This Page:
   Course Structure
   Learning Modules
   Why?

Welcome to physical geography. Physical geography is an interesting and challenging subject that helps you understand your physical environment. While most students take this class to meet the physical science transfer requirement or to meet general education requirements, some of you will find geography an exciting subject in which to major. You will learn about these possibilities in class, in the Open Lab (Room 234), and while exploring the Internet.

STRUCTURE OF THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY COURSE

Most of you have never taken physical geography or earth science before coming to college. You may be surprised at the variety of topics covered and the many new terms and concepts. The textbook, the study guide, the computer tutorials, and the Internet resources are all designed to help you improve your understanding of the subject matter and help you prepare for quizzes and exams.

The computer tutorials, the Web learning modules, and online practice quizzes are an integral part of the physical geography course. You can use the computer tutorials and have access to the Internet in the Open Lab (Room 234).

If you have a computer with a CD-ROM drive and access to the Internet, you may use the Web learning modules and the Geode CD-ROM that accompanies the textbook at home.

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WHAT ARE WEB LEARNING MODULES?

There is a Web learning module to accompany each course topic in physical geography. You access the learning modules in the Open Lab (Room 234) or from your home computer if you have Internet access. Each Web learning module typically includes four or five sections:
 

1. Study Guides help you study each topic in the physical geography course. The study guides list the course topic's chief ideas and study objectives. You can view or print the topic's study guide from the learning module.

 
2. Practice Quizzes help you review the material in the tutorials and textbook. There are two kinds of practice quizzes. Some practice quizzes are located at the Tarbuck and Lutgens Earth Science textbook Web site. These quizzes can be corrected online but sometimes this Web site is busy and you may not get a response. The Peralta Colleges practice quiz has many questions similar to graded class quizzes. The practice quiz has feedback to all the answers and you can learn even by answering incorrectly. The feedback provides the kind of explanation I look for when giving modified true-false type questions in graded quizzes and exams.

 
3. Tutorial and Study Questions  This section has study questions for tutorials that are available on the Web, in the Open Lab (Room 234), or on the Geode CD-ROM that accompanies the textbook.

 
4. Lab Exercises  Some course topics have lab-type exercises that are available on the Web. Some of these labs are used in the formal Physical Geography Laboratory Class 1L.

 
5. Web Exploration  All physical geography Web learning modules have links to interesting Internet sites related to the physical geography course topic. You may be given a question to pursue as you explore a Web site. There are so many resources available for physical geography that it is tempting to share them all. However, I have selected Internet sites that I believe will enrich your understanding of the physical world without being too complex. You will find many more sites once you start exploring. Don't expect to explore them all. You need to set some priorities and look around at the real world!

WHY DO I HAVE TO STUDY AFTER CLASS?

Three hours of lecture class a week is not enough time to grasp an unfamiliar science. At the college level, you are expected to put in two hours of study outside of class for each hour in class. This is called a Carnegie Unit. Some of this time will be spent reading and making notes using your textbook. The colorful maps, diagrams, animations and quizzes in the computer tutorials and Web learning modules reinforce your learning in a much more active and engaging way.

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Created by Rita D. Haberlin, Geography Professor
rhaberlin@aol.com
Peralta Community College District
333 East Eighth Street
Oakland, CA 94606
www.Peralta.edu