Agricultural Science Curriculum

 

AGSC 100: AGRICULTURE (Writing Enhanced)

T.E. Marshall, Ph.D.
3078 Magruder Hall
785-4281
temarsh@truman.edu


CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION

A study of the structure and function of agricultural systems with emphasis on agricultural science and on the consequences for humanity and the environment of using science and technology in agriculture. Includes laboratory. May not be taken as an elective by agriculture majors.

PREREQUISITES

None

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

The objectives of this course are to teach knowledge, skills, and attitudes which Truman State University believes are essential for a liberally educated person. John R. Kirk, the fourth President of our institution, said: "Education in agriculture is an essential utility because it is the only means of furnishing adequate conceptions of the fundamental occupation of mankind upon which all other occupations now depend and forever must depend; but education in agriculture is also a basis of true culture and refinement. . . by use of agriculture we hope not only to further enrich the curriculum but to strengthen it as a whole and bring its elements into unity."

Specific objectives for the course are as follows:

1. To teach science and scientific method through the study of agriculture. To ask students to consider the social and environmental consequences of using science and technology. To help students learn how to obtain scientific and technical information.
2. To provide students with information about how food is produced and delivered. Educated people should know where their food comes from, how it arrives to them, and how to ensure a sustainable supply.
3. To provide students with hands-on experiences which show them the connectedness of what they learn in lecture or in reading with what happens in the real world.
4. To ask students to think carefully about their own values and the values of other people with respect to land, water, livestock, and people and to ask students to consider the plight of hungry people and the difficulties of feeding them.
5. To provide students with an interdisciplinary course which asks them to integrate and use knowledge from the humanities, science, and social science to study a single topic, agriculture.
6. To provide students with further practice in problem solving.

EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

1. Three examinations (total of 300 points)
2. One group project (total of 200 points)
   • Hypotheses (0 points)
   • Written and oral proposals (50 points)
   • Written and oral reports (150 points)
3. One comprehensive final examination (100 points)
4. Laboratory reports (total of 100 points; due one week after completion of laboratory)
5. Short papers (total of 100 points)

Final grades will be awarded on a straight scale. There are 800 total points possible; minimum points for an "A" will be 720, for a "B" 640, for a "C" 560, for a "D" 480.

All deadlines and examination dates must be met unless you have prior approval from me for alternative deadlines or dates. Failure to meet a deadline or an examination date without prior approval will result in zero points for the activity.

WRITING ENHANCED COMPONENT

The writing components of my course include the following:

1. Research Proposal: 3-5 pages (lab group project)
2. Final Research Report: 5 to 8 pages (lab group project)
3. Five Short Papers: 2 to 3 pages each (individual). You must read all papers but turn in 4 of the 5 papers. You get to drop 1.

The course therefore includes 16 - 26 pages of revised prose. I have found that writing can often lead to clearer understanding of the subject. The short paper assignments ask students to read an article and then to discuss how the author supports his/her claims. Students are also asked to discuss whether the evidence used by the author was convincing to them. These short papers (400-600 words) force the students to be clear and concise and in the process clarify the subject for the student.
My goal is to improve both the math and writing skills of students. I view math and prose in much the same way. Both are attempts to describe patterns: math uses symbols, prose uses words. When done well, both can be beautiful, or eloquent. Being eloquent involves using the fewest number of variables and constants (words) in the simplest function (argument) to describe the pattern or relationship fully and precisely. I am not arguing that math is just another language; it is not. It is language and logic combined. Language can and often is used without logic. You can not do math without logic; if you do, it is not math. What I can help students most with in their writing is to help them improve the reasoning or logic in their writing.

The writing assignments include both individual and group assignments. These group assignments have some distinct advantages: 1) students in the group collaborate with each other; 2) students in the group learn from each other and; 3) peer pressure within groups to "carry one's own weight' is so significant that it might be considered the fifth fundamental force in nature, right behind the strong nuclear force in terms of relative strength. To help me improve the writing/reasoning skills of students, I have been involved in Writing Across the Curriculum for the past four years; I seek approval for AGSC 100 as a writing-enhanced lab science course.