Sample Syllabus

The following is a sample syllabus used for a Basic Soil Science course. The syllabus has been broken down section by section with explanations of the content next to each section.

If you prefer to download a Word version of the sample annotated syllabus you may do so here:

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Syllabus Sample

Explanation

PLT 2310/2310L: BASIC SOIL SCIENCE

Soil • Tierra • Erde • по́чва • Boden • Terre

This syllabus is accessible for students with disabilities. It has style headings and alt text for images. See CAFE's Creating Accessible Courses materials.

Cal Poly Pomona resides on the traditional territory and homelands of the California Indians. The Tongva and Tataavium people are the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar. I acknowledge that this land remains the shared space among the Kizh, Serrano, Cahuilla and Luiseno people. I acknowledge the spiritual connection and rights as the original stewards and traditional caretakers of this land. I thank them for their strength, perseverance and resistance. I am a guest on these lands.

A land acknowledgement is an anti-racist syllabus element. This land acknowledgement is appropriate for Cal Poly Pomona. See the President's statement on land acknowledgements.

Who is your instructor? Dr. Victoria Bhavsar

You can call me Dr. B or Dr. Bhavsar. "Professor" is fine, too.
My professional training dealt with soil microbiology in organically managed farm soils. I'm also fascinated by the human connection with soils. People who work with soil are often deeply attached to their soil. We use soil in art and as cultural touchstones.

How can you get help from Dr. B?

I welcome your questions, concerns, and conversations! Please reach out.

Email vbhavsar@cpp.edu. I will respond within 24 hr Mon - Fri and at my convenience on weekends. I don't respond to email after 8pm or before 7am to maintain some work-life balance. Email is the best way to get in touch!
Meet with me on Mondays, 8:00 - 8:50am (right before class!) in my office at Bldg 1-227.
Leave a voicemail at 909-869-4640.
If my Monday meeting hours don't work for you, please email and we'll set up an appointment. Being available to help you is important to me!

CPP syllabus policy requires Instructor's name, office location, phone number, e-mail address, office hours schedule, location, and modality. This syllabus uses inclusive practices of providing a picture, a short personal statement, the instructor's preferred method of being addressed, the best way to get in touch, how long it will take to get a reply, and active encouragement to get in touch.

Class and lab format: Face to Face

Lecture (2 credits): Mondays & Wednesdays, 9:00 - 9:50 a.m., Bldg. 2-202
Lab (1 credit): Wednesdays, 12:00 - 2:50 p.m., Bldg. 7-240 unless otherwise indicated.

CPP syllabus policy does NOT require specifying class format, meeting times, or location. However, it is a supportive practice to do so.

Course learning outcomes: What is this course about, and why?

Catalogue description: “Basic concepts of living and non-living systems of soils; integrated relationships between soils and climate, plants, and animals. Physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. Practical approach to current problems through basic soil principles.”

This course is an introduction to the complex world of soils, particularly regarding farming and agriculture, with a big side of environmental science. If you do your part by putting in the effort required, you will:

Know a lot of basic information about soils, either by memory or where to find it quickly.
Be able to find more information about soils, that is high-quality and relevant to the situation.
Solve agricultural soil management problems using data.
Be conscious of, value, and explain the profound importance of soils to our lives, and their connection with your academic or professional goals.
Reflect upon the diverse ways that different peoples and cultures worldwide relate to soils.
Hopefully, end up LIKING soils and care about taking care of them.
Progress in mastery of professional behaviors that are valued in most workplaces, especially agriculture and natural sciences ones.

CPP syllabus policy requires a statement of course objectives. This can be limited to the catalogue description. This syllabus uses an inclusive practice of providing more information in clear, direct, student-friendly language that better describes objectives in terms of relevance to student goals.

It is tragically true that agriculture in the United States and in California has historically contributed much to racial and ethnic injustice. Our treatment and management of soils has been part of this history and now must contribute to redress of injuries and healing of communities. We will approach this history and this current imperative in two ways: Course content and class climate.

For course content, in addition to the textbook, we will use materials from a variety of scientists and environments. The scientific method and many analytical methods are similar across all of soil science and even cross over into engineering and other disciplines. But the important questions that are asked, the interpretation of data to reach answers, and the communication of those answers depend upon who is doing the science and for what purposes. We will consciously use materials that address soil science from a variety of perspectives, and we'll always ask, “Who is doing this? Why? Who benefits? And who doesn't?” from every material we use. Additionally, there room for you to make your own choices in assignments and projects -- choose things that are important to you and your community.

For class climate, it is my intention that every teaching choice I make and every interaction I have with you leads to a class that is respectful, open, welcoming, and encouraging to all students. When you interact with one another, I ask that everyone is respectful, helpful, and even kind. I welcome you to approach me with concerns you have about the class climate and relationships within the class as we proceed.

This section of the syllabus is an active anti-racist statement, acknowledging the oppressive history of agriculture and planning ways to address it.

What materials are required?

The required textbook is Elements of the Nature & Properties of Soils, 4th ed. (2018). Authors Niles Brady & Ray Weil. Brady & Weil's Nature & Properties of Soils is the most comprehensive soil science resource for North American soils. It's a professional resource worth getting for your own library. The “Elements of” book is specifically written for undergraduate soils classes.

This textbook is automatically provided via the Bronco Bookstore's Instant Access Complete Program. Instant Access Complete delivers all your course materials for all your courses for one flat fee of $250. You'll access textbooks digitally via Canvas. See the Instant Access Complete link in the Canvas navigation menu of any of your classes. If you use Instant Access Complete, you will NOT need to buy the book separately from the bookstore, publisher or any other source. See the Bronco Bookstore's FAQ page.

You are welcome to get a different edition of this book, or a fairly recent edition of the full-length The Nature & Properties of Soils. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure you are reading the correct material for the week no matter what the chapter numbers are, so be careful if you get a different edition.

Other readings will come from a variety of authors and perspectives.

You need reliable access to computer and internet to get assigned readings and activities from Canvas and other websites, and to turn in assignments. Please let me know if you have technology access issues so we can connect you with campus resources.

It is a supportive practice to specify technology resources that are necessary for student success, rather than taking for granted that students will “know.” It is also supportive to recognize that not all students have access to technology and to offer help in connecting with campus resources.

What should you already know and be able to do?

Prerequisites: CHE 1210/1210L or equivalent from other universities.
Co-requisites: PLS 2310/2310L.
Necessary skills: Basic arithmetic and simple algebra; fluency in reading university-level textbooks and materials; ability to follow directions; willingness to interact in person in class and lab meetings and/or online in discussion boards and the like; ability to use email, Canvas, and basic internet functions such as searching.

CPP syllabus policy requires a list of pre-requisites and co-requisites. It is a supportive practice to specify skills and behaviors that you expect students to display in your class without special instruction.

What can you expect from me?

I will do my best to make this course an excellent learning experience for you - well-organized, interesting, relevant, with meaningful assignments and the support you need to succeed. I will take suggestions for improving the learning environment seriously. I will do my best to grade your work fairly and in a timely fashion, and to keep grades updated on Canvas.

I am a LGBTQ Safe Zone Ally, a Dreamers Ally, I know we have many first-generation students and student parents, I am familiar with veterans' issues, and in general I know that everyone has a big, rich life that includes all manner of challenges. I want to help you succeed. Please talk to me, since only you can properly communicate your situation.

It is supportive to tell your students about the behaviors they can expect from you. Take care when and if writing this section, as these are promises you must be able to keep.

In particular, if you are a student with a disability , please contact the Disability Resource Center to coordinate specific accommodations, and I will gladly work with you. I have striven to make all instructional materials basically accessible, but if you find something you can't access (for example, if you need video captions and they are not present on a video) please let me know. Here's Cal Poly Pomona's policy on accessibility.

CPP's syllabus policy recommends a statement regarding students with disabilities. It is a supportive practice to have an encouraging and positive statement rather than a simple referral to the DRC.

See later in this syllabus for a list of campus resources .

CPP syllabus policy recommends including a list of campus resources.

How will I communicate with you?

At-least weekly reminder emails and announcements on Canvas, on Thursdays. Your cpp.edu email is the official method of communication. Check your CPP email daily for important info from around campus as well as this class.
Reminders in class and lab meetings.
Personal or individual emails as needed.

It's a good idea to specify a communication plan. Make sure you can stick with it. See Planning Communications by Robert Talbert.

What can YOU give the class?

You can practice “professionalism.” In agriculture, and other areas, being professional includes thinking carefully, doing work that's well beyond the minimum of quality, being respectful and courteous to others, and meeting obligations without fuss. I appreciate students who pay attention to class happenings, who are willing to try new things and to ask questions, who are not scared of mistakes, and who are willing to put in the time to do good work.

For this class specifically, professionalism means:

Doing the work in a timely fashion - The learning activities in this class are carefully selected to help you learn. If you don't understand why we're doing something, please ask!
Professional courtesy - Attend class meetings and lab meetings. Come on time, prepared, and tune in the whole time. Pay attention, listen to others and be ready to contribute.
- Both face to face and in Canvas, speak and write respectfully and politely, seeking to understand rather than to "win." Disagreement or challenging of ideas in a courteous and supportive way is encouraged. Disrespectful speech or behavior, especially regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, etc., is not acceptable.
Use electronics ONLY to support learning - Feel free to take notes and look things up, but don't phone, text, game, surf the internet, etc., during class meetings. It distracts others and it interferes with learning because it runs on the same cognitive pathways as listening, thinking, solving problems, and taking notes. Knit, doodle, or play with modeling clay to keep your hands busy.

This class and lab will demand significant time, at least 9 hours per week. Calendar your time!

It's supportive to tell students what you want from them. This would be a good section to include classroom etiquette expectations. It is an anti-racist practice to include an explicit statement forbidding disrespectful speech or behavior especially regarding personal identities.

It's a supportive practice to let students know very clearly how much time you anticipate them spending on your class. If possible, include a class activity early on where they actually pull out their calendars.

How will you be graded?

Although you have registered for the lecture and lab as separate units, they are an integrated experience. You will get one grade for both.

Both the amount of work and the quality of your work tie into your grade, which is typical of professional career evaluation. There are several categories of work. You need to do certain things and achieve a certain quality of work for the grade you want. If every person earns an A, I will be THRILLED. Keep reading!

CPP syllabus policy requires an explanation of the grading system and the examination methods.

It's supportive to choose a grading system that supports growth and perseverance, rather than resulting in competition or students giving up. See the Grading for Growth blog for many good ideas.

In any case, explain the grading system in clear, direct, student-friendly terms.

Category of work	Description
Weekly class participation and lab activities	Weekly class participation and lab activities In-class and in-lab activities. Class and lab prep work including textbook reading notes. Find more information day to day in class, lab, and on Canvas. Activities are graded as Excellent, Complete, Incomplete, or Skipped. Keys or other feedback will be provided to the class as a whole. Individual feedback available upon request.
Soil Photojournal and Soil & Science Autobiography	Soil Photojournal and Soil & Science Autobiography 10 - 12 pictures of soil or soil-related things, documented and annotated. Short personal history of your background with soil and with science, and how this class has contributed to your growth. Find more information in Canvas.
Major independent project	Choose to do a Soil Quality Monitoring Plan or a Research Poster. Deadlines through the semester will ensure that you are making progress. Find more information in Canvas.
Three major “quizzes” during lab periods	Quizzes will be taken in two parts: Individual (you take the quiz individually). Then by small groups (re-take the SAME quiz together). Your final grade will be 85% your individual grade and 15% your group grade. The group usually does better than the individual. Quizzes will cover lab activities as well as lecture material.
Cumulative final	You will take this exam individually.

CPP syllabus policy requires a description of examination methods.

What grade do you want to aim for?	Here's what you need to do:
If you want an A:	You need to: Complete 85% of the weekly class participation and lab activities, achieving Excellent on a majority (>50%) of activities Complete the soil photojournal/autobiography project with an Excellent grade. This may require revisions. Complete the major independent project with an Excellent grade; this WILL require revisions, so you'll need to meet some early deadlines
If you want a B:	You need to: Complete 85% of the weekly class participation and lab activities, achieving Complete on a majority (>50%) of activities Complete the soil photojournal/autobiography project with a Complete grade (this may require revisions) Complete the three major “quizzes” and the cumulative final, with an 80% average across all of them including the final OR demonstrate significant improvement over the semester
If you want a C:	You need to: Complete 80% of the weekly class participation and lab activities, achieving Complete on a majority (>50%) of activities Complete the three major “quizzes” and the cumulative final, with 70% average across all of them including the final OR demonstrate significant improvement over the semester
If you just want to pass with a D:	You need to: Complete 60% of the weekly class participation and lab activities, achieving Complete on a majority (>50%) of activities Complete the three major “quizzes” and the cumulative final, with 60% average across all of them including the final

Plusses and minuses will be used if you are close to a border. For example, you complete less than 85% of all the weekly activities, but meet every other requirement for an A, your grade could be an A- or B+.

What if you think your grade on something is wrong?

You may appeal grades via email within 3 days of the time that the graded work was returned. Include the specific reason you think my judgment was incorrect. Cite sources that support your appeal. I will re-grade. I won't guarantee that your grade will be raised, but it will not be lowered.

It's a supportive practice to offer a relatively easy, but formal, grade appeals process. The requirement to put appeals in writing with a rationale and an information source offers students a learning opportunity…and tends to reduce frivolous appeals.

What if life happens? Make-up and late work

Please let me know if circumstances arise which make it difficult for you to meet class obligations. I will make every effort to work with you within university policy guidelines. If you have obligations such as jury duty or military service, Cal Poly Pomona activities, medical issues including pregnancy-related, or significant family responsibilities, please talk to me. I have considered diverse religious and cultural holidays in creating the calendar so as not to have major assignments or events that conflict. If you do have such a holiday that I was not able to account for, please talk to me and we'll work out an alternative.

Treat this class as a serious professional obligation. In short, if you would not miss your job or turn in a late job project for a particular reason, do not miss class meetings or hand in late work for it. Especially, try not to miss lab meetings, because it is extremely difficult to make up lab experiences.

If for any reason you miss one of the “major quizzes” which are held during lab times, the make-up exam will be ORAL. You'll meet with me and talk through the exam.

For all other work (weekly participation & activities, soil photojournal, etc.), you will get six (6) “tokens.” You can use a token to turn work in up to 72 hours late no questions asked (use another token to get another extension). Bear in mind that you will not get much feedback on late work so it will be hard to revise effectively, and I will not lower my expectations for work quality. Once your tokens are gone, late work will not be accepted.

Please stay in touch with me. Again, if you truly have “ish” happening, I will make every effort to work with you within university policy guidelines.

CPP Syllabus policy requires a description of your particular policies regarding make-ups, late work, absences, etc. Although your polices can be as strict as you like, including “no make-ups ever except for pregnancy-related absences [this is a Title IX issue]” it's much better to provide some reasonable flexibility as long as you can apply it consistently.

This policy as written is generous and will not work for all classes. Here is a sample suggestion for how to have a much stricter policy and still be very supportive of students:

"I do not accept late work for any reason. There are two reasons for this very strict approach: 1) In our discipline of finance, missing a reporting or filing deadline can cost literally millions of dollars and even break the law. It's better to get used to strict timeliness in this class, where the cost is rather low. 2) I do not want to be in the position of judging anyone's issues, which despite my best intentions can lead to unfairness. Therefore, there is one standard for everyone. I have used data from past courses to ensure that the schedule for homework and projects is reasonable and does not put students at a disadvantage if they work, have family responsibilities, etc. There are also enough homework opportunities that missing one or two should not seriously impact your grade if you are doing well in other areas.

"Make-up exams are given only for pre-arranged, university-approved reasons such as athletic events, conferences, religious obligations, etc., or for emergencies such as severe illness, accident, etc. Please plan to provide documentation for all make-up exam requests. The reasons for such a strict approach are the same as above."

This isn't a question: Privacy and security for our class

Do not record our class or lab meetings unless you have everyone's explicit and current permission to do so. Do not take pictures of people unless you have their explicit and current permission to do so. Do not share pictures you have permission to take unless you have explicit and current permission to do so based on informed consent where you plan to share them. For example, if everyone in your group says "Sure, take pictures," you then need to say "Is it okay if I post them on [social media app of the moment]?"

Here's some information about privacy and security policies for Canvas and the university:

CPP policy does not require privacy statements. This privacy statement sets out a robust policy for the course based on affirmative informed consent.

This isn't a question either: Academic integrity

Integrity and ethical behavior are central to a positive professional identity. A boss will fire you immediately for lying, and academic dishonesty is lying. Cheating and plagiarism put all students at risk: If a lot of CPP students cheat, then a grade or a degree from CPP is worthless. I understand that pressure can be severe and shortcuts are tempting. Please don't use cheating as a shortcuts. Instead, talk to me.

Cheating and plagiarism include but are not limited to: Paying someone to do an assignment for you, purchasing a paper that someone else wrote, pretending you did work that you didn't do, copying someone else's work, using materials from Chegg, CourseHero, etc. In addition, do not contribute materials from this class to Chegg or CourseHero -- your work is your work, but the assignments and experiences I've created for you are my work and I do not give consent for that work to be shared with such outlets.

Here is a special note on chatGPT, DALL-E2 and other AI softwares that can compose coherent written or visual responses: The use of these resources must be disclosed and cited no matter when or how they are used. Use of these tools without disclosure is pretending you did work you didn't do.

Academic dishonesty at any stage of a project or activity will result in at least a failing grade for that activity, with more severe penalties possible in consultation with Student Conduct. Again, if you're under pressure and in trouble, I urge you to make the good choice of talking to me to see what we can work out.

CPP Syllabus policy requires a description of your particular policies regarding academic integrity issues. You can be as strict as you deem fit, but it's good practice to be direct and descriptive about what you think cheating is and is not.

CPP currently (Fall 2023) has no university level policy regarding AI. A syllabus statement is recommended to clarify YOUR response to the use of AI.

Where can you find help on campus? University Student Support

This is a big campus with a lot of resources. Everyone wants to see you succeed! Here's a few that might be especially helpful:

CPP Syllabus policy recommends including a list of resources that students can access.

Tentative Course Schedule

Topics may be adjusted as we go. Due dates will not change.

Week Sample	Week of:	Monday Lecture	Wednesday Lecture	Wednesday Lab	Project due dates
1	Aug. 28	Introduction and big questions	Soil quality & ethnopedology	Welcome to Soils Lab Safety Physical Properties I (Texture by feel) "Boxes of Rocks" Reading the textbook
2	Sept. 4	Labor Day: No class	Soil formation	Soil profile and landscape description: Meet in Parking Lot M
3	Sept. 11	Classification & morphology	Classification & morphology	Soil Web Survey I: Meet in Computer Lab, location tbd	Sunday Sept. 10, 11:59pm: Choose independent project topic
4	Sept. 18	Physical properties	Physical properties	Major quiz: Soil quality through Classification & morphology
5	Sept. 25	Erosion & conservation	Erosion & conservation	Field trip to soil quality sites for landscape analysis and sampling: Meet at Farm Store
6	Oct. 2	Water	Water	Physical properties II: texture by hydrometer, consistency, bulk density, aggregate stability Set up decomp and salinity experiment	Sunday Oct. 8, 11:59pm: First draft of independent project due
7	Oct. 9	Temperature, aeration, & wetlands	Temperature, aeration, & wetlands	Physical properties and water in the field: Meet at Farm Store
8	Oct. 16	Colloids & CEC	Dr. B AWAY: Online lesson	Major quiz: Physical Properties through Temperature, aeration, & wetlands. Dr. B still away; quiz will be handled by a substitute person
9	Oct. 25	Colloids & CEC	Organic matter	Walking tour of campus soil issues: Meet at Soils Lab and go from there	Sunday Nov. 5, 11:59pm: Second draft of independent project due
10	Oct. 30	Soil and climate change	Soil biology	Topic TBD: Possible field trip to Spadra for soil quality characterization
11	Nov. 6	pH & salinity	pH & salinity	Nutrient testing, pH, & measuring salinity
12	Nov. 13	Nutrient cycling	Dr. B AWAY: Online lesson	NO LAB MEETING -- work on things as necessary	Sunday Nov. 12: IF you want feedback on your Soil photojournal & autobiography, a draft is due.
13	Nov. 20	Nutrient cycling	Fertility & fertilizer	Complete decomp and salinity experiment
14	Nov. 27	Fertility & fertilizers	Soils and environment	Major quiz: Colloids & CEC through nutrient cycling	Sunday Dec. 3 11:59pm: Final version of independent project due
15	Dec. 4	Soils and environment	Soil quality reprise	Final exam review	Sunday Sept. 10, 11:59pm: Soil photojournal & autobiography due
Finals	Dec. 11	No class meeting	Cumulative individual final exam, 9:00 - 10:50am

CPP syllabus policy requires a tentative schedule of assignments and exams. However, see the next comment below regarding schedules.

It's best not to adjust midterm and due dates no matter what's happening with the content. Many students plan their lives quite carefully and count on having accurate information from the beginning. Having “tentative” due dates and exam dates causes problems and makes you look disorganized as the professor, but adjusting content is fine.