CSS 513: Properties, Processes, and Functions of Soils
Evaluation of student performance:
|
“Mid-term” exams
(undergrad level, just to help you keep up) |
2@100pts,
but will be scaled such that these only contribute 40% of your grade |
|
Final exam
(different from the undergraduates, probably during the last week of class [negotiable]) |
20% |
| Oral presentation | 20% |
| Critical review of the literature | 10% |
| Participation in lab activities, including teaching others | 10% |
Note: we have a vote to take! Oral vs. traditional format for the final. We will talk about this during our first lab meeting. Here are some former students thoughts:
Oral finals:
anticipation of it is much more stressful than trad final
Very good practice for PhD student esp. for prelims, defense, etc.
Good experience for public speaking -even tho its just to the profs.
Hard to gage 'how you did' after it ends sometimes
I used to hate them, but they are getting easier - I think of them as a necessary evil.
The thing I like the least is that you know immediately when you get something wrong and then you have to recover and try to re-gather your thoughts on the fly for the next question.
Especially for a final I think immediate feedback sinks in better than getting a corrected exam after the term is finished, while packing for a ski trip or whatever.Trad Final:
I think I study details more for trad final and concepts more oral final
It's finite and more predictable
Low stress, possibly more studying
Grades:
A: >93%
A-: 90-92%
B+: 87-89%
B: 83-86%
B-: 80-82%
C+: 77-79%
C: 73-76%
C-: 70-72%
Instructors: Elizabeth Sulzman
Department of Crop and Soil Science Home Page
College of Agricultural Sciences Home Page
Oregon State University Home Page
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