GEOLOGY 307 - WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY AT PARKERSBURG
PALEOBIOLOGY OF DINOSAURS - SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION
SPRING SEMESTER 2008
PROFESSOR: Dr. Edward L. Crisp
Office: 3310
email: Ed.Crisp@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: 424-8327
Office Hours: 4:00-5:00 p.m. M;
2:30-3:30 p.m. W; 3:00-4:00 p.m. T R; 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. F; and by appointment.
Homepage: http://www.wvup.edu/ecrisp/crisphomepage.htm
Course Page: http://www.wvup.edu/ecrisp/geology307.html
REQUIRED TEXT:
Fastovsky, David E. and Weishampel, David B., 2005, The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs. 2nd Edition: Cambridge Univ. Press, 485 p., ISBN 0-521-81172-4.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT:
Brett-Surman, Michael K. (ed.), 2007 (revised version), Dinosaurs The Best Selling Guide to Understanding Dinosaurs: Fog City Press, 256 p., ISBN 978-1-74089-584-2.
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
The dinosaurs, rulers of the Earth for 160 million years and most of the Mesozoic Era, have always fired our imagination
as ferocious meat eating monsters or huge lovable plant eating reptiles.
The word dinosaur, first used by Sir Richard Owen (a British anatomist)
in 1842, means “Terrible Reptiles” (from the Greek deinos, meaning terrible,
and sauros, meaning lizard or reptile; however Owen really meant "Fearfully
Great Reptiles"). Today, the term dinosaur is popularly used to describe
something that is obsolete, unsuccessful, or inefficient, a view that paleontologists
now believe is certainly far from the truth. In fact, dinosaurs were
one of the most successful groups of land vertebrates of all time.
New discoveries, and new studies of museum specimens of dinosaurs by vertebrate
paleontologists, have led to a much different modern view of dinosaurs.
It is now hypothesized by many paleontologists that some dinosaurs may
have been warm-blooded (endothermic, like mammals and birds) and several
paleontologists argue that the dinosaurs are not really extinct, they theorize
that the birds are the living remnants of the dinosaurs.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Geology 307, Paleobiology of Dinosaurs, is
an upper level college course designed as an elective course for those
interested in exploring the fascinating world of dinosaur paleontology.
This course will explore the evolution, history, and paleobiology of the
dinosaurs; from their appearance in the geologic record about 228 million
years ago to their extinction about 65 million years ago. The course
will also cover the relationship of dinosaurs to ancestral vertebrates
of the Paleozoic Era; and to the birds and mammals, two groups which also
emerged in the early Mesozoic Era. Hypotheses dealing with the extinction
(perhaps catastrophic) of the dinosaurs and other groups at the end of
the Mesozoic Era will also be studied. In order to understand dinosaur
natural history it will be necessary to study principles of evolution,
taxonomy, fossilization, geologic time, sedimentary rocks and sedimentary
environments, vertebrate anatomy, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, plate
tectonics, and other principles of geology and biology.
The prerequisites for the course are: 1) a
lower level (100 or 200 series) natural science course, 2) Math 021 (or
placement test scores above this level), 3) English 101, and 4) English
102. Although the course deals with dinosaur paleobiology, evolution,
and natural history; scientific principles and methods emphasizing critical
scientific thinking will be stressed in the course. The course will
carry three hours of credit and will consist of 3 hours of lecture per
week. This is a reading, writing, and critical thinking intensive
course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To increase the ability of the student to think critically.
2. To emphasize the scientific method of investigation
of a problem or idea, using the paleobiology of dinosaurs as a
model.
3. To appreciate experimentation and observation and their
importance in scientific Investigations.
4. To stress the importance of accurate data collecting
techniques, and the scientific analysis and interpretation of scientific
data.
5. To learn and practice methodical study and work habits.
6. To study the origin, evolution, and extinction of dinosaurs.
7. To understand past Earth processes and rates of change
and how the same processes and rates of change may affect the future, using
the paleobiology of dinosaurs as a model.
CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT:
It is your responsibility as a student to review the CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT statement that appears in the WVUP Student Handbook. Your conduct in this course should follow the guidelines set forth in the Code of Student Conduct statement.
Any conduct which disrupts the normal flow of classroom activity will not be tolerated. As such this includes consistently coming to class late, engaging in conversation with fellow students while the instructor is lecturing, belligerent or disruptive activity directed towards others in the classroom, or any other activity that would reasonably be considered to disrupt classroom activities. Turn off all cell phones (even vibrate) prior to entering the classroom, keep cell phones put away, and do not answer a cell phone in the classroom (even if you forget to turn it off and it rings or vibrates). If you have to leave the classroom (to go to the bathroom or for any other reason) please leave and return to the classroom quietly, however you should only leave the classroom if absolutely necessary (I will discuss this activity with you if it becomes routine). The Code of Student Conduct also prohibits all forms of dishonesty including, cheating, plagiarism, forgery, or knowingly furnishing false statements to college officials.
SOCIAL JUSTICE STATEMENT:
West Virginia
University at Parkersburg is committed to social justice. I concur with that
commitment and expect to maintain a positive learning environment based upon
open communication, mutual respect, and non-discrimination. Our University does
not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, veteran status,
religion, sexual orientation, color or national origin. Any suggestions as to
how to further such a positive and open environment in this class will be
appreciated and given serious consideration.
If you are a person with a disability and anticipate
needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class, please
advise me and make appropriate arrangements with the Office of Disability
Services (424-8378)
SPECIAL SUPPLIES:
Calculator (preferrably a scientific calculator,
these are now relatively inexpensive).
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attendance to all classes is highly recommended. A record of attendance will be kept. If you choose to miss a class it is your responsibility to cover the material. Material that is covered in class is not always readily obtained by just reading the text. So, PLEASE, try to attend all regularly scheduled classes. ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED FOR ALL TESTS! Preparing make-up material for tests is very time consuming for the instructor. Make-up will be allowed for valid excuses, such as severe illness or death in the family. The student must make arrangements with the instructor immediately upon returning to class to schedule a make-up test, otherwise the grade for the missed test will be recorded as a zero. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS POLICY LIGHTLY!
TESTING POLICY:
There will be 3 major one hour lecture exams in the course (not including the final exam) spaced approximately 4 weeks apart. The lecture exams will include both objective questions (i.e. multiple choice, true/false, etc.) and subjective discussion type questions or analytical problem type questions. The final exam will be 50% comprehensive and 50% material covered after the 3rd major exam. In addition there will be numerous short quizzes at unannounced times (only the 10 highest scores on the quizzes will be counted in the students grade). There will also be a library research paper on some topic dealing with dinosaurs. The topic for the library research paper will be chosen by the student, but will need to be approved by the instructor. In addition to writing the library research paper, the student will give a 5-10 minute oral summary of the paper near the end of the course. The grade for the library research paper will be based on both the written and oral presentations. The following is a summary of the basis for student evaluation:
Short quizzes..............................................................................100 Points
Major Lecture Exams...................….........................................
600 Points
Library Research Paper.....................................….....................200 Points
Final Exam .................................................................................200 Points
Total.........................................................................................1100
Points
GRADE CUTOFFS:
Greater than 90% -------------- A
80 to 89% -----------B
70 to 79% -----------C
60 to 69%----------- D
Less than 60% -----------F