This 5-credit class is scheduled for four hours, two hours twice a week. The fifth hour could be reserved for learning experiences which support the objectives of Geography 350 or are explicit contributions to this class.

The following are alternative possibilities to take up a "5th hour opportunity". You may want to suggest your own opportunity to the instructor.

1. Suggest to your instructor a topic for a "mini-presentation" during which you share with your peers some insights gained from a special reading or experience, or is otherwise associated with your background or skills. You would be expected to prepare a 1-page handout with the most important "talking points" of your presentation. Two mini-presentations would normally satisfy the fifth-hour expectations. Scheduling of these brief contributions would depend on the "fit" with the class outline.

2. Make yourself available and offer your help in a semi-formal way to class-mates ("Learning through Teaching"). Hang out your shingle as someone with relevant skills. Subject matters which come to mind include: Economic Geography (Geog. 207), Economics, GIS, HTML, Web design, Power Point etc. You seniors in GIS: What about forming a GIS Consulting Firm/Group for this purpose? (of course, independent of your own assignments). To qualify, this peer teaching/ assistance effort has to be regular (1/2 - 1 hour per week), well planned (with support materials), and has to involve at least three identified members of this class.

Please note: While providing help (a minimum of 1/2 hour per week [average for 10 weeks]) for classmates may qualify for the "fifth hour", receiving such help does not.

It remains to be said that this "learning opportunity" requires an "active learning motivation" on your part. It suggests that you know why you are taking this geography class, and that you are willing to discover (with help as needed) at least a small part of what you might want to learn in a broadly defined class context by yourself. Should all this be too "unstructured" and flexible for you, PLEASE see me.