METR 2603-­‐001: Severe & Unusual Weather Fall 2017

MWF 9:30am–10:20am Felgar Hall 304

Instructor:  Dr. Amanda Kis (akkis@ou.edu)

Grader: Mr. Greg Blumberg (wblumberg@ou.edu)

Required textbook: None

Recommended textbook: Severe & Hazardous Weather (4th Edition), Robert M. Rauber, John Walsh, and Donna Charlevoix.

Canvas:  https://canvas.ou.edu (log in with your OU 4×4)

Please check Canvas often for announcements, new and updated content, and grades! Your quizzes will be taken on Canvas, and you will upload your homework assignments as PDFs to Canvas.

School of Meteorology Student Affairs Committee: sac.metr.ou.edu

This website has links to many helpful resources, and includes the hours and location of the Help Desk (which offers free help for all METR courses).

Goals and objectives: This class is designed to help you (1) recognize the importance of weather and climate to your lives; (2) understand weather-related hazards; and (3) give you resources to assess and interpret hazardous weather conditions. I want you to be able to think carefully about and interpret what you see on weather apps, the news, Facebook timelines, etc. about climate and weather, as well as enjoy the science of the atmosphere!

Homework assignments: There will be about 5 to 7 homework assignments given during the semester. Each homework assignment will be worth a variable number of points, for a total of 30% of the final grade. The purpose of homework assignments is for students to demonstrate that they can apply the concepts discussed in class to annotate and interpret tables, graphs, weather maps, and other visual aids.

You are welcome to collaborate with your classmates on homework assignments. However, “working together” DOES NOT mean copying is allowed—students must arrive at their solutions independently, submit their own independent homework, and be able to justify their solutions. Copied homework assignments will not receive credit. If you collaborate with other students, you must indicate in your upload which classmate(s) you worked with.

Unless otherwise stated by the instructor, homework assignments will be due by 8:59

p.m. Central Time on their scheduled due dates. You must upload scans or digital pictures of your homework to Canvas by their due dates/times, as PDFs (single or multiple files) in order to minimize compatibility issues; 5 points will be deducted automatically for homework assignments not turned in as PDFs.

Homework assignments are considered late if they are not submitted by their due dates/times, and the option to upload a homework assignment to Canvas will close automatically at its scheduled due date/time. Because we may discuss homework assignments in class, and to facilitate study, I want to make graded homework

assignments available for review as soon as possible. Thus, late homework assignments will only be accepted for credit when accompanied by a University- approved excuse that is provided to me (in-person or via email) before the relevant due date/time or within 12 hours after the relevant due date/time. I encourage you to let me know of any such excuses as far in advance as possible, so that we can discuss accommodations. In cases where an approved excuse is provided within the stated time limits, late homework assignments must be submitted via Canvas within 36 hours after their scheduled due times in order to be graded for credit.

Otherwise, late homework assignments automatically will be assigned a grade of “0.”

If you have any questions about a homework grade, they can be brought to my attention during the week after the grade is posted. After a week, grades may not be changed.

Quizzes: There will be about 11 to 13 quizzes assigned during the semester, with questions on materials covered in the previous week and before. All quizzes will be administered via Canvas, each worth variable points, for a total of 30% of the final grade. Quizzes are designed to review and build upon lecture topics from roughly the previous week; they are also given frequently to help you keep current with the class topics. Quiz questions will use a variety of formats, including multiple choice, multi- select, true/false, matching, fill in the blank(s), and short answer. All quizzes are open- non-human-resource: You may use notes from this or previous classes, textbooks, the Internet, etc. They are, however, to be taken individually – in other words, you may not work with your classmates or other human resources on your quizzes!

The number of questions in each quiz, and the time allotted for each quiz, may vary. Be sure to check the allotted time for each quiz when you begin. Unless otherwise stated by the instructor, quizzes are due by 8:59 pm (Central Time) on Fridays.

Each quiz can be submitted only once. The quizzes will close automatically at their scheduled due dates/times, and quizzes are considered late if they are not submitted via Canvas by the times they close. The allotted time starts running as soon as a quiz is opened, and it will continue to run even if you close a quiz.

Because we may discuss quizzes in class, and to facilitate study, I want to make graded quizzes available for review as soon as possible. Thus, late quizzes will only be accepted for credit when accompanied by a University-approved excuse that is provided to me (in-person or via email) before the relevant quiz due date/time or within 12 hours of the relevant due date/time. I encourage you to let me know of any such excuses as far in advance as possible, so that we can discuss accommodations.

In cases where an approved excuse is provided within the stated time limits, I will extend the available quiz time, and late quizzes must be completed within 36 hours after their scheduled due times in order to be graded for credit. Otherwise, late quizzes automatically will be assigned a grade of “0.”

If you have any questions about a quiz grade, they can be brought to my attention during the week after the grade is posted. After a week, grades may not be changed.

Regular semester exams: There will be 2 exams administered during regular class times. Each exam will be worth 12.5% of the final grade, for a total of 25% of the final

grade. They will involve a variety of question formats that include fill-in-the-blank, short- to-long answer, matching, multiple choice, and annotation on figures.

Exams must be taken during their scheduled class times; no make-up or late exams will be given in order to ensure academic integrity and fairness. Only University-approved excuses will be accepted for absence from an exam during the regular semester; in keeping with the Faculty Handbook, the student must give me notice (in-person or via email) of such excuses for approval within two full class periods before the relevant exam date. (For example, if the exam is scheduled on a Tuesday, you must notify me of excuses by the start of class on the preceding Tuesday. If the exam is scheduled on a Thursday, you must notify me of excuses by the start of class on the preceding Thursday.) For such excuses, the average score of the other regular semester exam and the final exam will be applied to the missed exam score. If you miss both regular semester exams, the situation will be handled at the discretion of the instructor, and the decision is final.

If you have any questions about an exam grade, they can be brought to my attention during the week after the grade is posted. After a week, grades may not be changed.

Final exam: The final exam will be held on Monday, December 11, 2017 from 8am to 10am in Felgar Hall 304. The final exam is worth 15% of the final grade and is comprehensive: It will include material covered after the 2nd regular semester exam, and will also feature questions on older topics.

Class participation: I expect regular attendance. I will randomly provide opportunities for participation throughout the semester, such as Q/A, discussions, practice problems, and group work. These opportunities will be directly helpful for homework assignments and exams!

Grading: The final course score is weighted. The weights for the final course score are divided as follows:

Homework assignments: 30%

Quizzes: 30%

Two regular semester exams: 25% combined Final exam: 15%

The following standard scale for the final course score x will determine the final grade for the course:

A: x ³ 90%

B: 80% £ x < 90%

C: 70% £ x < 79%

D: 60% £ x < 70% F: x < 60%

Questions and office hours: I will be available 8:30am to 9:45am TR in my office (NWC 5409). I also will answer questions at the start of each class and will remain after class to answer questions. Asking questions at the start or end of class is best, because

they will be fresh in your mind and it is likely your classmates will have similar questions. You can also email me your questions, as I check my email often during the day and will respond as quickly as possible. Emails are usually sufficient to get questions answered and clarifications made. Appointments also can be requested, with the instructor or the TA.

Please use the “General Questions, Concerns, and Comments” discussion board on Canvas to post class-related questions. It’s very likely that other students have the same question as you, and it is beneficial to get feedback from your classmates!

Accommodation of students with disabilities: The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course are requested to speak with the instructor as early in the semester as possible. Students with disabilities must be registered with the Office of Disability Services prior to receiving accommodations in this course. The Office of Disability Services is located in Goddard Health Center, Suite 166. You may contact the office at 405-325-3852 (voice) or 405- 325-4173 (TDD).

Adjustments for pregnancy/childbirth related issues: Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Please see www.ou.edu/content/eoo/faqs/pregnancy-faqs.html for commonly asked questions.

Title IX resources: For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office 405-325-2215 (8-5 M-F) or OU Advocates 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident.

Academic misconduct:  Cheating and other academic misconduct will not be tolerated, and instead will be reported: No exceptions, no excuses. Those found cheating will be penalized under the OU Academic Misconduct Code, which can be found at http://www.ou.edu/provost/integrity.  In short, if you cheat, expect to be removed from the course and to receive an F for the course. All alleged instances of academic misconduct will be investigated and, if substantiated, appropriate admonitions will be imposed. Please read http://www.ou.edu/provost/integrity-rights for further information.

Working together on homework assignments (not quizzes!) and general studying is encouraged in this class (as stated above, you must list the classmate(s) you collaborated with on your homework assignment uploads), and using other students as a resource is a great way to learn in general. However, the work you submit MUST be your own work.  Any student caught copying off another student will be penalized.