This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Join this discussion-based, upper-level science course to learn about the environment from a Catholic perspective— we will cover topics ranging from ecology and geology to physical geography (oceanic and atmospheric processes) and hydrology. This is a rigorous college preparatory course that explores the integration of our systematic planet.
Total Classes: 13
Duration: 1 hour (45-minute lecture with 15 minutes for Q&A)
Prerequisite: Earth Science and/or Biology
Suggested Grade Level: 11th to 12th grade (ages 16 to 18)
Suggested Credit: 1 full semester Environmental Science
Description
The course will be a combination of several scientific topics including ecology, geology, physical geography (oceanic and atmospheric processes), and hydrology. It will keep to scientific theory and the laws of nature. The classes will be a lecture and seminar style. Seminar means that students need to read the assigned reading(s) prior to each class and be ready to discuss the readings during the interactive online portion of the class.
Outline
Class 1: Catholic Social Teaching on the Environment – Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Class 2: Many Planets, One Earth
Class 3: The Ecosystem
Class 4: The Atmosphere
Class 5: The Ocean
Class 6: Water Resources
Class 7: Soils
Class 8: Mid-term review
Class 9: Wetlands
Class 10: Biodiversity
Class 11: Human Population Dynamics
Class 12: Biodiversity Decline
Class 13: Final Review
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: Vatican documents (found free online) – Compendium of Catholic Social Doctrine, Redemptor Hominis, Centesimus Annus, Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Plus online resources from The Habitable Planet website – https://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/index.html; physicalgeograpy.net; and resources from the Hippocampus.org earth science portion of its website which has a plethora of videos to support the readings.
Homework: The student should expect to spend 5-7 hours for each week.
