Writing
- Firstly we will expect you to take field notes (preferably in a “Rite in the Rain” all-weather journal – available in the bookstore) of observations on all of our field trips. We will specify observations to be noted and questions to be addressed prior to each field trip, but you field notes need not be limited to the assigned observations and questions. We expect that you will transcribe your field notes to the computer for your journal. We expect that the writing for your field journal entries will be mostly descriptive writing – writing that describes what you’ve observed.
- A second type of writing will be more analytical; we will call these “Think Piece Essays.” This writing will focus on the reading for the week, and afford you an opportunity to demonstrate that you understand key arguments, assumptions, history, scientific and policy content, issues and debates discussed in the readings. Arguments are the main points an author is putting forward. Assumptions are what the authors take for granted in the foundation of the argument. They assume that some things are “given” (assumed to be valid) and build their theory or arguments upon these givens. Assumptions underlie both the definitions that the authors give to the concepts in their work and the claims they make in their arguments. The purpose is to discern the main arguments and assumptions of an author and to analyze those arguments and assumptions in a larger context that compares and contrasts one authors arguments with another’s. This type of writing is not descriptive writing (we don’t need you to describe what you’ve read). Rather, this writing requires you to take a point of view (of one author or another, or of yourself) and analyze what is being presented. We expect you to think critically about each reading, we expect you to articulate similarities and differences to other readings, we expect you to explain your own reactions to the readings, and ultimately begin to make your own synthesis of the material this program presents in readings, lectures and workshops.
- A third type of writing is reflective writing. In this writing we will ask you think about and synthesize your own personal reactions to the materials presented in the program. This writing is inherently introspective, and will be most valuable to you to the degree that you can be honest with yourself. Sustainability of our society requires that we all change our habits, our outlooks, and our values. Exploring this process may well cause some discomfort, but that very discomfort is the beginning of new growth. We will be asking you to reflect on, and write about, the discomforts, the insights, the new realizations, and the sense of actions to take that you come to as a result of participating in the activities of this program.
- Fourth, the weekly questions posed to you by faculty may involve learning assessment tools. These questions may be in the form of short answer response related to the lectures/workshops or we may ask you to complete calculations.