Class Activity (Participation Points)

At this point you should have your group project in the class google doc.

The class activity for this week will be to create a message box, that clearly articulates:

• Issue / Topic: What is the issue that you are studying?
• Problem: What is the problem that it addresses
• So What?: Why we (this class) should care about the topic
• Benefits: What are the benefits of addressing this issue?
• Solutions: Are there any solutions or outcomes that this research could support?

Are clearly listed in the document.

Working with your group, do the following:

1. Post your message box on piazza in the “projects” folder
2. Each of you should provide feedback on 3 other group message boxes

This feedback should be constructive and include things like:

• Noting where jargon is used that they should clarify.
• Asking for clarification regarding things that are confusing.
• Mentioning anything that is interesting to you as identified in the.

There should be sufficient time for you to complete this activity during class. However if you miss class, or are an online student, please complete this activity by Thursday 9 November 2017. This activity will help you with your midterm presentation and thus should be completed PRIOR to giving your presentation!

Mid-Term Grade Rubric

A full rubric is posted on the midterm landing page. In the meantime, please

1. Be sure to review the presentation on best practices at the top of this page.
2. Consider the following things as you put your talk together:

• Presentation structure
  • Introduction
  • Background (this should include a lit review & study area map)
  • Project importance
  • Methods
  • Example results: We know you won’t have results in time for the midterm. But you should know enough about your project to know what type of results you expect to see.
• Data: clearly present what data you intend to use. Be sure to emphasize where you will get the data. I expect that you have looked into getting the data and even downloaded some as a test to ensure you can use it, prior to giving this talk!
• Content:
  • A science question that you wish to address or a phenomenon or event that you wish to better understand. It can be related to something you’ve learned in class or to something completely different!
  • An overview of the data types and sources that you intend to use to answer your science question.
  • An overview of the study area you will be working in.
  • An overview of what you think you’ll find working on your project.
• Everyone in your group needs to present!