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Bob Dennison
Associate Professor of Earth Science
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Office: ICB 2408
Phone: (309)
268-8646
Email: robert.dennison@heartland.edu
Description of duties:
Teach classes in the Earth Science Section of the Math & Science Division. Classes taught include
EASC 111 - Environment Earth, EASC 121 - Intro to Earth Science, &
EASC 122 Intro to Earth Science Lab. Also began teaching GEOG 101
- World Geography in Summer of 2007.
Education:
B. S. in Geography,
Eastern Illinois
University, 1976
M. S. in Geography,
University of Southern
Mississippi, 1983
Teaching Experience:
Heartland Community College, 2001 -
present.
Illinois State University, 1988 - 1999. Worked as both part and
full time instructor teaching Earth Science, Weather, World Regional
Geography, and a graduate level course in Urban Geography.
Lincoln College, Normal Annex, 1988, Earth Science.
Illinois Central College, 1990 - 1991, Earth Science.
Heartland Community College, 1992 (summer), Earth Science.
Illinois
Valley Community College, 1991 - 2001. Full time tenured
instructor teaching classes in Weather, Earth Science, Cultural
Geography, and World Regional Geography. As part of my teaching
load, I was assigned to teach a class in Cultural Geography at Sheridan
Correctional Center where I taught about 25 - 30 inmates on five separate
occasions. Links to Classes:
*REGULAR SEMESTER*
EASC
111
EASC 121
EASC
122
EASC
151
GEOG 101
Fall
Schedule
Spring
Schedule
Assignments
and Tests dates
*SUMMER SCHOOL* EASC
111 EASC
121
EASC 122
GEOG101 Schedule
Links to:
Scientific Method
Student Evaluation of Instructor
WORLD CLOCK
Personal
Data
Guidelines
for written reports
Seven
Simple Rules For My Classes
***
LINK TO 10 BAD HABITS
FOR WORK AND SCHOOL *** WAYS
TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL
1. GO TO CLASS EVERY DAY AND
BE ON TIME! 2. DO HOMEWORK
(DON'T GET BEHIND) 3.
REVIEW NOTES WITHIN 1 HOUR OF CLASS ENDING (IMPROVES YOUR RETENTION BY
80%) 4. STUDY IN THE
LIBRARY AT LEAST 1 HOUR DAILY:
A. AT TABLES: BOOK FLAT ON TABLE
B. NO COMFY
CHAIRS
C. FEET FLAT ON FLOOR
D. BACK STRAIGHT
E. NO CELL PHONE
F. NO FOOD (SUGAR TENDS TO REDUCE RETENTION CAPACITY SO NO SWEETS WHILE
STUDYING OR BEFORE TAKING A TEST)
G. PUT TOGETHER
A RETENTION DIAGRAM FROM CLASS. BY DOING THIS AS YOU READ THE MATERIAL
IT WILL HELP YOU TAKE LESS NOTES DURING CLASS
5. GET COACHING WHEN NEEDED:
A. GET TUTOR
I. IN ADVANCE
II. TUTORING CENTER
B. INSTRUCTOR'S OFFICE HOURS OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT
6. VISUALIZE THE GRADE YOU DESIRE AND
POST IT IN A PROMINENT PLACE THAT MAKES YOU SEE IT EVERY DAY
7. STUDY IN GROUPS
8. EAT A HEALTHY DIET AND DRINK PLENTY OF
WATER EVERY DAY
12 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY
1. Pay attention.
You can't remember what you never knew, so don't be multitasking when
you're trying to learn or memorize something: Give it the spotlight of
your full attention at least once.
2. Understand. The more completely you get it, the less
likely you are to forget it. (If you don't understand football, you're
not likely to remember the scores.)
3. Repeat and apply. Directly after learning something,
repeat it, preferably out loud. Even better, use it in your own way. If
you want to remember a joke, for example, tell it to someone and try to
make them laugh.
4. Chunk. Although short-term memory can deal with only
about seven items at a time, you can finesse this limit by grouping
items together and thinking of each group as a unit. Later, you can
unpack those units. Remembering the numbers 5, 4, 6, 1, 9, 8, 6, 5
and 8 is harder than remembering the numbers 546, 198 and
658.
5. Make meaning. Nonsense is hard to remember. Compare
this:
disease reported control Chicago mumps the for of center an in
outbreak
with this:
The Centers for Disease Control reported an outbreak of mumps in
Chicago.
To make meaning where none inherently exists, the experts recommend
embedding the information in an invented narrative. The license plate
3PLY981 thus becomes: Three carpenters cut a piece of plywood
into nine pieces and ate one. Yes, I know, no one eats
plywood; but that's actually a strength of the narrative in this case.
(See step 7.)
6. Look for patterns. Stanford researchers have found
that forgetting is a key aspect of good remembering, but not because you
have to clear out space; rather, it's because forgetting the less
relevant details reveals the more meaningful underlying structure.
7. Visualize. Search the information for some element
you can turn into an image. If you've just met a Bridget Brooks and want
to remember her name, you might picture the Brooklyn Bridge
spanning her face from ear to ear. The more striking or ridiculous the
image, the more likely it is to stick in your mind.
8. Hook it to something funny. Stalagmites or
stalactites -- which ones go up? Well, it's like ants in your pants: The
'mites go up, the 'tites come down.
9. Hook it to a melody, chant, rhyme or rhythmic motion.
Remember singing A-B-C-D-E-F-G to the tune of "Baa Baa Black Sheep"? How
about: "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two/Columbus sailed the ocean
blue"? Or try pacing rhythmically while memorizing a table of data.
10. Associate new with old. Greek and Roman orators had a trick
for remembering a speech. They would create a striking image for each
topic they meant to cover (see step 7), mentally put these images in the
rooms of their home, and then, while giving the speech, picture
strolling through their home. Each next room would remind them of their
next topic, and in the proper order. Note that they didn't have to
remember the order of their rooms, because this knowledge was already
imprinted in their brains.
11. Link learning to environment. The memory tends to associate
information with the environment in which one learns it. If you're going
to be tested on something and you know where the test will occur, study
the material in the same sort of place. If you don't know anything about
the test site, study in a variety of locations so the memories won't get
locked into cues from one environment.
12. Let 'er drift. If a memory is staying out of reach, stop
fishing for it, the experts say. Instead, let your mind drift to the
general area: to friends you knew then, to the school you went to, the
car you drove ... with luck, you'll happen into the end piece of a chain
of links leading to the memory you're after.
First
Used
1/14/02
Last
Updated: 10/21/08
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