The primary goal of this course is to enable you to work in a multi-disciplinary group and distill for others what you have learned about a particular topic in environmental science. We will also seek to make a real-life policy decision based upon the best available science. Because many of you may encounter Puget Sound shoreline issues in your lifetime (if you decide to stay in the western Washington – and statistics say that most of you will), the topic of the course is especially relevant.

Discussion synopses

Nearly every week we will have a discussion about a different topic related to the science and policy of Puget Sound beaches. You will be required to turn in a single-spaced ½ page summary of the required reading. This is your ticket to your group’s discussion. The summaries should be brief, but they should also capture the salient points of the article. This part of the class should be useful for you to get practice summarizing science-oriented material. It will also allow all of you to participate in the small-group discussions. I will read each of your synopses between the discussion and the post-discussion. I may make comments, but (for the most part) the synopsis will be graded on a credit/no-credit basis.

Helpful hints:

• Sentences should be reasonably short. Some transitional phrases are useful, but too many make your text convoluted.
• Your summaries should not be a listing of facts, but a thoughtful conglomeration of a few key ideas.
• Make sure that your verbs are acting on the right type of noun. For instance, land does not “go” or “sit”.

• If you introduce a term, define it. Your intended audience is a reasonably educated layman, not a specialist (i.e., me).
• Avoid using colloquialisms like “starting off” (in place of beginning with) and “picking up” (in place of entraining).

Points for discussion

Your small-group discussions and subsequent in-class presentations should begin with an agreed-upon brief summary of what the article was about – possibly based upon each of your synopses. You may want to have a couple questions prepared beforehand related to something you didn’t understand. A number of questions should be asked of any science-based article. These are:

How recently was the article written?

Does the author appear to have any biases?

Were the author’s main points clear?

How logical and data-supported were the arguments made?

What is the background of the author?

What does what you read have to do with the way that Puget Sound beaches work?

Each article we will read is specifically targeted to address at least one of these questions. Be thinking about these questions when you read and discuss the articles.

Class participation

Class participation is an important part of the course. The number of people in the course is small enough such that everyone should have a chance to make a contribution to the discussion – especially in your own small groups. During post-discussions and lectures don’t hesitate to stop me to explain something better. Your questions help me understand what material is difficult and what topics I should spend more time on.

Course project

The course project is intended to give you a sense for how scientific knowledge and data is incorporated into public policy. It also provides a concrete example of the use of that type of knowledge and its effect on the lives of real people in western Washington. I’ll provide more details as to my specific expectations for the project as we move through the quarter.