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Chad Hoffman
College of Natural Resources
Phone: (208) 885-7115
Email: Chadh@uidaho.edu

Zack Holden
College of Natural Resources

Required Books

There are no required books for this class. Reading Material will be primarily from government documents and the scientific literature. You may access reading materials through the University of Idaho Online Library.

Course Objectives

This course is not about the memorization of fire effects details, it is about understanding concepts, thinking logically, pursuing knowledge, identifying resources and communicating. In addition I hope this class makes the study of fire effects interesting and maybe just exciting enough that you will continue to pursue knowledge about this for the remainder of your life.

To better emphasize these objectives this course is taught as a combination of traditional lecture based methods and problem based learning. About half of the time in this class will be mini-lectures and the other half will be taught using a problem-based format where you will work individually or as a group on complex real world problems.

This course will require you to look at the available information on fire effects and burn severity, analyze that information and solve real world problems. We will focus on the principles, processes of understanding, evaluating and collecting information about fire effects. The goal of this class is to make you a better fire manager by improving your ability to manage fire effects. This class should provide you with a deeper understanding of the basic mechanisms of fire effects such that you will be able to:

1. Describe the basic mechanisms governing fire effects
2. Evaluate and interpret fire effects information
3. Think critically and be able to analyze and solve complex, real world fire effects problems
4. Find, evaluate, and use appropriate learning resources

Grading

Aha Moments (4 x 25)	100
Threaded Discussion (4 x 25)	100
Burn Severity Assignment	150
Fuel Consumption and Air Quality Assignment	150
Soil Heating and Erosion Assignment	150
Tree Mortality and Salvage Logging	150
Burn Severity Project	200
Total	1000

Aha Moments

Throughout each topic in this course you may experience what is termed an "Aha!" moment. These are moments when something you have been reading or contemplating makes sense with an unexpected clarity. I will ask you to post on of your "Aha!' moments for different topics throughout the course. At the end of the semester I will also ask you to pick what you think is your best "Aha!" moment from this class.

For each Aha moment you should explain in some detail what the moment was, and why this moment seemed important to you in terms of your learning. In general I would like you to contemplate the experience and synthesize it within the context of other newly acquired knowledge.

You should spend some time on this activity since it is reflective and not reactive. It may be helpful to keep a journal of sorts throughout the class to document your aha moments (this is not required)

Your grad for the "Aha!" moments will be based mostly on completing the task but 20 percent will be based on writing style and your explanation of the moment. 

Points	Quantity	Quality
90 -100	Did the student post at least once for each Aha moment and responded to others aha moments	Did the student use new vocabulary and readings, and clearly synthesis his/her aha moment within the context of newly acquired knowledge.
80 - 90	Did the student post at least once for each Aha moment	Did the student utilize information and vocabulary from the required readings and presentation and clearly synthesized their aha moment.
70 - 80	Students did not post at least once for each Aha moment	Students did not adequately utilize vocabulary and information from the required readings and or did not clearly explain their aha moment.
0	You will get a score of zero if you do not participate in the Aha Moments

Threaded Discussion

Throughout this course you will be required to participate in 4 threaded discussions. Your grades for threaded discussions will be based upon a combination of the number of posts the clarity of your posts and the quality of you posts. To view a more detailed breakdown of the threaded discussion grading rubric please see the below table. To participate in threaded discussions you should log onto Blackboard.

	Points	Quantity	Quality/Clarity	Quality/Critical Thought
	90-100	Did the student post significantly more than two times	Did the student use new vocabulary, and make his/her points clearly	Did the student respond professionally to the critique or questions of fellow students?
	80-89	Did the student post at least twice on each discussion	Did the student utilize information and vocabulary from the required readings and presentation	Did the student build on, or synthesize, the comments of the preceding students?
	70-79			As a bare minimum, student must always be polite to other students. Water topics can sometimes be controversial. It’s OK – even enlightening – to disagree, but do so professionally.
	0	You will get a score of zero if you do not participate in the threaded discussion by the required deadline

Burn Severity Assignment

To view the Burn Severity Assignment Please Click here!

Combustion and emissions Assignment

To view the combustion and emissions Assignment Please Click here!

Assessing Fire Effects on Soil Assignment

To View the assessing fire effects on soils assignment click here!

Assessing Post Fire Mortality Assignment

To View the assessing post fire mortality assignment click here!