms, elements of biological, chemical and physical oceanography, field sampling methods with associated statistics and laboratory techniques. Throughout the program, students will focus on the identification of marine organisms and aspects of the ecology of selected species. Physiological adaptations to diverse marine environments will be also be emphasized. We will study physical features of marine waters, nutrients, biological productivity and regional topics in marine science. Concepts will be applied via faculty-designed labs/fieldwork and student-designed research projects. Data analysis will be facilitated through the use of Excel spreadsheets and elementary statistics. Seminars will analyze appropriate primary literature on topics from lectures and research projects.The faculty will facilitate identification of student research projects, which may range from studies of trace metals in local organisms and sediments to ecological investigations of local estuarine animals. Students will design their research projects during winter quarter and write a research proposal that will undergo class-wide peer review. The research projects will then be carried out during spring quarter. The culmination of this research will take the form of written papers and oral presentations of the studen't work during the last week of spring quarter. | marine science, environmental science and other life sciences. | Gerardo Chin-Leo Erik Thuesen | Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | ||||
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David Muehleisen and Stephen Bramwell
Signature Required:
Fall
|
Program | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | David Muehleisen Stephen Bramwell | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | |||||||
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David Muehleisen and Paul Przybylowicz
Signature Required:
Summer
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | Su 14 Full Summer | This is a spring, summer, fall program and is open to new students in summer. For the full program description, see . The weekly schedule will be similar to spring, which is Mon 1-3, Tue 8-4:30, Wed 9-1, and Thu 8-4:30. | David Muehleisen Paul Przybylowicz | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | ||||||
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Kenneth Tabbutt and Alison Styring
|
Program | JR–SRJunior–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | , Latin for , is the root of riparian. Riparian zones are the interface between land and stream and are some of the most dynamic and fascinating geological and ecological systems on the planet. They are the boundary between biomes and an area of biological and hydrological diversity. This upper-division science program will focus on aspects of this unique environment. Students will learn about the hydrology of river systems and fluvial geomorphology and the animals that populate these corridors. Field studies and applied project work will be emphasized. Students will learn how to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a tool for analyzing and displaying spatial data. The program will include a week-long field trip around the Olympic Peninsula. | Kenneth Tabbutt Alison Styring | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||||
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Lucia Harrison
|
Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | This is an art-based program that combines the study of stream ecology and visual art to provide a framework and tools to examine, observe, record, and know a place. We will explore the role of art and science in helping people develop a deep and reciprocal relationship with a watershed. Designed for beginning students in art and ecology, we will study the characteristics of local streams and make drawings that are inspired by a connection to a specific stream. The Nisqually River Watershed will be the focus for our collective work while the numerous local streams will serve as individual focal points for student projects throughout the quarter.Through reading, lectures and field study, students will learn the history of the watershed, study concepts in stream ecology, learn to identify native plants in the watershed and learn about current conservation efforts. They will develop beginning drawing skills and practice techniques for keeping an illustrated field journal. Students will work in charcoal, chalk pastel, watercolor, and colored pencil. Students will explore strategies for using notes and sketches to inspire more finished artworks. Students will study artists whose work is inspired by their deep connection to a place. Each student will visit a local stream regularly, keep a field journal, and in the second half of the quarter, students will create a series of artworks or an environmental education project that gives something back to their watershed. | Lucia Harrison | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||||
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Paula Schofield and Andrew Brabban
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Program | FR ONLYFreshmen Only | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | Are you curious about the world around you? Would you like to really understand "buzz terms" the media uses such as sustainability, green materials, climate change, the water crisis, the energy debate, genetic engineering, DNA fingerprinting and cloning? How can we believe what we are being told? What is the evidence? How is scientific data actually collected, and what analytical methods are being used? Are the correct conclusions being drawn? As responsible citizens we should know the answers to these questions.In this two-quarter program we will demystify the hype surrounding popular myths, critically examine the data, and use scientific reasoning and experimental design to come to our own conclusions. In fall, we will study "water" and "energy" as themes to examine our environment, considering local and global water issues. We will also examine current energy use and demand, critically assessing various sources of energy: fossil fuels, nuclear, hydropower, etc.We will begin the program on September 23 (Orientation Week), one week BEFORE the regularly scheduled fall quarter start, so that we are prepared for our field trip by beginning our study of energy, and establishing our learning community. The Eastern Washington field trip will be a unique opportunity for personalized tours of Hanford Reactor B (the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor which produced the plutonium for the "Fat Man" bomb dropped over Nagasaki in 1945), Grand Coulee Dam (the largest hydropower producer in the U.S.), and the Wild Horse Wind and Solar Energy facility (150 turbines across 10,000 acres serving more than 80,000 homes). On this trip, we will also learn key field science techniques: how to take measurements in the field, collect samples for laboratory analysis and precisely determine concentrations of nutrients and pollutants.In winter quarter, we will use "natural and synthetic materials" as a theme to study petrochemical plastics, biodegradable plastics and other sustainable materials, as well as key biological materials such as proteins and DNA. We will carefully examine the properties of these materials in the laboratory and study their role in the real world. "Forensics" will be our final theme, learning techniques such as DNA fingerprinting, blood spatter analysis, ballistics and other modern forensic procedures.In this field- and lab-based program, scientific analysis—rather than conjecture or gut-feeling—will be the foundation of our work. Other class activities will include small group problem-solving workshops, seminars, student researched presentations and lectures. | Paula Schofield Andrew Brabban | Freshmen FR | Fall | Fall Winter | |||||
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Doreen Swetkis
Signature Required:
Spring
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SOS | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 14Spring | This program is intended for students who have completed work in community learning programs (such as ) and are prepared to complete an internship in a public or nonprofit agency. Prior to the beginning of spring quarter, interested students must consult with the faculty about their proposed internship and/or course of study. Contracts that are completed before the beginning of spring quarter will be given priority. All contracts must follow the college procedures for internships. While students are encouraged to seek out their own internship possibilities, we will work with campus resources and the faculty member's contacts to identify internship possibilities in public and nonprofit agencies.Students will hold 20-28 hour/week internships (depending upon amount of credits: 12-16 variable option) and will come together as a class on Fridays to study more about doing nonprofit work through seminars, lectures, guest speakers and/or films. There will be common readings and individual written assignments. The faculty member will work with the interning agencies, making at least one site-visit to each agency during the quarter and meeting regularly with students outside of scheduled class times as needed. Internships must be located in the Seattle/Portland I/5 corridor or on the Olympic Peninsula within a reasonable distance (i.e., Mason County). Participation in the weekly class meeting is required – no internships located nationally or internationally will be sponsored. | Doreen Swetkis | Fri | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Sarah Williams and Martha Rosemeyer
Signature Required:
Winter Spring
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SOS | SO–SRSophomore–Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 13 Fall | W 14Winter | S 14Spring | J.W. Goethe Like the role of bees and seeds in the evolution of agriculture, beads—which often are seeds, shells, wax or bone—have an inside and an outside that commute. Seeds, beads and bees are interpenetrating, reciprocal creations. They form assemblages with centers and their use over time can be a measure of the fertility of mind, spirit and body. This SOS will support students in bead-like studies of biodynamic processes in conjunction with an internship, creative practice or field research project. Whether defined in relationship to agricultural, artistic or somatic practices, biodynamic processes are characterized by interconnected, recursive and iterative movements that form holistic patterns. Thus, students will be guided to reflect on their learning itself as a biodynamic process. To what extent is the subject and object of a liberal arts education mutually causative? In what ways might thinking be enlivened if informed by a consciousness of temporal rhythms (e.g., respiration) and cosmic forces such as tides and sunlight?This program is ideal for responsible, enthusiastic and self-motivated students with an interest in developing and reflecting on a substantial project over a substantial period of time. In addition to classroom work, each student will create an individual course of academic learning including an internship (e.g., at a local organic farm), creative practice (e.g., nature writing), or field research project (e.g., discovering the differences—and why they matter—between commercial and biodynamic beekeeping). Collaboration, including shared field-trip opportunities, with the Ecological Agriculture and Practice of Sustainable Agriculture programs will be available. Academic work for each quarter will include weekly group meetings, an annotated bibliography and maintenance of a field journal to document independent project learning. In addition to this independent project component, students will engage in weekly readings and written responses, seminar discussions and a final presentation. Unless exceptions are designed into students' projects and agreed upon in advance, all students will be required to attend and actively participate in this one day of weekly class activities, as well as individual self-assessment meetings with the faculty at mid-quarter and the end of the quarter. Interested students should browse the following authors and texts to explore their ability to think and act biodynamically within an intentional learning community: , edited by David Seamon and Arthur Zajonc; by Wolf Storl; by Charles Ridley; by Catherine Cole; by Gary Snyder; by Robert Bringhurst; by Ruth Ozeki; and : by Rudolf Steiner | Sarah Williams Martha Rosemeyer | Tue | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter Spring | |||
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Steven G. Herman
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen–Senior | 8 | 08 | Day, Evening and Weekend | Su 14 Session II Summer | Summer Ornithology is a three week bird-banding course taught entirely in the field. We leave campus on the first day, travel through some of the best birding country in Oregon, then over the next few days find and set up camp in a place where we can net, process, and band a sufficient number of birds to provide all students with appropriate experience. We spend the next two weeks netting, processing, banding, and releasing several hundred birds of about 25 species. We focus on aspects of banding protocol, including net placement, removing birds from nets, identification, sexing, ageing, and record-keeping. We balance the in-hand work with field identification and behavioral observations, and during the last week we tour Steens Mountain and the Malheur area. This course has been taught for over 30 years, and more than 24,000 birds have been banded during that time. Lower or upper-division credit is awarded depending of the level of academic achievement demonstrated. A photo essay on this program is available through and a slide show is available through . | Steven G. Herman | Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer |
