[Shananaghens]

I took this class in Fall of 2009 with John Maclachlan, and absolutely loved it. Three lectures a week, a lab slot once a week, and a mandatory field trip to a couple various areas in Hamilton (no cost). There is a textbook required, which is pretty handy for learning more information to add to your notes.

This class offers a variety of topics, starting with Plate Techtonics, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, dating and identifying rocks, glaciers and ice, and ending with erosion. Lots of interesting subtopics inbetween, I found it all very interesting (although, I am in the program).

John Maclachlan is an amazing professor - very comical and great to listen to, really makes the material interesting and easy to understand. He does not supply notes on ELM, only lecture outlines which just list what topics we're covering - I found taking full inclass notes was more effective than filling in the blanks because writing down the information made it stick more.

Evaluation breakdown:
Labs (6 @ 5%) 30%
Quizzes (2 @ 5%) 10%
Midterm (Thurs. Oct 15th) 20%
Final Exam 40%

The labs are extremely easy, all done in class and very hands on - my favourite lab was rock identification. The TA's are great, very helpful - I had Steve, who was super nice.

The quizzes are lecture notes based, with a couple questions you need to find external sources for (ie. about a specific mountain, google it) but those questions will not be on the midterm nor the exam.

The midterm was quite easy as well, this is if you go to all lectures - John likes to give out midterm/exam answers if he sees not a lot of people came to lecture, or if he's in a good mood. The test was some definitions, short answer questions and one or two 'draw the diagram'.

The exam was more complicated, still, not very hard - focusing more on the end material (lots of questions on glaciation and ice). There was no multiple choice, it was again definitions, short and long answers, and diagrams.

Overall, I'd really recommend this course as an elective - it's fun, hands on, and very interesting.

I took this class in Fall 2010 with Dr. Eyles
The material was interesting and the class didn't require a lot of work
I was a good elective with the hands on experience during labs

Hi!

Im wondering whether the mandatory field trip is during class time.. since I don't think I can afford to miss any of my other classes... since they're all math and science courses..


thx!

Originally Posted by Luckey

Hi!

Im wondering whether the mandatory field trip is during class time.. since I don't think I can afford to miss any of my other classes... since they're all math and science courses..


thx!

The trip is offered on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, so if you are worried about missing other classes you can sign up for the one on Saturday.

I took this course in Fall 2010 with Dr. Eyles as well. I actually found there was a lot to study for compared to other 'bird' courses, and the material was quite dry which made studying for it a chore. We were told if the class got over a 75% (I think) average on the midterm, than the exam wouldn't be cumulative (John said he does this every year). The midterm average was pretty low, in the 60s if I remember correctly, but I found it pretty easy to study for and was surprised when everyone did so poorly.

The labs were easy, however the reports took a long time and were tedious to complete. All the labs were marked generously and were definite boosters. The field trip was fun; make sure you pay attention and take good notes because questions about it come up on the labs, midterm and on the final.

I wouldn't recommend this course to anyone who isn't the least bit interested in Enviro Sci, although if you do spend the time studying, this course is an easy double digit.

Oh, and do NOT buy the textbook! Completely a waste of money, not sure why this course 'requires' it.

**Update course review**

I took this course in the fall of 2014 with Dr. Maureen Padden.

Content:You learn about plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, groundwater, glaciers, and alternative resources.

Lectures:I loved attending lectures! Dr. Padden is the best prof I have had thus far. She knows her stuff really well. She stops to take questions and is very nice and patient with students. She goes at a good pace, doesn't take herself too seriously, and made the content very clear. There's no iClickers or anything, just go and listen/take notes and enjoy.

Labs: There are weekly labs. You are given two hours but most labs only took me 1-1.5 hours to complete. For all labs you work with two other people. They are pretty laid back. They bring in rock and mineral samples, and you have to identify them in the lab, given criteria from the lab manual. Our T.A. was very helpful and fun and would give us hints. I couldn't tell if I loved or hated rocks by the end of these labs, but I was grateful to have hands on labs!

Field Trips: There are 2 field trips which are labs. You don't go too far. The first one is the Niagara escarpment where you use your knowledge of rocks you've studied in lab to examine the rock formations on the escarpment. The second is for the groundwater unit. We walked to this location, and one student from each group has to put on a wader and go into the stream. It was fun and challenging.

Tests: Dr. Padden is straightforward but I didn't find the tests that easy. It was mostly multiple choice with about 5 short answer, where you'd have to draw diagrams. 2 Midterms at 15% each.

Textbook: I found the online version. It was beautifully laid out, and easy to read, and really helped me solidify my understanding of concepts. I would recommend getting the textbook. I don't think Padden necessarily gets test questions from here, but it basically helps you put the pieces together if you really want to learn something in this course.

Overall, I would recommend this course. It is a good first year science course because it is hands-on, with interesting content, and you're only graded on labs, midterms, and the exam. If you have the option to have Dr. Padden, you're in for a great course!

Hi! I read your description of the course and it seems really interesting! In your opinion though, would it be a good elective (a bird course preferably)? I'm entering my 3rd year in Economics so I was wondering. Thanks