Course Number: *  GEOGRPY 470/670  

Other Programs Affected:None
 

Check if course is to meet any of the following requirements:

__None__Writing__Computer__Diversity__General Ed: Area

Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
 

Total lab hours:	________		Total lecture hours:	___48___
Number of credits:	____3____		Total contact hours:	___48___

Check if course is repeatable:__X__ No___YesIf "Yes", answer the following questions:
 

No of times in major	________		No of credits in major	________
No of times in degree	________		No of credits in degree	________

 

Enter the appropriate titles if the course is required in any of the following:

Major Title(s): Geography

Minor Title(s):

Emphasis Title(s):Technique track
 

Course Justification:

Geographic Information Systems (GISs) are becoming increasingly powerful tools in the analysis of environmental variables and natural resources.As a result, potential employers expect geography graduates to possess a functional knowledge of GIS and its applications.In order to provide a current and comprehensive geographic education, it is imperative that the Geography department offer advanced GIS courses that involve real-world applications of GIS, incorporating the current and most commonly used software packages available.Recent advances in environmental data collection, namely GPS and remote sensing, have led the way for increased access to spatial information and improved reliability in decision-making through their inclusion in GIS analysis.It is the intent of this course to provide students with the training and knowledge to explore Geography careers that involve the use of GIS for the analysis of environmental and natural resource data.
 

Relationship to Program Assessment Objectives:

The proposed course will most directly affect the Techniques track currently offered by the Geography department.As an elective within this track, this course will utilize and enhance the knowledge and skills acquired in the two prerequisite courses, Introduction to Mapping and Geographic Information Systems.Currently there is another course offered through the department, Applied GIS: Applications for Business and Industry, which also incorporates applications of GIS for spatial problem solving.However, due to the utility of GIS for a wide range of spatial analysis, these two courses exemplify very divergent subject matter.The existing course is primarily concerned with economic and business geographics, while the proposed course focuses on environmental problems and resource analysis relative to the natural environment.In addition, the proposed course will complement other Geography courses, such as Remote Sensing, Water Resources, Recreation Regions and Systems, and Biogeography.It is anticipated that there is considerable demand for this course.Student demand for existing GIS courses is very high, as evidenced by the waiting list for the Geographic Information Systems course, even though the number of sections offered has recently doubled.

The proposed course is intended to satisfy departmental objectives, such as encouraging students to “develop critical thinking and analytical skills, be able to integrate and synthesize knowledge, and draw conclusions from complex information”.In addition, the course will directly support the departmental goal of “promoting an understanding of how to use computing, and mapping skills appropriate to geographic analysis and inquiry.”

Due to the ubiquity of GIS within both the public and private sector, there is an increasing demand for interns that are capable of performing environmental GIS analysis.The proposed course would prepare students to more effectively land these competitive internship positions.
 

Budgetary Impact:

The proposed course is expected to have minimal short and long-term impact on the service and supply budget.Additionally, little impact is anticipated for T&IR, laboratory facilities and classroom space.There will need to be additional library purchases, to be covered by the department’s library allocation budget, since 9 of the publications listed in the bibliography are not currently part of the library holdings.The primary instructor for this course will be offering the course as part of the regular course load.Due to a recent faculty hire, the primary instructor’s course load was adjusted to allow the proposed course to be offered once per year.
 

Course Description: (limited to about 50 words)

This course will provide the knowledge and skills necessary to utilize GIS for solving applied environmental analysis problems.Specifically, the course is designed to 1) identify and resolve environmental and natural resource problems in terms of spatial analysis, 2) explore a conceptual understanding of GIS, 3) provide students with technical instruction in current GIS software.
 

Course Requisites:

Prerequisites: 722-270 Introduction to Mapping and 722-370 Geographic Information Systems or permission of instructor.
 

Graduate Requirements:
 
 

Content:

Successful completion of the course at the graduate level will involve the following (in addition to items specified in the undergraduate requirements):

1.Comprehensive written final exam.

2.Research paper increased to a minimum of 30 pages in length.

3.Written reviews of 5 assigned Journal articles.
 

Intensity:

Graduate work is expected to more closely approach professional analysis, writing and research in the field of Geography.All graduate work will be evaluated in comparison with professional geographers as the peer group.While undergraduates will be expected to perform GIS analysis upon successful completion of the course, graduate students will be held to a higher standard in the communication of their research in both written and oral forms.
 

Self-Directed:

Graduate students are expected to be more thorough in their search for information related to individual projects.In addition, graduate students must complete a more comprehensive literature review related to their chosen research topic. As an example, source material for undergraduate research may include some secondary citations and a small percentage of internet sources.However, graduate students are limited to primary citations and are only allowed sources that have been published in hard copy form, the majority of which must be from refereed, professional journals.
 
 

Course Objectives and Tentative Course Syllabus:

Textbooks

Required readings:
 

Readings from the text, as listed in the class calendar.

Handout packet, provided by the instructor.

1.USGS, July 7, 2000, Upper Midwest Gap Analysis Program.

2.Wing, Michael, and Arne Skaugset, GIS Casts a line: Examining Salmon Habitat in Oregon Streams, Geo Info Systems, July, 1998.

3.Kaneko, Mayumi, et. al., Constructing a Multiyear Geographic Database of Farm Program Lands in South Central Minnesota, Geo Info Systems, June, 1998.

4.Corbley, Kevin P., Identifying Villages at Risk of Malaria Spread, Geo Info Systems, 1999.
 

Course objectives:

The environmental application of GIS could very well incorporate much of what you have learned in Geography to date.Scale, projection, statistical analysis, location analysis, demographics, terrain, vegetation, transportation, and a long list of other items may be incorporated within a GIS to make it an effective environmental problem-solving tool.This course will direct you through the steps involved in using GIS to solve an environmental problem, beginning with the formulation of a research topic and ending with the written and oral presentations of your research.In between, you will be required to collect, evaluate and analyze data relative to a project that you will define.The core of the course will not be exclusively keystrokes, but will emphasize the thought process and procedural techniques for defining an environmental problem and resolving it with the GIS tool.As one of the culminating courses of your education in Geography, this course will call upon prior Geographical concepts and an understanding of the physical environment as well as the effect of human induced and naturally occurring environmental changes.
 

Graded work:

Performance in this class will be evaluated in 5 areas.
 

Undergraduate and Graduate credit:
 

1. Lab exercises (4)	100 points (total) – (*25 points each)
2. Presentation	50 points (oral presentation and visual aids)
3. Poster	50 points (hardcopy text, graphics and layout)
4. Project paper	100 points (10-15 pages text only)
5. Paper graphics	50 points (hardcopy maps, graphs, charts)
Total points	350 points

 

Additional requirements for graduate credit:
 

Assigned readings	(50 points) Written reviews of 5 assigned Journal articles.
Project Paper	Text only length increased to a minimum of 30 pages.
Final Exam	(100 points) Final comprehensive written exam
Total points	500

Week 1	Lec: Defining environmental problems and resource analysis.  Lab: Review of environmental GIS research on the Internet.  Readings: Handout packet
Week 2	Lec: Defining a project – developing an environmental/resource problem statement.  Lab: Introduction to ArcView.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 3 - Exploring ArcMap and chapter 4 - Exploring ArcCatalog.
Week 3	Lec: The role of GIS for environmental problem solving.  Lab: ArcView – spatial analyst exercise.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 5 – Symbolizing features and rasters and chapter 6 – Classifying  features and rasters
Week 4	Lec: Research project proposal – literature review.  Lab: Library exercise.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 7 – Labeling features.
Week 5	Lec: GIS in environmental problem solving – overview of forestry case studies.  Lab: Exercise 1 – deforestation.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 8 – Querying data.
Week 6	Lec: GIS in environmental problem solving – overview of water pollution case studies.  Lab: exercise 2 – watersheds.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 9 – Joining and relating tables.
Week 7	Lec: GIS in environmental problem solving – overview of wildlife case studies.  Lab: exercise 3 - grizzly habitat.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 14 – Building geodatabases.
Week 8	Lec: GIS in environmental problem solving - overview of resource analysis case studies.  Lab: exercise 4 – mining exercise.  Readings: GTKAD - chapter 15 – Creating features.
Week 9	Lec: Environmental research project proposal – methodology.  Lab: Primary data collection – GPS.  Readings: GTKAD - chapter 16 – Editing features and attributes.
Week 10	Lec: Data acquisition.  Lab: Working with base map data: dlg, dem, ssurgo, statsgo.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 11 – preparing data for analysis and chapter 12 – Analyzing spatial data.
Week 11	Lec: Data evaluation. Lab: Registration, scale and accuracy assessment.
Week 12	Lec: Data analysis.  Lab: Graphics presentation, exporting layouts.  Readings: GTKAD – chapter 19 – Making maps for presentation.
Week 13	Lec: Verifying the results. Lab: Preparing a data dictionary.
Week 14	Lec: Oral presentations.  Lab: Field trip.
Week 15	Lec: Oral presentations.  Lab: Oral presentations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

* indicates current UW-W library holdings
 

JOURNALS:
 

*Applied Geography

*GIS World

*Geo-Info Systems
 
 

TEXTS:
 

*Bernhardsen, Tor, Geographic Information Systems, (New York: Wiley, 1996).