Course Syllabus
Course Assignments (pre-field):
Journal 20% (200 points: 7 Journal Assignments)
Description: Your journal entries will be short (c. 250 word) responses to weekly prompts intended to facilitate personal and professional reflection.
Sustainability Project 30% (300 points: Final UN SDG Oral Presentation)
Description: Your sustainability project is a team-based, integrative, multi-modal research project in which you will explore the broader context of the social, economic, political, and cultural factors affecting the Danube waterway.
Field Preparation 40% (400 points: Research Paper Questions: 100 pts; Mini-Lab Report: 300pts)
Description: You will be trained on a variety of scientific research skills necessary to participate in the field experiments along the Danube River in Romania.
Collaboration and Communication 10% (100 points: 3-Minute UN SDG Video: 50 pts; Video Questions: 50 pts)
Description: As part of working in your group projects, you will also strengthen your “soft skills”, including professional communication and cultural humility.
Course Assignments (field):
Journal 20% (20 points)
Description: Your journal entries will be short (c. 250 word) responses to daily prompts intended to facilitate personal and professional reflection.
CURE Project 50% (50 points)
Description: You will work in teams to design, implement, and collect data for a research project related to improving the sustainability of the Danube waterway.
Service-Learning Project 15% (15 points)
Description: While in Romania, you will also participate in a service learning project related to Romania’s beautiful old growth forests.
Advocacy Project 15% (15 points)
Description: After your CURE experience has ended, you will create a final multi-media project in which you apply what you learned through your CURE experience to other global sites facing similar sustainability challenges.
Course Calendar (pre-field)
Topics Covered |
Class Agenda |
Assignment |
|
Week 1TH, March 18 |
The Sustainability Challenge Lectures:
|
Welcome, Introductions & Course Overview (Dr. McLaughlin; 40 min) Breakout Rooms – 6 Student CURE Groups (Meet, Greet & Ice Breaker):
Sustainability Lecture and Q&A Class Discussion on SDG Activity (Dr. Fadigan; 15 min) Homework Assignment (Dr. McLaughlin; 5 min) |
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Week 2TH, March 25 |
Global Water Lectures:
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Share UN SDG Videos (Dr. McLaughlin; 15 min) Global Water Lecture and Q&A (Dr. Warner; 45 min) Breakout Rooms – 6 Student CURE Groups:
Overview of Assigned Paper and Homework (Dr. McLaughlin; 20 min) |
|
Week 3TH, April 1 |
The Danube River Lectures:
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Danube River Realities Lecture and Q&A (Iasmina Moza; 45 min) Course Check-In and Homework: (Drs. McLaughlin and Fadigan; 15 min) Breakout Rooms – 2 Student CURE Groups with Assigned Mentors
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Week 4TH, April 8 |
Danube Delta - The Science Behind the Issues Lectures:
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Nutrients and Eutrophication Lecture and Q&A (Dr. Postolache; 45 min) Intro to Writing a Lab Report (Dr. McLaughlin; 30 min) Breakout Rooms – Student CURE Groups with Assigned Mentors
|
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Week 5TH, April 15 |
Danube Delta - The Science Behind the Issues (continued) |
Break-out rooms with CURE Mentors
|
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Week 6TH, April 22 |
UN SDG Research Project |
Overview of Sustainability Project (Dr. McLaughlin; 15 minutes) Breakout Rooms – Student CURE Groups with Assigned Mentors (1 hour 45 min)
|
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Week 7TH, April 29 |
FINAL Oral Presentations |
Student CURE Group Presentations (Dr. McLaughlin; 6 groups; 10 minutes = 60 min) Best Presentation Award (Drs. Fadigan and Verga; 15 min) Class Reflection (Drs. McLaughlin and Moza; 15 min) Post-program Assessment (Dr. Laura Cruz; 30 min) |
|
Course Calendar (field)
See full trip itinerary for more details and logistics.
Additional Activities |
Additional Notes |
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Week 1 |
Research Preparation |
Cultural highlights tour |
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Week 2 |
Field Research |
Service-Learning Project; Panel |
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Panel Discussion 1 |
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Week 3 |
Oral Presentations |
Panel Discussion 2 |
Evaluation Methods
Scoring Rubric for Select Pre-Field Assignments, Field Notebook, and Post-Field Assignment
Level of Achievement |
General Approach |
Content/Thoroughness |
Exemplary |
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Adequate |
|
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Needs Improvement |
|
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Poor or No Answer |
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Scoring Rubric
Scoring Rubric for Oral Field Research Presentations (PDF)
Scoring Rubric for Journal Prompts (PDF)
Penn State University letter grade equivalents:
94-100 |
A |
90-94 |
A- |
87-89 |
B+ |
84-87 |
B |
80-83 |
B- |
75-79 |
C+ |
70-75 |
C |
60-69 |
D |
0-59 |
F |
All assignments will be posted in Canvas. Overall, assignments should be typed and submitted according to the format outlined on the assignment sheet. Late assignments will be docked 10% per day.
University Policies
Academic integrity Statement
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University’s Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students’ dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts.
Academic integrity includes a commitment by all members of the University community not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.
Penn State Academic Integrity Policy
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Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contact information for every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit Student Disability Resources website.
In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation: See documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
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Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional wellbeing. The university offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings. These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients’ cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity and sexual orientation.
Counseling and Psychological Services at University Park (CAPS) : 814-863-0395
Counseling and Psychological Services at Commonwealth Campuses
Penn State Crisis Line (24 hours/7 days/week): 877-229-6400
Crisis Text Line (24 hours/7 days/week): Text LIONS to 741741
EDUCATIONAL EQUITY/REPORT BIAS STATEMENTS
Consistent with University Policy AD29, students who believe they have experienced or observed a hate crime, an act of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment that occurs at Penn State are urged to report these incidents as outlined on the University’s Report Bias webpage.
