GE-004-078, GEO 100, World Regional Geography

General Education Course – Area D3

CALIFORNIASTATEPOLYTECHNICUNIVERSITY, POMONA

ACADEMIC SENATE

GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

REPORT TO

THE ACADEMIC SENATE

GE-004-078

GEO 100, World Regional Geography

General Education Course – Area D3

General Education CommitteeDate: 7/2/08

Executive Committee

Received and ForwardedDate:7/9/08

Academic SenateDate:7/16/08

First Reading

10/1/08

Second Reading

BACKGROUND:

“World Regional Geography” is offered at many Cal State Universities, as well as at community colleges with a geography program. Additionally, the introduction of this course at Cal Poly Pomona would allow transfer students to obtain course credit.

RESOURCES CONSULTED:

Dr. Terence Young, Dr. Dale Turner, Dr. Dorothy Wills, Dr. Claudia Pinter-Lucke

REVIEW:

This course has been considered by the GE Committee in two consecutive years. It had been approved in the GE committee in 2006/2007. In this academic year, GE committee members have asked for specific information that justifies approving this class as an area D3 offering. Several revisions were supplied by the course author, particularly as relates to course assessment, and those revisions are reflected in the accompanying Extended Course Outline.

RECOMMENDATION:

The GE Committee voted 8-0-1 to approve this course, and now forwards it to the Academic Senate for approval.

Extended COURSE OUTLINE

I.Catalog Description

GEO 100 World Regional Geography (4)

The world’s major regions and the ways people live in them. Includes the regions’ physical and cultural characteristics, their similarities and differences, levels of development, geopolitics, and population dynamics. Emphasis on current major issues and their geographic contexts and impacts. 4 lecture-discussions. Meets GE requirement in Area D3 for non-majors.

II.Required Background or Experience

None

III.Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:

Demonstrate an awareness of the major regions of the world, and significant places and patterns within those regions
Identify absolute and relative locations of significant places
Identify major current trends in the region’s political economy, cultural change, and environmental issues
Compare and contrast regions based on their physical, political, economic, and social characteristics as evidenced in their cultural landscapes
Identify regions and major sub-regions on thematic maps and interpret information from them about the spatial distribution of phenomena
Demonstrate knowledge of major geographic issues and trends in the contemporary world
Identify on maps major physiographic divisions of the continents
Distinguish developed and developing regions and nations based on economic, political, and social indicators
Identify types of globalization trends and processes operating on the global scale using spatial indicators
Compare and contrast population distributions and growth/contraction trends among regions and major representative countries
Recognize the forces of diversity and ethnic identity at work in regions that counter globalization trends and cause devolution
Compare the status of indigenous peoples, women, and minority populations in a regional cultural context
Articulate the attributes of culture that commonly distinguish cultural regions: language, religion, ethnicity, traditions, and social relations
Identify global environmental change concerns and trends in the inter-regional context of the strongly interconnected Earth system, including global warming, land degradation, air and water quality, and natural hazards
Evaluate different approaches to regional study and methods of geographic observation.

IV.Instructional Materials

Required Textbook (Typically one of the following):

Harm J. de Blij and Peter O. Muller. 2005. Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 12th Edition. NY: Wiley

Joseph J. Hobbs and Christopher L. Salter. 2005. Essentials of World Regional Geography, 5th Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks Cole

Sallie A. Marston, Paul L. Knox, and Diana M. Liverman. 2005. World Regions in Global Context: Peoples, Places, and Environments, 2nd Edition. NY: Prentice Hall

Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher and Alex Pulsipher. 2005. World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives, 3rd Edition. NY: W.H. Freeman

Lester Rowntree, Martin Lewis, Marie Price, and William Wyckoff. 2006. Diversity amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development, 3rd Edition. NY: Prentice Hall

V.Minimum Student Material

No special materials required.

VI.MinimumCollege Facilities

A smart classroom with an Internet connection, computer projector, and wall maps.

Course Outline

Regional Concept and types of regions
Regional approaches in geographic study
Formal and functional regions
Physical elements in regional definitions
Cultural components in regional definitions
Themes in regional geography
Basics of space, place and location
Scale concepts and map utilization
The natural environment: climate, landforms and biota
The cultural landscape
Diversity and Globalization
Shifting population and settlement patterns
Cultural coherence and the challenge of diversity
The geopolitical framework
The spatial unevenness of economic and social development
Global Environmental Issues
Human settlement on a restless Earth
Global climate change
Water scarcity and pollution
Human impacts on plants and animals
Food resources and security
Survey of world regions and their current issues
North America
Latin America and the Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
Southwest Asia and North Africa
Europe
Central Asia
East Asia
South Asia
Australia and Oceania

VIII.Instructional Methods

Lectures and discussions
Information presentation and analysis using maps, slides, and videos
Extensive use of the Internet to supplement readings
Student presentations

IX.Outcomes Assessment

Assignments, direct evaluations and an assessment evaluation meeting will be utilized to assess the extent to which students meet the educational outcomes specified for the course. Assessment of Area D3 GE objectives is in italics. Expected Outcomes addressed are underlined.

Typical assignments
Out-of-class mapping of sub-regions, physical features, cultural regions and urban centers. Ability to connect sometimes fragmented information from different portions of the world and to then draw meaningful conclusions.III a, b, e, g
Preparation of an in-class, oral presentation on a region, which may include audio-visual components; maps, charts and diagrams; and, computer-based learning resources. Hone understanding of regions as they relate to economic, social, political and historical institutions; acquire tools for deeper understanding of current and past regions. III a, c, e, l, m, n
Essays on researched regional environmental or cultural issues. Gain in depth knowledge of a world region other than one’s own – adds multidimensional, global and cross-cultural perspective to understanding of one region in relation to another. III c, h, I, j, k, l, m, n, o
Supplemental reading assignments from newspapers or periodical literature (either in print or on-line). Acquire habit of understanding the dynamic, constantly shifting nature of a regionalized world. III d, f, h, I, k
Direct evaluation
Performance based evaluations structured around regional units (e.g., Latin America) and principal geographic concepts. Designed to probe holistic understanding of a region in relation to the larger world and to the world’s other regions. III a, b, c, d, e, f, g, j, m, n
Midterm and final exams
Quizzes
Map quizzes
Instructor may choose to evaluate student in-class presentation(s) to assess student understanding of regional approaches to geographic knowledge as well as ability to clearly organize and express key information on regional attributes III d, f, h, I, k, l, n, o
Participation in class activities and discussions III b, d, e, g, I, j, l, n, o
Assessment evaluation meeting
General meeting of course instructors to evaluate whether instruction, assignments and direct evaluations are achieving expected outcomes and to adjust each as necessary