a)+Set+Goals+Gp4

This workshop material is adapted from On the Cutting Edge, a professional development program for current and future geoscience faculty. //On the Cutting Edge // is sponsored by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers with funding provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation-Division of Undergraduate Education. //On the Cutting Edge // is part of the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE)     Teaching a course involves making choices about what you will ask your students to do and why. External factors such as context of the course, student demography, and support structure are significant and should influence the choices that you will make as you design your course. Consider the external factors that influence a course and explain why these factors are important to consider before you begin to set realistic goals for the students in your course. **Start by choosing a course or a portion of a course to work on.**   Answer the questions below. In addition to the facts, comment both on the **challenges to designing your course posed by each factor** and on the **opportunities presented by each factor that you could take advantage of in designing your course**.  Does your course serve as a prerequisite for a subsequent course or does it prepare students for a exam? If so, what?  Challenges:  <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Part 1.1 What are the course contexts and constraints **
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Task 1.1a: How will your course work? **

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Does your course have prerequisites? If so, what are they? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">How big is your course, and what kinds of rooms are available for you to teach in? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Does your course have a lab and/or on-line component, and do you teach it? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What are your options for frequency and duration of class/lab meeting times?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Answer the questions below. In addition to the facts, comment both on the **challenges to designing your course posed by each factor** and on the **opportunities presented by each factor that you could take advantage of in designing your course**. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Are your students gifted & talented, middle-of-the-road, or learning support? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Task 1.1b: Who are your students, and what do they need? **

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">In what way might your students use what they have learned in your course in the future?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What is the demography of students in your course in terms of age, race, gender, and ethnicity? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What percentage of students in your course have high-speed computer access outside the at home? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Answer the questions below. In addition to the facts, comment both on the **challenges to designing your course posed by each factor** and on the **opportunities presented by each factor that you could take advantage of in designing your course**.
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Task 1.1c: What is the support structure for your course? **

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Are you the default computer troubleshooter, or do students and staff have other support people to turn to if they run into difficulty with a computer problem related to your course?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Does your school have writing, quantitative literacy, or oral communications skills centres that can provide supplemental help/instruction for students?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: