Guidelines for Seminar Presentations and
Discussions
Logistics:
EVERYONE - graduate students and undergraduate students - will lead
a class sessions following
a seminar style learning approach. You will have the floor for
up to two hours. Your goal is for us (your audience) to become experts in the
particular topic area. You will pick specific
topics based on your interests.
A minimum of two weeks before your week to lead the class, you
will pick three readings related to
that topic. One of the readings selected will provide a thorough background of
the topic and should represent a seminal article widely known to those in
that theme area. Also, at least one of the readings should provide different perspectives,
different theories, or different methods related to your topic. I
will disseminate electronically or via a hard copy the
readings to other students. Unless made available in class, readings will be available
for download here.
30 Minute Presentation:
From your articles and any other supporting sources, your task is to
know your topic well enough to “teach” it to the rest of
us. The teaching component will be achieved as you create and
present a 30 minute talk during which you provide us with a broad understanding of your topic. You may use any format you’d like for your presentation (e.g., a PowerPoint, an printed outline we’ll follow, a dry erase
board, various websites, a game we play in class).
Round-Table Discussion:
After your 30 minute presentation, you will lead a “round table” discussion session of your
papers. Here, you will address
specific issues related to your topic. You will probably relate some of the
specific issues back to your presentation. Following are some components you might want to address in your
seminar discussion:
- Describe the breadth of the literature review in the paper
- Describe data type collected and the tools used to collect the data
- Describe the significance of the field site(s)
- Describe the specific methods for analysis
- Was any GIS used? If so, how was
this achieved?
- Describe the results
- Describe the conclusions
- Report to us your perspective of the overall significance of the work
- Report to us any gaps you feel should
have been addressed
- Identify areas that are confusing to you and that you think others could help clarify
- Engage us in any controversies or discrepancies you encountered as you researched your topic
After briefing us on the content of the paper or papers you selected, all students, including graduates and undergraduates, will ask two or three questions of you based on your presentation and/or readings discussion.
Topics:
A couple of you are working on theses or independent research projects with an advisor, and will come to this course with a topic in mind.
Others have already identified their topics to me. If you are
without a topic: fear not -- here are some topics that you could
use (and that I can help you with):
• Aeolian Landforms and Sand Movement
• Applying the Ergodic Theorem (e.g., Substituting Space for Time) in Landform Studies
• Bull Lake and Pinedale Glaciation Events in Colorado: Geomorphic Evidence
• Catastrophic Flash Flood Events in Colorado: Meteorological Causes and Geomorphic Setting
• Climatic Geomorphology: (any topic)
• Data Collection Devices in Geomorphology at the (X) Scale
• Desert Geomorphology: (any topic)
• Erosion Impacts of Recreation in the Rampart Range
• Geomorphic Indicators of Climate Change
• Geomorphic Hazards in Colorado
• Geomorphological Spatial Data Analysis Using Tools of GIS
• Geomorphometry and Dealing with Complexity
• Karst Landforms and Processes
• Local Landform Influences on Weather along the Colorado Front Range
• Hydrologic and Geomorphic Hazards of Burn Scars
• Mountain Geomorphology: (any topic)
• Numerical Representations of Landscapes with DEMs
• Planetary (e.g., Mars) Geomorphology
• Rock Glaciers in Colorado
• Rock Slopes and Processes
• Rock Weathering Applied to Rock Art Preservation
• Sandstone Rock Weathering Forms and Processes
• Sliding Rocks of Racetrack Playa: Theories of Rock Movement
• The Geomorphic Role of Snow
• Thresholds and Disequilibriums in Geomorphology
• Tropical Geomorphology: (any topic)!
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