Biology 4400 – Environmental Issues               Instructor Joanne Tippett

 

Group Project and Labs - Introduction

 

Aims

 

·         Learn skills

Ř      group dialogue

Ř      teamwork

Ř      creative thinking

Ř      strategic planning

Ř      ecological design

 

·        Apply principles and concepts learned in lectures to a real-world project

·        Deepen understanding of sustainability and its applications

·        Develop ideas for a Science and Technology Building at Dominican

 

Process

 

There is roughly one lab session per week, as well as some time allocated during the field trips for this work. In these sessions, you will be working in small groups. This semester, we will be using the design and planning of landscape restoration focused on the two creeks on campus as the practical exercise. This will also involve looking at the proposed new science building. There is a site for the building, agreed upon in the master plan for the campus. We will be looking at possible ways to increase the sustainability of the building, as well as gathering ideas from students as to what sorts of programs and projects you would like to see supported by such a facility. We will also look at how a new facility could affect the land and surrounding area, taking a holistic view of the energy and material flows in the area. This is the preliminary stage of what we hope will be a broad based student participation in this design project. This is not intended to produce a finished architectural design, but rather to provide ideas and possible ways to integrate sustainability principles into the eventual design of the building. We will look at the landscape around the creek as well as at the creek bed itself.

 

Some of the time will be spent in learning design skills necessary for completing the project. Much of the sessions will be spent on designing and working on the group project. All of these steps will be useful for the final project, though at times it may be hard to see the link. At times, we will be repeating steps. This is not intended to bore you with needless repetition. The point of these stages is to go deeper into the design process. No project manager ever goes through a planning process without reviewing stages, seeing what is missing, what has been learnt in the meantime, and adding additional information.

 

You will be using the sustainable Pathways Design Process, developed by Joanne Tippett, during these lab sessions. For many of the lab sessions, will you be given worksheets that build up to make a participant's manual. These will lay out the group exercises that you are to complete in lab sessions. You will need a binder to keep these papers together. The questions on the work sheets should be filled in as part of group discussions.

 

Lab work will be assessed regularly, though observation and feedback in class, though not with a letter grade, as the main part of the assessment will come from the final product. This assessment will include observation of participation during lab. This stage of the assessment will give me an idea of your progress and participation. I will be keeping track of this ongoing assessment. Each group should keep all of the charts and work in progress towards the final design together with a clip, with your group's name on the package.

 

Assessment

 

The group project is the culmination of the lab work and a small amount of work outside of lab towards the end of the semester, and will be presented in the time that is set aside for a final exam. The group project is worth 15% of your final grade.

 

Each group will have 15 minutes to make an oral presentation and answer questions about their project. This should be supported by presentation boards showing the final design and some of the process work showing how you have arrived at this design, and should be supplemented by a 3-5 page typed summary of the project. As well as the written summaries and presentation materials that you use in the final presentation, each team should hand in all of the supporting material which you have completed during the labs at the time of the final presentation.

 

Criteria for assessment:

 

§         Content 20%. This will require some research on your behalf to learn more about the topic that your team chooses to explore in depth.

 

§         Synthesis of information learned during course 20% I am looking for is application of principles learned in lab with the concepts and information learned in lectures.

 

§         Originality of thought 25%. This means that you need to ask questions and apply your own thinking to the process and materials. Coming up with your own ideas and exploring them in the light of the group project and in the light of your research and practical experience.

 

§         Communication 15% (e.g. in oral presentation - clear prose, well presented material, you have thought about what you wish to say and how you will say it, for writing: clarity, grammar, spelling)

 

§         Participation 10%. This will be determined by instructor’s observation of lab sessions, and from assessment of the work handed in by students that has been completed during the lab session (e.g. group charts).

 

 

 


Individual Projects

 

Each individual will choose one aspect of the overall planning project that they wish to explore in more depth and will investigate this further outside of class as an individual project. This assignment will involve learning more about the principles being explored in lab, an elaboration of their application to the overall design process and investigation into how the chosen topic fits into the overall plan. This project will include contacting at least one local group for information. Web sites are appropriate sources of information for this project.  Individual Projects (brief written report (500 – 1000 words) as well as 5 minute oral presentation) are due on Monday April 1. The projects are worth 20% of the overall grade, and will be assessed on content as well as oral presentation.

 

Topics:

Choose one of the following topics. If there is an aspect of creek restoration that you are interested in and would like to investigate that is not on this list, check with the instructor before proceeding.

 

  1. Flood risks in the area, issues and possibilities for reduction.
  2. Local groups involved in creek restoration and their potential roles at Dominican.
  3. Mapping the watershed and the orders of the creek. Produce a map.
  4. History and culture of the local area (as it may affect a restoration project) – Native American.
  5. History and culture of the local area (as it may affect a restoration project) – Early Settlers.
  6. Enhancing the educational value of the creek – interpretive potential and ideas.
  7. The role of art in creek restoration and potential for this site.
  8. Regulations and land use planning issues that affect a potential restoration project.
  9. The role of community participation in creek restoration and potential for this site.
  10. Water quality information for this creek and the area, sources of information and actual status – biological, chemical, physical.
  11. Sustainable Urban Drainage – what is it, and potential for the Dominican Campus.
  12. Grey water recycling – what is it, potential for Dominican Campus and possible barriers.
  13. The role of creek restoration in K – 12 education in the area. Actual projects and potential.
  14. Native plants for creek restoration – species, description and problems with restoration.
  15. Eucalyptus trees and creeks – problems and possibilities for reduction of the problems.
  16. Wildlife in Marin and opportunities for increasing habitats.
  17. What might it take to bring salmon back to Sisters Creek?

 

Criteria for assessment:

 

§         Content 20%. This will require some research on your behalf to learn more about the topic that your team chooses to explore in depth.

 

§         Synthesis of information learned during course 20% I am looking for is application of principles learned in lab with the concepts and information learned in lectures.

 

§         Originality of thought 25%. This means that you need to ask questions and apply your own thinking to the process and materials. Coming up with your own ideas and exploring them in the light of the group project and in the light of your research and practical experience.

 

§         Communication 15% (e.g. in oral presentation - clear prose, well presented material, you have thought about what you wish to say and how you will say it, for writing: clarity, grammar, spelling)