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science + media course assessment 1
Appendix A
Pre/Post Questionnaire
1. What is your home department?
a. Journalism
b. Telecommunications
c. Geology
d. Biology
e. Natural resource & environmental management
f. Other (please specify)
2. What is your gender?
a. Female
b. Male
c. Other (please specify)
3. What is your academic classification?
a. Freshmen
b. Sophomore
c. Junior
d. Senior
e. Other (please specify)
Knowledge & Perceived Confidence_SCIENCE*
In Table 1, these are labeled Sci 1, Sci 2, etc., and are the same order as they appear in this
questionnaire. Correct answers are underlined.
1. When was the Clean Water Act enacted?
a. 1970
b. 1972
c. 1974
d. 1977
e. none of the above
2. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for:
a. Any projects that may significantly impact the environment
b. All federal projects with budgets greater than one million dollars
c. All federal projects with the potential to significantly impact the environment
d. Any construction project, public or private
e. None of the above
3. Title IV of the Clean Water Act creates a mechanism for permits and licenses to regulate
pollution. This system is collectively called…
a. National pollution control network
b. National pollution discharge elimination system
c. Federal pollution regulation system
d. Federal discharge regulation permits
e. None of the above
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4. An industrial site has a permit to release treated industrial waste into a local waterway.
The effluent emerges from two large pipes. Such discharge would be called…
a. Non-point-source pollution
b. Point-source pollution
c. Neither, the discharge is not pollution
5. Municipal water supplies must, each year, provide a consumer confidence report to all
connections to their water supply. What federal program mandates these reports?
a. Title III of the Clean Water Act
b. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
c. 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act
d. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
e. None of the above
6. You have a sample of pure water at 20-degrees Celsius that is open such that it has
equilibrated to the oxygen in the atmosphere. The sample of water warms to 30-degrees
Celsius over the course of an hour. Assuming no other changes, what would happen to
the amount of oxygen in the sample?
a. It would increase
b. It would decrease
c. It would stay the same
d. None of the above
7. What is the minimum number of samples to properly calibrate a pH meter?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. none of the above
8. A ‘tile drain’ in agriculture is what?
a. A ceramic-lined ditch that separates fields
b. Vertical pipes scattered in a field designated to drain surface waters
c. A subsurface, perforated pipe that helps to reduce soil saturation
d. None of the above
9. Left opened in a clear bottle, a water sample to be analyzed for forms of nitrogen will not
be viable after a short time because…
a. Nitrites will oxidize
b. UV radiation will react with some forms of nitrogen
c. Both answers are correct
d. Neither answer is correct
10. The ‘riparian zone’ refers to…
a. The steepest part of a river bank
b. The zone adjacent to a river with hydrophilic vegetation
c. The entire floodplain surrounding a river
d. All areas within a 100-year flood zone adjacent to a river
e. None of the above
11. Sediments of silt or clay size are largely transported in a river by…
a. Suspension
b. Saltation
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c. Bedload
d. Dissolved load
e. None of the above
12. The velocity of water in a straight segment of a stream is greatest…
a. In the center and at the bottom
b. Near the banks
c. It all moves the same speed
d. In the center at 40% of the depth
e. None of the above
13. Discharge in a river is directly proportional to what?
a. The velocity and cross-sectional area
b. The depth and the velocity
c. The wetted perimeter and the volume
d. The width and the bed roughness
e. None of the above
14. Hypoxia in a body of water refers to what?
a. An increase of oxygen with depth
b. A dramatic reduction of oxygen with depth
c. None of the above
15. Methods to reduce sediment and nutrient loss from an agricultural field include all of the
following except…
a. Contour or strip farming
b. ‘no till’ farming
c. riparian buffers
d. drainage tiles
e. none of the above
Knowledge & Perceived Confidence_MEDIA*
In Table 2, these are labeled Media 1, Media 2, etc., and are the same order as they appear in
this questionnaire. Correct answers are underlined.
1. The press in America has an obligation to act in socially responsible ways, according to
the…
a. First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
b. Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the Press
c. Libertarian Theory of the Press
d. Federal Communications Commission
e. None of the above
2. Attribution in a news story provides which of the following?
a. Names the source
b. Allows the reader/viewer/listener to know who is responsible for the statement
c. Helps the reader/viewer/listener evaluate the credibility of the statement
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
3. Reporters should use headphones when recording audio to ensure good audio quality.
a. True
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b. False
4. What do media practitioners call the audio that always exists at a scene?
a. Natural sound
b. Reporter track
c. Stereo sound
d. Sound effects
e. None of the above
5. Which of the following questions would likely generate the best quotes or sound bites
from an interviewee?
a. Do you agree with the government’s decision to raise taxes?
b. What happened when the robbery suspects entered the store?
c. Does the governor’s decision hurt his chances of winning re-election and why is
the legislature opposed to his ideas?
d. Didn’t the director’s action make you angry?
6. When is it acceptable to use a zoom or a pan?
a. When shooting a building
b. When you can get the whole scene in one shot
c. When motivated by the action
d. When you feel creative
e. None of the above
7. The Rule of Thirds requires that all photographers/videographers shoot two-thirds of their
story with the subject fully centered in the frame.
a. True
b. False
8. What is the minimum number of shots needed to make a sequence?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. none of the above
9. In some instances, it is OK to publish/broadcast a story that contains inaccurate
information, as long as some part of it is true.
a. True
b. False
10. Five pieces of information should be evident in all standard news stories. Which of the
following best represents these elements?
a. Commentary, rumors, who, what, number
b. Who, what, where, when, why
c. Dramatization, when, where, why, how
d. What, speculation, defamation, legality, number
e. None of the above
11. Which of the following is a primary source for research?
a. Book you read
b. Interview you conducted
c. News story available on the Internet
d. Magazine article you have
e. None of the above
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12. Personal microphones, e.g., lavalieres, are designed to pick up sounds from the source
about how far away?
a. 6 inches
b. 12 inches
c. 14 inches
d. 15 inches
e. none of the above
13. A smaller f-stop in a camera means what in terms of the amount of light transmitted?
a. More light
b. Less light
14. Although light can be any ‘color’ between infrared and ultraviolet, there are two basic
standards: 3200K (kelvin) for incandescent lamps and what value for average daylight?
a. 5000k
b. 5500k
c. 6000k
d. none of the above
15. When editing video, whenever possible, you should ‘cut’ the content where?
a. During movement
b. After movement occurs
c. When aesthetically appropriate
d. None of the above
* The questionnaire included this question about the respondents’ perceived confidence after
each of the questions listed above:

How confident are you in your previous answer?
o Certain it’s wrong
o Think it’s wrong but not sure
o Think it’s correct but have doubt
o Certain it’s correct
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Appendix B
Field Notebook Rubric
General category
Book title
Author name
Date range
Table of contents
2 points
2 points
2 points
4 points
_____
_____
_____
_____
Field data – each page
Name(s)
Date & page number
Start Time
Location (GPS)
Weather conditions
Field site condition (slumped, well-exposed, wet, etc.)
Rock formations/soil types/water bodies present
Purpose of the site examination
Detail
Legibility
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
_____
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Field sketch – each page
Name(s)
Date & page number
Start Time
Location (GPS)
Scale information
North arrow
Legend
Units
Detail
Legibility
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
_____
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Laboratory notes – each page
Name(s)
Date & page number
Start Time
Lab Location
Sample information
Analysis method
Results /precision
Units and significant digits
Detail
Legibility
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
_____
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Class/group notes – each page
Name(s)
Date & page number
Start Time
Class/group work location
Topic
Purpose/activity
Accuracy
Proper citations/Referencing
Detail
Legibility
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
1 point
_____
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Notes:
A) Total number of pages x 10
B) Total number of marks in each category x 1
C) Row A – row B
_____
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D) Row C divided by row A x 200 (NOTEBOOK GRADE)
_____
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Appendix C
Focus Group Questions
Re: approach
 What did you think of the combination of media and science students in this
interdisciplinary course?
Re: course objectives
 To what extent were the course objectives met, in your opinion? What could have been
done as a part of the course to improve this?
Intended Course Outcomes
Upon completion of your contribution to this interdisciplinary endeavor, you should be able to:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Synthesize scientific findings and report results;
Create visual representations of scientific results and publicly share them;
Identify linkages between your own field in conjunction with another;
Articulate the role that non-profit organizations have in helping the public
understand our water resources.
Re: knowledge gained
 What do you now understand about your own field that you didn’t know before this
course? What do you now understand about the “other” field that you didn’t know before
this course?