| Assignment or Test |
Contribution to Final Grade |
Learning Outcomes Assessed |
| Participation Discussions |
20%
|
|
| Group Discussion Leaders |
25% |
|
| Weekly Quiz on CourseLink |
20% |
|
| Midterm |
10% |
1, 2 |
|
Final Exam - Take Home
|
15%
|
1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Wednesday Lab (Participation & Assessment |
15% |
|
| TOTAL |
100% |
|
Participation in Thursday Discussion's (20%)
Date: Thursday, January 12, 2023 1pm - Thursday, April 6, 1pm MACN 118
In-person activity-based and discussion-based seminars (Thursdays) and labs (most Wednesdays) will occur weekly. Labs and seminars will be participatory and based on the asynchronous learning material provided earlier in the week. Specific activities will vary weekly. One example of a participatory activity in the seminar is being randomly assigned to a small 'breakout' group, and as a group answer some pre-made discussion questions. We will then reconvene as a class to discuss our answers. This is an individual mark and you will be graded in terms of the quality of your contributions. If you do the assigned readings/watch assigned lectures every week, show up to class, have a couple of thoughtful things to say, and engage respectfully (agreeing or disagreeing) with classmates, you will do absolutely fine. I will let you know in the first month of class if you are doing well or need to improve.
It is important to note we are having a discussion. If you state your opinion or observations as "this is the way it is" without considering other points of view, then you are closing off the discussion. There are always a couple of 21-year-olds in class who, amazingly, already know all there is to know about agriculture! They grace the class with their wisdom, bestowing the capital T-truth about the topic at hand (tillage, cover crops). These students are always surprised later when they receive a poor grade. The point is to both share your observations and knowledge, but also to promote discussion and critical thought!
Group Discussion Leaders (25%)
Agronomy relies on science as a method of inquiry and as a body of knowledge. However, agronomy also requires a strong understanding of how farms work, an understanding of economics, and practical experience (observing crops and impact of management, etc). As such, we all have something to learn from each other, as this is a group with a diverse skillset and background in crop production. After Reading Week, groups of seven or eight students will begin delivering seminars on relevant topics. The groups, and specific seminar topics, will be decided on the first week of classes based on student interest.
Groups will be responsible for developing asynchronous learning materials and leading the on-campus in-person weekly seminar. Prof. Nasielski will provide a 40-50 minute pre-recorded lecture each week covering theory and scientific knowledge of the topic, and will assist each group with seminar delivery and production of materials. Each group will be responsible for the following asynchronous learning materials: one (1) asynchronous pre-recorded lecture (15-20 minutes), one (1) reading of a scientific article, and development of article summary (1 page), and one (1) Q&A with an industry expert (minimum 20 minutes) that can be pre-recorded or done live in the seminar. Groups will also be responsible for leading the weekly seminar and delivering: two or three (2-3) participatory class activities based on the lectures or reading assignments (30-40 minutes each), one (1) Q&A with industry leader (if not pre-recorded).
All groups will meet with Prof. Nasielski 4 weeks prior to the seminar date and again 1 week prior to the seminar date to discuss and strategize. More details can be found in the rubric for this assessment. The first five lectures of this course will demonstrate the way these group discussions should be led and the way the types of activities that should be done.
This is a group mark, but individual marks can be adjusted if components of the project varied in their quality. While all group members are expected to contribute to as many aspects of the project as possible, very strong or very weak parts of the project will result in changes in individual grades. More information is found in the rubric on CourseLink.
Weekly Quiz on CourseLink (20%)
Date: Weekly, Online
Every week after Thursday's class, an online quiz will be released on CourseLink for you to complete. It will be due Wednesday morning at 10:30 AM. Cognitive science indicates that re-testing yourself on material you've learned over expanding intervals allows you to cheaply and reliably commit huge volumes of information to long-term memory. This is the impetus of weekly tests.
In total 10 quizzes will be provided (no quiz on reading week and final week of classes). Each quiz is worth 2.5% of your final grade. Your lowest scoring quiz is dropped when calculating your final grade, and you do not write the quiz the week your group is leading the seminar discussion. So only 8 quizzes are used to calculate final grades.
SH** Happens Clause: You can invoke the clause on one quiz at any time before the due date by emailing me. Once invoked, you are granted an immediate 3-day extension on the quiz. No explanation required.
Midterm (10%)
Learning Outcome: 1, 2
Take-home midterm will be delivered after class on February 13 and will be due on February 17.
Final Exam (Take-Home) (15%)
Date: Thu, Apr 13, 1:00 PM - Tues, Apr 18, 11:59 PM, Take-Home
Learning Outcome: 1, 2, 3, 4
The take-home exam will be made available on April 13 and due on April 18.
Wednesday Lab Attendance and Exercise Completion (15%)
Date: Wed, Jan 18, 11:30 AM - Wed, Apr 5, 1:20 PM, MACS 129
Wednesday labs will occur most weeks. They will be used for teaching specific skills, or for guest lectures. For guest lectures, students are graded on attendance. For labs teaching specific skills, students will be graded on deliverables that are explained at the start of the lab. Deliverables will either be due in-lab or several days after the lab.
Students will be notified when a Wednesday lab is not occurring.
