NATS
2
332
ge of Dinosaurs CV
Syllabus
Dr. Homer Montgomery
PROFESSOR'S CONTACT INFORMATION
Office
Phone
972.883.2480
Office Location
FN 3.308L
Email mont@utdallas.edu
Office Hours in person
W 0800-1200 / T 1400-1700
Other Information
Please get in touch whenever you have questions
GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION
Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, & other restrictions
None
Course Description Objectives
Age of Dinosaurs
is an introductory survey of the anatomy, physiology, life-styles, population, and evolution of dinosaurs and swimming and flying reptiles, as well as Mesozoic climates and basic Earth history of the “Age of Dinosaurs”. Class meets every Tuesday and Thursday.
Active and regular participation in class is required in order to understand the subject well and to make a top grade.
Students are encouraged to participate in field activities. There is one (attendance optional) field trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park. Required field trip forms will be provided.
Methodology
Many lectures will be reinforced with demonstrations or samples of bone or bits of video or silly stunts, etc. All in-class projects will be learner-centered and be small group activities. Montgomery’s lectures will not be placed online. The purpose is to establish a dynamic learning environment in the classroom. We will review and repeat and refocus from different perspectives as requested. Note taking is strongly advised.
The student has a responsibility to attend class and to be prepared. An online discussion board on WebCT will be maintained. This is a great place to get a concept explained by another student. Your professor periodically monitors the discussions. Each student will write weekly 500 word abstracts. These are due by 1700 on Fridays. Additional information is below. The midterm and final exams are short answer and the final is comprehensive. Most questions are of a practical sort requiring analysis of fossils or evaluation of a scenario. “What happened here?” and “What might this mean?” questions are popular. See below for details.
Activities
ABSTRACTS
Concept
Each
a
bstract
w
ill
a
ddress
r
esearch
p
ertinent
t
o
t
he
t
opics
o
f
t
he
w
eek
i
n
w
hich
t
hat
abstract
i
s
d
ue.
W
ithin
t
his
g
uideline,
t
he
s
ubject
f
or
y
our
a
bstract
i
s
y
our
c
hoice.
O
ne
warning
i
s
to be certain t
hat
c
hoice
is highly focused
.
Abstracts are scientific writing at its best. They are incredibly precise. Abstracts are also difficult to write. In essence, you must have thought through a short research paper before producing an abstract. Your writing must be concise. Each word should be weighed for effectiveness. We will talk about writing in class.
Format Each abstract will focus on current research dealing with the topic of that week. The length is 500 words (+ 30 words) as determined by TurnItIn. The "Word Count" feature in MS Word will give you that number. Highlight the body of your abstract. That is the important number. Your name, title, and references are not counted. Missing the word count will produce penalties – increasingly severe ones if the count is off by more than about 30 words. For assistance in writing effective abstracts please consult me and see: http://research.berkeley.edu/ucday/abstract.html You must cite the reference(s) you consulted. Do not use quotations. Use only metric measurements.
Procedure
You
must
submit
each
abstract
no
later
than
the
weekly
Friday
deadline
at
1700
hours
to
TurnItIn.com
i
n
order
to
have
the
assignment
count.
Grades
will
be
posted
in
the
WebCT
grade
book.Go
to:
www.turnitin.com
Follow
the
directions
Class
ID:
(provided
in
class)
Password:
(provided
in
class)
You
may
check
your
own
originality
report
once
the
TurnItIn
review
is
completed
with
its
process.Clearly,
your
work
must
be
original.
We
take
this
issue
quite
seriously.
Happily,
few
students
have
difficulties.
References
may
get
included
in
your
originality
report.
T
ake
this
into
account
and
filter
out
that
number.
MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMS
Concept
The
exams
are
comprehensive
and
are
written
with
a
focus
on
assessing
achievement
in
terms
of
understanding
rather
than
on
memorization.
You
will
be
asked
to
recall
few
dates
and
specific
names.
You
will
be
asked
to
arrive
at
solutions
based
on
your
knowledge
and
on
the
information
presented
in
each
exam
question.
The
exam
is
supplied.
You
need
nothing
but
pencils.
And
an
eraser.Procedure
A
set
of
review
questions
is
provided
approximately1
1/2
weeks
before
the
exam.
A
thorough
review
is
conducted
in
class
the
period
before
the
exam.
One
should
make
every
effort
to
attend
reviews.
COURSE POLICIES Grading (credit)
Abstracts: 50% (must be from the scientific literature) Midterm exam: 20% Final exam: 30% (comprehensive)
Learning Outcomes
Students will be familiar evolutionary history of select Mesozoic vertebrates.
Students will have a basic understanding of Mesozoic geology and paleoecology.
Students will evaluate one or more of our dinosaur sites in west Texas utilizing criteria presented in the class and in primary sources.
Required Text
Fastovsky and Weishampel, 2009, Dinosaurs, a Concise Natural History
Suggested Readings
& Materials
Will be assigned as the semester progresses.
CALENDAR & ASSIGNMENTS
[Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates]
Week
of:
Topic Reading
Jan
12
Introduction, Mesozoic Era, Geologic time 2
Jan
19
The fossil record Taphonomy Abstract due Friday @ 1700 hrs
Jan
26,
Feb
2
Evolution Abstract due Friday @ 1700 hrs 3, 4
Feb
9
Ornithischia Abstract due Friday @ 1700 hrs
5
Feb
12
Sauropods Abstract due Friday @ 1700 hrs
8
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