PrintThe Future of Food
This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the document or by clicking on any of the links below to “jump” to a specific section.
- Course Overview
- Required Course Materials
- Assignments and Grading
- Course Schedule
- Technical Requirements
- Course Policies
Course Overview
The Future of Food is an introductory-level science course that emphasizes the challenges facing food systems in the 21st century, and issues of sustainability for agriculture and other food production activities as well as the challenges posed by food insecurity and modern diets to human health and well-being. Topics covered include introduction to the coupled-system perspective, historical development of food systems, socio-economic aspects of the food system, interaction of the food system with the earth's environment including soil, water, biota and climate, and the future of the food system considering potential changes such as in climate, urbanization, and demography.
Course Objectives
When you successfully complete this course, you will be prepared to:
- Analyze the land, biological, energy and water resources and climatic conditions in relation to food production systems.
- Analyze how human food systems significantly alter earth's ecosystems, landscapes, surface processes, atmosphere and waterways.
- Evaluate scenarios for the future of food considering resilience in the context of climate change, human population growth and socio-economic, cultural and policy factors.
Class Format
The Future of Food is blended or hybrid course, meaning that a portion of the course material is found online and we will only meet one day per week in person. You must be comfortable working in CMU’s learning management system (LMS), which is called D2L. The weekly in-person class session is referred to as a “lab” session in much of the course material. During the lab session, you will be actively participating in exercises and activities, many of which will involve group work. Outside of class, you will be expected to read articles, watch videos and complete assignments to be prepared to actively participate in the weekly lab session.
The course developers have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. The Internet may still be a novel learning environment for you, but in one sense it is no different from a traditional college class: how much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you. You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule and if you take advantage of opportunities to communicate with your instructor as well as with your fellow students.
Expectations
In general at CMU, you should expect to spend a minimum of THREE hours per week for every credit hour. That totals to NINE hours per week for a three-credit course. The Future of Food is a blended or hybrid course, so you will only have 75 minutes in class. You should expect to spend a minimum of seven hours and 45 minutes outside of class per week. Your workload may be more or less depending on your study habits.
Required Course Materials
The course relies heavily on readings provided online through our course website, and selected readings. The reading assignments for each module are listed in the course schedule below. Additional citations for further reading are also provided in each module
Assignments
This course will rely on a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:
- Formative Assessments will be completed as you read the materials and will be due on Sunday before the weekly lab meeting
- Summative Assessments will be completed in the weekly lab meeting and due at the following weekly lab meeting
- Capstone activity will be introduced in the Orientation and at the end of the first Section (Module 2)
- Weekly Quizzes will cover course material for the week's module and will be taken in D2L and due on Thursday after the weekly lab meeting
- Weekly Blogs will enable you to think about what you have learned (see Course Blogs in Orientation) and will be due on Thursday after the weekly lab meeting
It is important that your work be submitted in the proper format to the appropriate Drop Box or Discussion Forum and by the designated due date. We strongly advise that you not wait until the last minute to complete these assignments—give yourself time to ask questions, think things over, and chat with others. You'll learn more, do better...and be happier!
Due dates for all assignments are posted in D2L and below. Please make sure you are aware of the weekly deadlines.
Grading
| Assignment | Percent of Grade |
|---|---|
| Formative Assessments in Web Modules | 15% |
| Summative Assessments in Web Modules (written and oral assignments, discussion) | 25% |
| Weekly Quizzes | 15% |
| Capstone Activity | 25% |
| Blogs | 10% |
| Class Participation | 10% |
Bonus Credit
There will be bonus credit of 2% for taking the two surveys at the beginning of the course (the Pre GLE and SERC surveys) and the end of the course (the Post GLE and SERC surveys - a total of four surveys). The surveys do take time and thought. To receive this credit, you must answer all questions, including providing thoughtful answers to the post course essay questions. There is no partial credit given, you must complete all four surveys. To receive this credit, you must also submit a signed consent letter in the course dropbox.
Your scores for all assignments will be kept current in the Course Management System.
| Letter Grade | Percentages |
|---|---|
| A | 90 - 100 % |
| B | 80 - 89.9 % |
| C | 70 - 79.9 % |
| D | 60 - 69.9 % |
| F | < 60 % |
GEOG 3 Course Schedule
Printable Schedule
Below you will find a summary of the primary learning activities for this course and the associated time frames. This course is sixteen weeks in length, with an orientation week preceding the official start of the course. There are 12 weeks of material each involving a lab meeting. Modules are one week long. Since you work in teams, lab meeting attendance is Mandatory. You will lose credit for absence.
Class meeting time is Tuesday from 2-3:15 pm.
Weekly schedule: Assignments are due as in the table below:
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Sunday |
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Mesa Formative Assessments Due |
Colorado Mesa Lab Meeting 2-3.15PM Colorado Mesa Summative Assessments from Previous Week Due |
Colorado Mesa Quiz and Blogs Due |
| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics |
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| Readings |
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
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| Topics |
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
| Dates | Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Module 2.1: Origin of farming as co-evolution and coupled human-nature interactions
Module 2.2: Development and spread of agriculture
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Module 3.1: Soil basics
Module 3.2: N and P on the global and local food system stage
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
| Dates |
Due dates on LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics |
Module 4.1: Water Resources and Food Production
Module 4.2: Impacts of Food Production on Water Resources
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics | Module 5.1: Geoscience Literacy
Module 5.2:
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics | Module 6.1: Understanding Global Climate Change and Food Systems
Module 6.2: Food production in a changing climate
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics | Module 7.1: Cropping Systems and Soil Quality
Module 7.2: Conservation Agriculture: A Systems Approach |
| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
|---|---|
| Topics | Module 8.1: Food Systems
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
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| Topics | Module 9.1: Resilience, Adaptive Capacity, and Vulnerability (RACV) and Biodiversity in Agri-Food Systems (Agrobiodiversity)
Module 9.2
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
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| Topics |
Module 10.1
Module 10.2
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| Readings |
Materials on the course website and the following:
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| Assignments |
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| Dates |
Due dates are in LMS. |
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Due dates are in LMS. |
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Due dates are in LMS. |
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Technical Requirements
For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the World Campus Technical Requirements (link is external) page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk (link is external) (for World Campus students) or the ITS Help Desk (link is external) (for students at all other campus locations).
Course Policies
Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities:
In coordination with Educational Access Services at Colorado-Mesa, reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified students with disabilities. Students must register with the EAS office to receive assistance. Please meet with the instructor the first week of class for information and/or contact Dana VandeBurgt, the Coordinator of Educational Access Services, directly by phone at 970-248-1801, or in person in Houston Hall, Suite 108.
Academic Integrity
Students will be held to a high standard of academic integrity and as such are expected to “do their own work” in accordance with the Colorado Mesa University Academic Policies Guide statement on Academic Integrity. Representing someone else’s work as your own, that is, without proper citation or acknowledgment is considered plagiarism. In other words, it is not acceptable to copy a classmate’s work, or anyone else’s work from the web, a book, magazine, newspaper, journal, etc. A report will be filed with the Vice President of Academic Affairs for any confirmed case of plagiarism.
Inclement Weather
Students should check MAVZone, the university website, or local news media. Campus emergencies, including weather delays, are communicated to MAVzone, cellphones (via text or voice message), CMU email, the CMU Facebook page, and CMU’s Twitter feed via the CMU Emergency Notification System (Sign up Emergency Notification System). In case of weather-related delays, the online portions of the course (scheduled assignments and readings) will proceed as planned, unless otherwise noted by the instructors.
Late/Missed Class Policy
Class meetings and activities constitute an important part of the class - they are the forum in which you apply concepts from the web modules to relevant questions of water behavior, availability, quality, and societal impacts. Unless specifically approved by the instructors in advance, there will not be opportunities to make up missed in-class activities, discussions, or assignments.
D2L Course Site: Lecture materials, reading assignments, and quizzes will be on D2L. To access D2L, go to Mavzone and log in using your assigned username and password. Click on the D2L icon in the center of your Mavzone page. Once in D2L, select GEOL 196 from your Select a course… menu. If you have problems getting this far, please contact the CMU help desk (248-2111, helpdesk@coloradomesa.edu, or go to the computer lab in the library).
Tutorial Learning Center (TLC) in HH 113
The TLC is a FREE academic service for all Colorado Mesa University students. Tutors are available on a walk-in basis for many courses. At the main campus, come to Houston Hall 113 to meet with a peer tutor. The TLC is open on Monday through Thursday from 8am-6pm, and Fridays from 8am-5pm, and Sundays from 1pm-6pm. Tutoring at branch campuses and distance tutoring is also available. Check out the website for schedules and locations at the Tutoring Learning Center or call 970-248-1392 with any questions.
Disclaimer
Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Changes will be posted to the course discussion forum.