Course Syllabus

Please see the course homepage for logistics and timeline.

Instructor: Pete Schwartz, Pete's WebpageLinks to an external site., pschwart@calpoly.edu, x6-1220, home 805-748-6341 (use only if Email won't suffice. Please send texts first as I don't answer my phone if I don't know who it is.)

Text: We will use prepared videos and online reading. We will also use a textbook: Physics of Societal Issues: Calculations on National Security, Environment, and Energy, 2nd edition, David Hafemeister, Springer 2014, available at the book store. And guess what? it's copyrighted for public use!, So you can buy it at the bookstore, or download it for free here. The author, DH, is a Cal Poly emeritus physics professor. He taught his last class with me at age 81, PHYS-310, in 2015.  

Grading: You will be graded based on watching the videos, weekly assessments, three self-interventions, and a group project to be presented during the last week of classes [original stated: "finals exam time"]. Your final grade will be roughly half your assessment scores, and half your project score. You are expected to responsibly watch videos and do the self-interventions (count as video watching) in order to stay up with the class and participate fully... and is required for a good grade in the class (explained below). The class is not competitive and I would like to see everyone earn an "A". However, I expect that the final distribution will be "A-" or "B+" centered.

Assessments: We'll have weekly assessments every Wednesday starting week 2, and a final assessment during finals week. I'll drop the first assessment score and the lowest two assessment grades, so missing or bombing two assessments will not affect your grade. Assessment questions will be cumulative, covering all previous material including project presentations, but likely more heavily weighted toward the most recent homework assignment. The last assessment during finals week will be longer and draw more heavily on project presentations during the final week of class. The final assessment will count as one regular assessment, but will also replace all previous assessment grades that are lower.

Homework: We'll have weekly homework assignments due Monday. Solutions will be posted after the HW is "collected". Homework will be graded and recorded, but not counted toward your final grade. Your motivation for doing homework should be to learn the material, build community and group working skills with others in your group, and to prepare you for compelling discussions at social events. 

Grading: homework and assessment are graded A=4,B=3,C=2,D=1,F=0. The most basic step is to first outline the concept being used. You will need to explain your reasoning to get any credit at all - this may not matter for Homework because it doesn't count, but it will matter for assessments. To receive an "A", you should reflect on your answer to verify that it makes sense.

Projects: You will research an energy problem and solution with a group of 3-4 students. These are open ended "service learning" projects whereby you engage with an outside community or "client". Thus quantitative project requirements are not possible. You will independently research and learn about your project area. You will professionally communicate with your community and/or other student groups in this class or the appropriate technology class, or research students. You will build a professional website and make a professional presentation at the end of the class. You will gain some real world information and teach us some interesting things we don't know already. You will make recommendations as to how the project should continue or not continue. You may "succeed" or "fail". A valiant failure with reflection will receive high acclaim. You will have some feedback along the way from your websites and practice class presentations/discussions as to how you're doing. The bar for the projects is very "middle". Rather than strive for excellence, we strive for "goodness". I will inquire into your group to verify that your participation was supportive and helpful... that you did your part in the group. 

Preparing for Class (Videos and Reading) -A Big Part of your Grade: It is imperative that we come to class prepared. You are required to watch videos on PlayPosit and read Perusal before each class. Please prepare on time for every class. For videos, you need to answer all the questions (but you don't need to answer correctly) and watch until the end for full credit. For reading, you have to leave at least three comments (unless otherwise indicated). If you do 90% of the preparation on time, then your final grade will be calculated as above. However, if your participation is less than 90%, your final grade will be lowered by twice the % your preparation is less than 90%. So if you have 75% participation, your grade will be docked (90% - 75%)*2 = 0.3, which is the difference between an "A" and an "A-" on our 4-point scale. If you don't prepare for class at all, but get an "A" on all your tests, your final grade will be a "C"... so please prepare for class.

Idea Sheets:
I will not provide you with a formula sheet for the exams. You are welcome to build your own idea sheet provided it has no more than 50 ideas. An average drawing is worth 5 ideas. I recommend that you start n idea sheet now and add information as it appears in the videos, and dropping old information you don't need anymore.

My Commitment to You: I will do my best to provide you with a planned structure, resources, and activities to learn. I will accept you as an adult and accept your decisions with respect to our class. I will evaluate you only on criteria that I find foundational (to communicate energy concepts and how they affect our lives) allowing you the freedom to learn in a manner that you enjoy. I will do my best to understand your professed needs and help you the best way I know.

My Expectations from You: I expect that you will make decisions consistent with your best interest and your values, and that you will accept accountability for these decisions. I also expect that we will all will work toward the well being of our community. I expect that you will respect my time and make the best use of our time together by coming to class prepared. My intention is to help you learn from the resources around you: textbooks, online media, and each other. I expect you to record your questions while you study. I expect to start class with questions related to the reading and videos. If you have a question, please ask it after you have addressed the related resource (video or reading) and consulted others in your group.

Competition: Your performance will be graded not against each other, but rated against the criteria established above. You are not in competition. My experience is and studies show that everyone learns better if we help each other.