Listed above is information about where and when I can be contacted. I'm frequently on campus and I generally don't mind talking to you outside of my office hours (if I don't have a meeting to attend in the next few minutes). If you come to my office during the last 10 minutes of the office hour, you'll not have my full attention because I'll need to leave soon to set up for my next class.

If you leave me an e-mail message, I will try to return it promptly. Please keep me informed about significant events that affect your attendance in class. I tend to work with students who keep me informed; otherwise, I'm not very forgiving about students missing important class meetings. If you need to talk to someone on the main campus when I am not around, contact the Earth, Space, and Aviation Sciences Office at (760) 744-1150 ext. 2512. Brenda, the department secretary, is on campus weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I truly believe that each student determines his or her own grade. In reality, I'm not the main factor in the outcome of your grade—you are. I encourage you to work hard to achieve the grade that you want, and to utilize me as your instructor to help facilitate your learning. This course is hard work but I will try my best to make the course interesting and worthwhile. I love teaching and I'm interested in helping you learn about the science of oceanography.

Textbooks and Other Supplies

Since I am the lead author for the textbook for this course, I will rely extensively on material from the textbook. Textbooks should be brought to each class meeting (to refer to figures in the text as they are discussed in class), as well as a few colored pencils or colored markers (for annotating drawings done in class).

In addition, there are two recommended books for this course: (1) a geography coloring book and (2) a world atlas. The geography coloring book is fun to work on and will help you with the geographic locations you'll need to know for this course. The atlas is a handy size but if you already own a good world atlas, you won't need to buy a new one. Books can be purchased either at the on-campus bookstore or at Campus Books just west of the main campus on Mission Road.

There will be these opportunities to earn points (subject to change):

All exams will cover two chapters in the textbook and will consist of a total of 30 multiple choice, matching, and true-false questions that will be submitted on a scan-tron answer sheet. You'll need to bring a scan-tron (#882, 100 questions) and a #2 pencil to each exam. Beginning in the third week of the semester, we will have an exam every other week during the last 20 minutes of class (see schedule below). The final exam is comprehensive and will contain material covered from all parts of the course. Your lowest exam score will be dropped without it adversely affecting your grade (which may represent an absence); therefore, there will be no make-up exams.

Internet assignments will relate to topics covered in class and consist of a project to be completed outside of normal class time. These assignments require you to have Internet access either at home or at any publicly available place (such as at Palomar’s library). The Internet assignments will be posted at my Website and you must e-mail me the assignment by the due date. The due date of each Internet assignment will vary; generally, you’ll have about one week to complete each one.

The writing assignment will consist of writing a short (at least 3 page) paper about a topic in oceanography of your choosing using 5 current articles. More details about this assignment will be given in class.

During the semester, you will receive several handouts from me. I will have the handout for the class meeting that the handout is used, and then for one more class meeting. After that time, it is your responsibility to get any handouts from another student for any missed class. In addition, it is your responsibility to get any notes and assignments from another student for any missed class. 　

Grades will be assigned based on a total of 400 points with these cutoffs:

I may lower this grading scale for your benefit, but I will not raise it. I don't have a problem giving out a lot of high grades, as long as students are willing to work for them.

There will be a few opportunities to earn extra credit points during the semester. In the past, extra credit points have be awarded for attending talks given by speakers, for participating in beach clean-up days, for reviewing a chapter in the textbook or the companion website, for computer projects, for in-class quizzes, and for other oceanography-related activities. Class attendance is important for knowing when extra credit opportunities become available (no make-ups on any missed extra credit!).

Class time is valuable to me and I try to make efficient use of the time we have together. I highly recommend that you attend class regularly—you won't be able to succeed in this class if you don't. Please arrive on time for class meetings. Beginning the second week of the semester, I will enforce a "2-minute rule"—don't disturb the class by arriving more than 2 minutes late.

Also, you’ll need to be well prepared when you come to class. This means bringing supplies that will be used that day and reading the required material beforehand. We will be doing several group projects in class together so you’ll be working with classmates on a regular basis. Since your group will depend on you doing your part, your group will not be happy if you are not prepared and they may decide to work with others.

I encourage you to ask questions in class, but unnecessary talking will not be allowed. I'm not so concerned about your lack of attention in class, but I know that your talking does bother other students who are here trying to learn. In addition, it annoys other students when you rustle papers and notebooks trying to get ready to leave near the end of class time. Don't worry, I will let you out of class on time. Only rarely will you ever get out of class early. Also, please turn off your cell phone or other electronic device before you arrive in class; otherwise, if it rings or is used during class time, it becomes my property for an undetermined period of time.

Only students who are officially registered may participate in this class. If you are given a permission code to add this class, you must officially add the class prior to the next class meeting. If you have difficulty using the college's computerized enrollment system to add, please notify the instructor immediately. The deadline for adding any class or using a permission code to add is the end of the second week of classes. Under no circumstance will students be allowed to add this class after the add deadline.

Field trips are not offered in conjunction with the lecture portion of this course. However, the optional one-unit Oceanography 100 Lab course is very field-oriented and I would encourage you to enroll in the lab course concurrently (during the same semester that you take the lecture). Many former students comment on how much taking the lab concurrently facilitates their success in lecture.

Course Schedule (tentative): TTh 11:45 class

Don't hesitate to contact me to discuss any questions you may have about the course. Welcome aboard!