"I think Frank Dobie was one of the greatest teachers the University of Texas ever had, . . . . one of the truly great natural historians. . . .And this insight into nature, I think, needs to be continued as a Dobie tradition here if the University is really going to realize its own promise." Harry Ransom, Chancellor, University of Texas system

This is a course in writing about nature: the nonhuman world of plants and animals. Students should be prepared to think for themselves and for a lot of writing. The basic method of the course is discovery learning, learning by doing ). Therefore, some class meetings will be outside, devoted to observing and writing about nature at Waller Creek, the Biology Ponds, Battle Oaks, the courtyard of the Harry Ransom Center (HRC), the lawn of the Littlefield house, J. Frank Dobie’s house and related statues of horses and cattle along San Jacinto, Texas Memorial Museum, the H.R.C., the Story of Texas museum, the Japanese garden at Zilker Park, etc. Other class meeting will focus on discussing famous artistic responses to nature and reading each other’s writing. Discovery learning means that there will be fewer instructions for subjects of projects than what students may be used to from other courses. This can be frustrating for some, especially those who want a detailed formula which will guarantee them a good grade. Instead they will have maximum freedom to be creative, to be individual, and to write about what is important to them. More features of my teaching philosophy can be seen at my web site, along with some of the goals of the course.

Grades. Approximately 50% of the final grade will be determined by the writing projects (15% for each first draft, 10% for each revision), 20% by class participation, and 30% by the final portfolio of all your writing. Though the administration penalizes instructors for “grade inflation,” I do not grade on a curve. I am convinced that far more learning occurs when each student has the potential to get an A in the course. On the other hand, students will receive exactly the grade recorded in the online gradebook, even if it is one point short of the next higher grade. Grades will be reduced for each class day assignments are late.

Projects. We will create multimedia writing projects on paper or on the web about our responses to nature and those in world literature, visual art, digital art, music, and architecture. Projects can be written for different audiences and from different points of view, from autobiography to scientific observation.

Class participation consists of showing up in class on time, having read the material assigned for that day, and being prepared to talk about it. Students are encouraged to hand in journal pages about the readings assigned in the syllabus for that day before class starts. In any case, it is important to share in class: one of the goals of the course is better spoken as well as written communication. Our primary concern is not organized discussion of a topic, as in a speech contest, but rather each individual learning to speak about feelings as well as thoughts, and each individual learning to listen, concentrating when others are speaking.

Learning Record. Part of the grades for class participation and the portfolio will be based on Learning Record (LR) entries, encouraging students to set their own goals and become aware of their learning styles and obstacles. The LR will include a personal narrative, an interview with someone familiar with your intellectual development, a series of self-observations, and short interpretive essays written at midterm and semester's end.

Texts: Jay Silverman, Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers (5th ed.) and a collection of xeroxed materials to be purchased from Jenn's, 2200 Guadelupe (basement of the Scientology building at 22^nd), 473-8669.

Computer literacy required. Students should be familiar with keyboarding, operating systems, word processing, electronic mail, and web-browsing. Students will also need an IF computer account. Students will be expected to check their email frequently (maintaining the correct email address in the U.T. Direct system) along with the Discussion Boards and Online Gradebook of the U.T. Blackboard system. Students are encouraged to download pictures from our class web site and use multimedia to fulfill all the writing requirements and ultimately hand in everything on one web site or CD which they will retain at the end of the course. Even if a traditional essay format is chosen for projects, pictures must be scanned into the text and text wrapped around them.

HTML. Only one class will be devoted to how to copy and modify HTML templates; afterwards, if students are going to do web projects, they must have or acquire basic HTML skills on their own in the first month. Multimedia project students should expect to spend a considerable amount of time outside of class, sitting in front of a computer, and may also find it useful to attend some of the free classes and workshops on various technical topics offered by ACITS, TeamWeb, or the General Libraries. See

http://www.utexas.edu/computer/classes/

http://www.utexas.edu/cc/training/handouts/tutorials.html#internet