Department of Marine Science | Academics | Courses | MAR 689

MAR 689:
Seminar in Marine Science
Fall Semester, 2003

Instructor: Dr. D. G. Redalje; office hours are by appointment

Course Description: This seminar course will focus on the exploration and discussion of current topics in Marine Science through analysis and presentation of recent or important scientific publications. Over the semester, students will be responsible for synthesizing and presenting the material in one or more papers from the literature which focus on some aspect of the interrelationships between Marine Science and Societal Issues. This is, admittedly, a very broad set of issues. Because of this, there will be no difficulties linking your background and interests to some “science and society” issue. Students should note that the presentation is not meant to be a “report of the paper.” It should, however, be presentation of the concept or topic reported in the paper. The scientific paper is meant to be one example of how Oceanographers address “this particular science and society topic.” The presenter will lead a class discussion of the material; all students will be expected to actively participate in the class discussions. Each student will be responsible for reading the paper(s) prior to the class meeting so that they can make informed contributions to the discussion.

A second goal of the seminar class will be to address the style and format of the scientific paper(s) chosen for presentation. Students will focus on the figures and tables in the papers and address how effective the authors were a presenting data and results. In addition students will address whether or not the authors adequately supported stated conclusions through their use of figures, tables and discussion sections.

Because of the size of the class this semester (11 or so students), each student will present paper(s)/ topic(s) only 1 time for the whole 1.5 hour class session. For the last day of class we will have a group discussion of all that we have learned over the course of the semester.

Grading:

Grading for this class will be based on effectiveness of presentation and participation in the discussions. To reiterate, grading will be based, in part, on the degree to which students participate in the discussion each week.

The grading breakdown will be:

50% on presentations
50% on participation in discussions

ADA Compliance:

If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical impairments, or chronic health disorders. Students should contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies. Box 8568; Telephone (601) 266-5024; TTY (601) 266-6837; Fax (601) 266-6035.

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Last modified: August 1, 2005 11:54 AM | The University of Southern Mississippi | Comments and Questions
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