Professor: Laurie C. Anderson
Phone: 578-2153
Office: 341 Howe/Russell (Old Geology)
E-mail: laurie@geol.lsu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00-12:00
Classroom: 347 Old Geology
Time: 3:30-5:00, Tuesday & Thursday
Course objectives:
Course-content objectives are to:Expectations:
•Examine patterns and processes of evolution as discerned from the fossil record.
•Focus on a few areas of active research in paleobiology and related fields.
•Emphasize connections between evolution, ecology, and the fossil record.Non-content objectives are to practice and improve ability to:
•Critically read and evaluate scientific literature and ideas; especially those outside your area of expertise.
•Participate fully in discussions of scientific ideas.
•Write essays or papers that review and evaluate scientific ideas, or that outline a persuasive argument for or against a hypothesis.
You should expect from me:Texts:
You should expect a course that is both interesting and challenging, and an enthusiastic instructor who is about teaching. You should expect to be treated fairly, and to have your work evaluated in a timely fashion and as fairly and consistently as possible. You should expect to be provided reading assignments regularly and at least one week in advance of the discussion on that assignment.I expect:
I expect students who are excited to learn and want to be challenged. I expect you to attend class regularly, to arrive on time, to keep up with assignments, and to be an active and willing participant in discussions. I expect that you will treat everyone here with respect. We will have different types of background knowledge. Therefore, I expect that you ask questions or provide other input so that my lectures can adequately cover the information necessary for you to understand assigned readings. In addition, because we will use knowledge from many different disciplines, I hope that you can serve as a resident expert for your field of study.
We will be using selected readings from primary literature, review articles, texts, and popular science literature. Reference lists will be provided for each topic. Most references will be available in room 347.Assignments and Grades:
Midterm Exam 25%Exams:
Final Exam 25%
Paper 15%
Paper Reviews (2) 10%
Discussion questions and participation 25%
There will be two essay exams. Both are take-home exams and you will have at least a week to complete each. You may use class notes, papers on reading lists, or other reference materials when composing your essays. You may discuss questions with your classmates but essays must clearly be composed independently. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Therefore, do not copy passages from the literature unaltered or largely unaltered in your essay. Include a "references cited" section with your exam. Grading criteria for exam questions are outlined below.Paper:
Each student will write a paper on a topic chosen by the student and approved by me. The topic need not relate directly to a topic covered in the course but must in some way be geobiological. I will not require a set order of sections for the body of the paper. However, each paper must include an abstract, conclusions (not summary), and references cited. Figures, if appropriate, may be included but the source must be adequately cited. After being reviewed by two of your classmates, you will have the opportunity to revise your paper before a final grade is assigned. As with the exams, plagiarism will not be tolerated. Grading criteria for exam questions are outlined below.Paper Reviews:
Each of you will be given two of your classmates’ papers to review for content and style, and you will be graded on the quality of these reviews. I will put together a review form similar to reviewer’s instructions from journals. See class schedule for the due date for these reviews.Discussion questions and participation:
A primary goal of this class is to develop and practice skills in critically evaluating scientific literature. Therefore, informal discussions will be an important part of this course. I will introduce topics with a lecture or two, and we will further explore these topics by reading and discussing selected papers. I will provide reading assignments at least one week prior to the date they will be discussed. On discussion days, you are to bring with you a list of questions for the purpose of discussion. These questions will be graded, as will your participation in the discussion itself. Grading criteria for discussion questions and in-class discussion are outlined below. If you miss a discussion because of an excused absence and if you make prior arrangements with me, your discussion grade can be adjusted by dropping the missed discussion.Grading criteria for exam questions/review paper (you will receive two scores: one for content and one for writing):
Content Criteria:
| grade | criteria |
| 5 | Outstanding explanation or persuasive argument. Superior supporting information. Alternative explanations (if appropriate) are insightfully evaluated. Creative and original analysis and thoughts. Fully addresses question(s) posed. Goes well beyond minimum required for assignment. |
| 4 | Good solid job on explanation or developing persuasive argument. Excellent supporting information. Alternative explanations (if appropriate) are adequately evaluated. Excellent reasoning and analysis. Fully addresses question(s) posed. Goes beyond the minimum required for assignment. |
| 3 | Reasonable explanation or persuasive argument. Decent supporting information. Alternative explanations (if appropriate) are mentioned. Decent reasoning or analysis. Addresses question(s) posed. |
| 2 | Explanation too general or persuasive argument not fully developed. Fails to fully support assertions with data/examples. Alternative explanations (if appropriate) are not addressed. Unclear or some inaccuracies in reasoning or analysis. Addresses question(s) posed but coverage is cursory and does not meet minimum required for a complete answer. |
| 1 | Does not effectively address question. Fails to support assertions with data/examples. Unclear explanations. Inadequate understanding. Major flaws in reasoning or analysis. |
| 0 | Does not answer question. |
Writing criteria:
| grade | criteria |
| 5 | Meets criteria for 4 but also has a sense of style, going beyond grammatical correctness to real readability. Concise, clear, and organized. |
| 4 | Paper/sections/paragraphs well constructed. Good grammar. Few spelling errors. Does not read like a first draft. |
| 3 | Decent organization. Serviceable prose. Reads like a first draft. A paper with excellent writing will still earn a 3 if it contains many spelling errors and is clearly not proofread. |
| 2 | Disorganized. Awkward sentence structure. Poor paragraph construction. Sections poorly organized. Poor grammar. Poor spelling. |
| 1 | Similar problems to 2’s but worse. |
| 0 | Does not answer question. |
Grading criteria for questions and comments on
reading assignments:
| grade | criteria |
| 4 | Makes comments and asks questions that address all assigned readings. Asks penetrating questions that get to the heart of potential problems in reasoning, data, or underlying assumptions of a paper. Integrates prior knowledge into evaluation. Makes connections among the readings that address conceptual underpinnings of the issue. |
| 3 | Makes comments and asks questions that address all assigned readings. Asks good questions that address potential problems in reasoning or data of a paper. Makes use of prior knowledge to some extent. Compares the results and interpretations among readings. |
| 2 | Makes comments and asks questions that address some of the assigned readings. Asks questions of some relevance and that are appropriate for discussion. |
| 1 | Makes comments and asks questions that address only some of the assigned readings. Questions not relevant or appropriate for discussion. |
| 0 | Does not turn in comments or questions, or does attend class. Note: if you do not attend class, your discussion questions can not be turned in for credit. |
Grading criteria for discussions:
| grade | criteria |
| 4 | Makes an outstanding contribution to class discussion. Provides strong evidence of having thought through the all the material. Actively encourages others to express their ideas. Makes highly constructive comments; asks penetrating questions. Builds on comments of others to enhance discussion. |
| 3 | Makes a good contribution to class discussion. Provides clear evidence of having thought through all the material. Allows others to express their ideas. Makes constructive comments; asks good questions. |
| 2 | Makes a contribution to class discussion. Provides some evidence of having thought through all the material. Doesn’t always allow others to express their ideas. Makes comments or in some way participates. |
| 1 | Does not make a significant contribution to discussion. Provides no evidence of having thought about the material. Doesn’t allow others to express their ideas. Does not contribute to discussion or ask questions. |
| 0 | Does not attend class. |
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Fall 2001 |
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| Aug 27 | What is a Historical Science? | Readings | ||
| Sept 3 | Continue: What is a Historical
Science?
Start: Preservation patterns and biases; temporal and spatial resolution |
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| Sept 10 | Continue: Preservation patterns and biases; temporal and spatial resolution | Readings | ||
| Sept 17 | Finish: Preservation patterns
and biases; temporal and spatial resolution
Start: Species and Speciation |
Readings | ||
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| Sept 24 | Finish: Species and Speciation
models
Punctuated Equilibrium |
Readings | ||
| Oct 1 | Macroevolution, Hierarchy, and Turnover Pulses | Readings | ||
| Oct 8* | Large-Scale (Eon and Era) Evolutionary Patterns | Hand out exam |
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| Oct 15 | Heterochrony | Turn in exam | ||
| Oct 22 | Homeotic Genes | Readings | ||
| Oct 29 | Cambrian Explosion: A Case Study of Evolutionary Innovation | |||
| Nov 5** | Marine Revolutions, Escalation, and the Red Queen |
Turn in papers to LCA |
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| Nov 12 | The Importance of Body Size | Review papers | ||
| Nov 19 | Productivity, Diversity, and Extinction | Thanksgiving | ||
| Nov 26 | Mass Extinctions | Reviews due | ||
| Dec 3 | Mass Extinctions | Revisions due
Hand out exam |
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| Dec 14 | Exams Due | |||
*We need to reschedule class for Tuesday, October 9. There are no classes on Thursday, October 11.
**We need to reschedule classes for Tuesday, November 6 and Thursday, November 8.