CLASS PROJECTS

Global Change – Sustainability

Inthisclassyouwill choose a class project tobedoneina group of three people fromyour labsection. The project is a way for you to investigate andlearnabouttopicsinGlobal Change andSustainability that most interest you.There arethreemain parts to theproject, which willbedone in a progression through the semester:TheProject Proposal, the Project Draft, and theFinal Presentation and Paper.There willbe two lab periods duringthesemesterdedicated toworking on your projects in groups.

I.Project Proposal:

1.Names and email addressesofallgroup members

2.What topic you will explore inyour final group project

3.Tentativetitleofyourproject

4.What research question you will answer with your project

5.What is your predicted answer totheresearchquestionyouhaveposed?

6.Draw aconceptual model (similar to a Stella model butwithout the equations) of yourtopic. Consider the scale of the project, the variables that interact, andthecausalrelations(causesandeffects).

7.Onlyonepersoninyourgroupshouldturninthe assignment.

8.Includeanannotated bibliographyofat least 3-5 literaturesourcesyouwilluse. Thisshould be set up like a reference section, with1sentenceaftereachsourceexplaining how it will be used in your project. Use only original research publishedinpeer-reviewedjournals (*see below formore guidance on this).

* Note: Look at thecitation guidefor helpand instructions and formatting.

II.ProjectDraft

Your group's assignment is to develop a draft paperonyourapprovedtopicforyourtermproject.Your group's work should be focused around one main hypothesis or question. Thismain assertion may be partially guided by your opinions, whichyouwillneedto support withrelevant examples and findings fromyour research. In this draft,youshouldincludeatitle,an objectiveorquestion,ahypothesis,andbackground information. Your objective or questionneedstobenarrowenoughsothatitcanbeanswered by your research and your Stella modeling.Your hypothesis is a statement of what you expect tofind,anditshouldbebasedonthebackground information thatyouprovidethroughyour research on the topic your group haschosen.

Thispaperwillbeworth25points.ALL members ofyour group should submit this assignmenton CTools as a Worddocument, 2-page (minimum) single-spaced, size 12 font, excludingimages and references. Your paper must include the following headings and content.

  • Introduction-Whyisthisprojectimportant?Whatisthecontextofthisprojecttothebiggerpicture?Whatisyourhypothesisorquestion?Whatisyourprediction?Whyhaveyoupredictedthis?
  • Thinkabouttheupside-downtriangle,startbroadandgetnarrow.

  • EXAMPLE:Globallyamphibiansaredeclining….(Large part ofthe
  • triangle)IntheUS,thisishappening….(Middle)Ourcasestudywillexplore….(Narrow)
  • Methods–Howandwheredidyougetyourinformation?
  • Results and Discussion-Discusstheevidenceyouhavefoundtosupportordiscredityourhypothesis.Whathaveothersfound?Whichsideoftheargumentdoyoufavor?Whatevidencedoyouhavetosupportyourtake?Thisisthesectionfororiginalanalysisandcriticalthinking.
  • Implications-Nowthatweknowwhat'sgoingonwithourresearchtopic,whyisitimportant,whatdoesitmean,andhowmightitrelatetoissuesofsustainability?Whydowecare?
  • Solutions-Whattypesofthingscouldbedonetosolvetheproblem?
  • Conclusions-Recapswhatyouhavefound,howitrelatestoyourhypothesisandtheoveralltakeawaypoint.

The draft paper will be graded on the structureandcontentdescribed above, andconsideringthefollowing:

Formatting

-Essay, paragraph and sentence structure

-Spelling and grammar

-Formatting: no broken links or images, font should be legible

-Heading requirements see above (Introduction,Methods…)

-Include your names,E-mail addresses,and section number on title page

Complete Draft StellaModelandexplanation

-Functional model

-Results of initial model runs

-Identified problems with your model and plans on how to resolve them

Supporting Information

-Include one or moreinformative images, diagrams, or tablesthat support your research. -

-Thesedatacanlaterbeused in your presentation.

Citations

-Use 3-5 high-quality citations, with AT LEAST 3 fromoriginal researchpublishedinpeer-reviewedjournals(seebelow).

-Consistentlyadheretostandardrulesofcitingreferencesinaseparatereferencesection,andusein-textcitations.

-Referencesshouldsupporttheproject’spurposeand arguments.

-Finding sources of information and formatting ofcitationsshouldfollowthe citation guide.

ANYPAPERWITHEVIDENCEOF"CUTANDPASTE"FROMTHEWEBWILLBE

GIVEN A ZERO, unless it is a direct quote that is properly cited. This will be checked. See LSA’s Academic Integrity Guide for moreinformation.

III.Final Presentation andPaper

On the lastday of lab sections, each group will present theirresearchand turn inafinaldraftofyourresearchpaper,whichwill include allthe elements of your draft paper and will integrateyourfinalmodelresultsand discussion of how the modelhelps youunderstandandexplainyourglobalchangetopic.

The final paper will be gradedonthestructureandcontentdescribedinthedraftpaperinstructions(Introduction,Methods,Results, Implications, andConclusion)andconsideringthefollowing:

Formatting

-Essay, paragraph and sentence structure

-Spelling and grammar

-Formatting: no broken links, font should be legible

-Heading requirements see above (Introduction,Methods…)

-Include your names,E-mail addresses,and section number on title page

Complete Draft StellaModelandexplanation

-Include the following for your model description and results:

  • How the model complements your project theme
  • How the variables in the model are pertinent to the problem studied
  • Include a description of the general relational structure between variables
  • What were the assumptions for your model (e.g. how well are the physical mechanisms represented by your model)?
  • A screen shot of the final model.
  • A summary of the model results, and finally the citations.
  • Functional model
  • Results of final model runs – only include runs whichillustratean important resultorconclusion
  • Reflectiononhowwellyour model workedandrelatedtotherealworldproblem

Supporting Information

Include one or moreinformativeimages,diagrams, or tables that supportyourresearch.

Citations

-Use 3-5 high-quality citations, with AT LEAST 3 fromoriginal researchpublishedinpeer-reviewed journals (see below).

-Consistentlyadheretostandardrulesofcitingreferencesinaseparatereferencesection,and use in-text citations.

-Referencesshouldsupporttheproject’spurposeand arguments.

-Finding sources of information and formatting ofcitationsshouldfollowthe citation guide.

ANYPAPERWITHEVIDENCEOF"CUTANDPASTE"FROMTHEWEBWILLBE

GIVEN A ZERO, unless it is a direct quote that is properly cited. This will be checked. See LSA’s Academic Integrity Guide for moreinformation.

The final presentationwill be graded following thisrubric.

HowtoGetan‘A’ontheFinalGCTermProject:tipsandguidelinesreiteratingtheaboveinstructions andrubric

IN GENERAL:

  • HaveagreatapprovedtopicthatisrelevanttoGC
  • YOUMUSThaveanobvioushypothesis– question and prediction,
  • BeSpecific.Wearetestingthehypothesisthat…..
  • Giveyourhypothesisearlyintheessay.
  • Showevidenceofcriticalthinkingandoriginalanalysis
  • Weareinterestedinyourtakeonthings,notjustareiterationofothers’ideas.Onceyouhaveresearchedalltheangles,whichsideoftheargumentdoyoufavor?
  • Thisshouldtaketheformofcompilingoranalyzingdatafromyour sourcesinExcelorSTELLAtosupportyourargument.
  • Useinformativeimages,diagramsortables(properlycited)
  • WeHIGHLYencourageusingSTELLAmodelsandusingExcelgraphswhereappropriate.
  • Need to referencetablesandfiguresintext.Figuresneedfiguredescriptions,i.e.Table.1:Compilationofxxx,yyyandzzz.
  • Wewouldhighlyrecommendthatyoucreate anoutlineofyourprojecttohelpstructureyourthoughts.

FORMATTING:

  • Properessay,paragraphandsentencestructure
  • Correctspellingandgrammar
  • Paragraphsneedastrongtopicsentence. Makesuresubsequentsentencesinparagraphflowwiththetopicsentence.
  • Useheadingsforyourpapersections

REFERENCES:

  • Usehigh-quality citationsfromoriginalresearch.
  • Thisisasciencecourseand wethinkthisisCRITICAL.
  • Yourgradewillsufferifyourreferencesarebadorareinthewrongformat.
  • ASKifyoudon’tknowwhetherarticlesarepeer reviewed
  • BriefingsandNewsarticlesshould beusedSPARINGLY. Theydonotcount as peerreviewedarticles.

WaystodriveyourGSInutsandgetapoorgradeontheproject

  • Don’tusespellcheck

  • Havesentencefragmentsorrun-on sentences
  • Usetoomanyquotes
  • Havebrokenlinks
  • Havelinksto e-journals thatwe can’t access because you got to it with your uniquenameand password – BROKEN LINKS
  • Citeprintedjournalsase-journals
  • Makeushuntforyourhypothesis(QuestionandPrediction)orworsedon’thaveone
  • UsepoorreferenceslikeHighTimes,VegetarianTimesorotherrandomwebpagesfromJoeSchmo.
  • Copyother peoples’ work