LFS 250.001/002: LAND, FOOD AND COMMUNITY I

Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia

xwməɵkwəyəm (Musqueam) Traditional Territory

Winter Session 2021/22 Terms 1 & 2

 

LECTURES: TUE 1230-1350: Pre-recorded lectures will be released on Canvas prior to each scheduled lecture time; online interactive in-person sessions via Zoom for Section 001 and Section 002 combined will be held from 1300-1350 each Tuesday.

LABS: TUE 1400-1520: No set physical or online location but groups can arrange to meet in-person or online (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) as needed. This time will also be used for in-person and online field trips at various times during the course.

TUTORIALS: TUE 1530-1650. T01-T07 tutorials are in-person; T08-T12 tutorials are online via Zoom (tutorial sections T08-T12).

 

INSTRUCTORS

Dr. DeLisa Lewis, delisa.lewis@ubc.ca, Office Hours TUE 1000-1100 (Zoom Meeting:) or by appointment. Lead Instructor for Section 002.

 

Dr. Matt Mitchell, matthew.mitchell@ubc.ca, Office Hours TUE 1100-1200 (Zoom Meeting:) or by appointment. Lead Instructor for Section 001.

 

Dr. Will Valley, will.valley@ubc.ca, Office Hours by appointment.

 

^***All times in this syllabus refer to Vancouver time (PDT/PST, UTC -7/8 hours)^***

 

OVERVIEW

Land, Food and Community I (LFS 250) is part of the Land, Food, and Community (LFC) series, the academic core of all programs in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. The objective of the LFC series is to create learning opportunities that encourage students to become citizens, professionals, and leaders who understand the opportunities and obstacles to creating regional, national, and global food systems that are ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable.

In LFS 250, we begin the process of becoming food systems thinkers by analyzing global and regional food systems through theory and personal experience. By participating in interdisciplinary group work, students learn about complex food system issues and how their disciplines contribute to addressing food system sustainability, food security, and food sovereignty.

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The overall goal of LFS 250 is to have students demonstrate food systems literacy and system thinking competencies in the analysis of wicked problems, particularly related to food systems sustainability and food security.

Upon completion of LFS 250, successful students will be able to:

• Define, describe, analyze, and interpret issues of food systems sustainability, food security, food sovereignty, food literacy, and food citizenship.

• Apply systems thinking processes to understand and analyze food systems issues at various levels (micro, meso, macro):

  • Describe and analyze components, boundaries, interactions, and stakeholders within a system.

  • Create system diagrams of food system sectors and nodes of activity (e.g., BC Dairy System and K-12 School Food Systems).

• Explain complex food system issues to academic and general audiences through oral, written, and design-based communication strategies.

  • Conduct oral presentations, facilitate discussions, and debate course topics.

  • Articulate, support a position, and explore implications of a controversial food system topic (e.g., Does food literacy matter?).

  • Design a food literacy workshop for students in a K-12 classroom setting.

• Collaborate in an interdisciplinary team context.

  • Describe personal areas of strength related to disciplinary knowledge, skills, and team work.

  • Identify team members' strengths and interact to accomplish shared tasks

  • Use common project management tools to organize team tasks (e.g., team charter, feedback loops, setting meeting agendas, creating meeting minutes). o Use conflict resolution strategies to address team work issues.

  • Give and receive feedback on team work.

• Critically reflect on:

  • Disciplinary and systemic perspectives on food system issues. o Your own learning process.

 

TEACHING & LEARNING IN A PANDEMIC

Life is beginning to return to "normal" after some challenging years dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there will likely continue to be challenges and times when our progress in combating COVID-19 seems to be moving backwards. If or when this occurs, it may impact how courses are taught at UBC, how we interact as a group in LFS 250, and your ease of learning over the year. There will also be some additional challenges for students that are unable to immediately return to UBC in person, either because of international travel, medical, or other issues. Our goal as instructors this year is to deliver the course in a way that is effective but flexible to ensure that each student can meet or exceed the course learning objectives. While there may be challenges this year, as long as we all approach our interactions and learning with kindness, respect, and understanding, we will collectively have a successful year.

 

COURSE ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION

Some students will likely become sick with respiratory illnesses or COVID-19 this year. Minimizing the chance of spreading COVID or other illnesses to other students depends on both teaching team flexibility and individual student responsibility around attending the in-person portions of the course. On the teaching team side, we will be open to adjusting due dates for individual students due to illness, but only with adequate advance notice by the student. Do not expect us to provide due date extensions the day an assignment is due! We will also be flexible around assessing class participation if provided advance notice of absences. On the student side, this means being aware of your health status, completing BC's online COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool before coming to campus, and not attending class in-person if you are feeling ill. There is always pressure to attend in-person classes, especially when presentations are being given or group work is being completed, but it is important this year to stay home if you are feeling sick. As described above, the teaching team will be understanding of these situations during the year (within reason) and will work with each student to provide alternative evaluation opportunities, including online options.

 

MASKS & VACCINATION

For our in-person meetings in this class, it is important that all of us feel as comfortable as possible engaging in class activities while sharing an indoor space. Non-medical masks that cover noses and mouths are a primary tool to make it harder for COVID-19 to be transmitted. Wearing non-medical mask during our class meetings, for your own protection, and the safety and comfort of everyone else in the class is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged. If you have not yet had a chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19, everyone in BC including international students can be vaccinated for free. The higher the rate of vaccination in our community overall, the lower the chance of spreading this virus. You are an important part of this community. Please arrange to get vaccinated if you have not already done so.

 

COURSE STRUCTURE

This year, LFS 250 is split into two sections, although for lectures both sections will be combined. There is no substantive difference between Sections 001 and 002 and lectures for the two sections will be combined. However, Tutorials 01 to 07 will have in-person tutorials, while Tutorials 08 to 12 will have online tutorials. Different components of the course will include both synchronous and asynchronous learning activities.

• Online learning occurs via Canvas, Zoom, or other online platforms.
• In-person learning occurs with instructors and students physically in the same space
• Synchronous Learning is any activity that happens in real-time, like a Zoom meeting or tutorial that instructors and students attend at the same time.
• Asynchronous Learning is any activity that students can complete on their own schedule.

 

READINGS

Readings, including academic papers, magazine articles, web articles, podcasts, and online videos will be assigned each week and are required course material. Additional materials and resources will also be provided but are not absolutely required (but will help you understand the material and meet the learning objectives). All of the required readings will be provided on the course Canvas website. You are expected to have completed the readings for each week prior to the lecture for that week.

 

LECTURES

Recorded lectures: Each week, a recorded lecture (~ 30 minutes long) will be made available on Canvas for both Sections 001 and 002. These lectures, along with weekly readings and course materials, form the majority of the content delivery for the course.

Interactive Zoom sessions: In addition to the recorded lectures, each week there will also be a single ~50 minute synchronous and interactive discussion session via Zoom for both Sections 001 and 002 combined. This session will focus on relevant individual or group activities that will help explain course concepts or will provide time for you to ask questions of the instructors and guest lecturers about the course material and upcoming assignments. We will also use online interactive tools to help reinforce course concepts.

 

LABS

LFS 250 involves a significant amount of group work. Given the interdisciplinary nature of food systems work, the ability to work collaboratively and effectively in group settings is critical. The lab time (TUE 1400-1520) provides students a set time to meet in their groups and complete group assignments (although groups should also meet outside of this time). Groups are free to meet in-person or online, depending on what is the best and most effective way for each particular group to interact over the course of the year.

 

TUTORIALS

Tutorials provide time for the majority of the practical, experiential, and community-based learning that happens in LFS 250. Tutorials 01-07 will occur in-person while Tutorials 08-12 will occur online via Zoom. Tutorials will involve short lectures, group work, activities, discussions, and presentations.

 

COURSE CANVAS SITE & MODULE STRUCTURE

All of the course content, lectures, and material will be available through the course Canvas site. This will include session notes for each lecture and tutorial, which must be reviewed before the session start and to progress through session Modules. Additional resources, detailed assignment information, community project information, and much more can be found on the Canvas site.

The course is organized through Modules in Canvas. Modules should be completed in order. Resources and activities within Modules include the Session Overview, Required Readings, recorded lectures, and other resources and assignments. Unless otherwise noted, Session Module items must be completed BEFORE the Session/Lecture begins.

A few Module items will be started the day of and completed the day after the tutorial session, including the UBC Farm Concept Map and Dairy Farm System Map.

 

LEARNING ONLINE, TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS & PRIVACY

Online learning means different responsibilities and etiquette requirements for everyone compared to in-person learning. Since many components of LFS 250 will be online through video conferencing technology such as Zoom, everyone needs to contribute to a respectful learning environment. This includes:

• Using earphones (if available) to reduce noise while online
• Muting your microphone when not speaking
• Using the "raise hand" function to speak up
• Turning off your video feed if you would rather not be seen or there will be distractions around you

Other "netiquette" guidelines can be found here: https://elearningindustry.com/10-netiquette-tips-online-discussions.

One important consideration is the use of webcams and your video feed in live sessions for the course. We will use Zoom for our "in-class" time. For teaching and collegial discussion, students are strongly encouraged to have their cameras on during lectures and online tutorials. This will allow your TA to respond and adapt to your non-verbal feedback and make the Zoom call feel more like being in a physical classroom. However, we also recognize that there may be classes or specific times when it is not possible or comfortable for you to have your camera on. While our expectation is that all students will have their cameras turned on in the online tutorials (see Participation section below for additional details), if you think using a camera will be difficult or impossible for you in tutorial, please let your TA know.

There will also be computing and technology requirements beyond what is normally required for many university courses. At a minimum, effective learning and participation in LFS 250 will require a laptop, personal computer, or tablet with internet connectivity. A good internet connection is especially important to participate in online tutorials and webinars, but we know that this may not be possible for all students. Beyond this, a working webcam and headphones will be helpful but not absolutely required. If you have any concerns or questions about your access to technology and ability to participate in the course online, please reach out to the instructors and teaching team early on in the course.

The course will primarily rely on Canvas and Zoom for teaching and learning. However, LFS 250 may also use a limited number of other online tools and platforms to help facilitate learning and interaction. The goal here is to provide a small number of tools that will help make the course more interesting and improve learning outcomes. These include:

• TurnItIn
• iPeer
• CliftonStrengths

Use of these online tools and platforms can lead to some privacy concerns. UBC's Canvas platform is secure, and all Zoom videos through UBC accounts will be stored on servers physically located in Canada to address privacy concerns. For other tools, you should not have to download an application, but can use these tools directly in a web interface. iPeer is FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) compliant and most of the data is stored securely in Canada. For TurnItIn, information is stored in the United States, and you are advised to remove any identifying information (name, student number) from any assignments you submit. Use of CliftonStrengths is not mandatory for the course, and you may decide not to create an account for privacy purposes. Finally, if anyone has any privacy concerns about any aspect of the course, please contact an instructor.

 

If you have general questions about the course content or assignments, please first post these to the course Discussion Boards on Canvas and not through email. DeLisa, Matt, Will, or a TA will do their best to respond promptly to these posts. Please note that the teaching team does not usually work on weekends, and will not usually respond to posts on these days. Please email Matt, DeLisa, Will or your TA only if you have questions that are directly personal or specific to your individual situation.

During weekly office hours, feel free to connect with DeLisa, Matt, or Will via Zoom (meeting IDs above). No appointment is necessary and you are free to 'drop-in' anytime during office hours without making an appointment to ask questions or discuss anything related to the course. You will initially be put into the meeting waiting room, and we will let you in as soon as we are free. During this time, we're happy to meet one-on-one with students or with a team to address questions that may come out of the group assignments. Outside of these office hours, you are free to contact us directly via email to setup a specific time to meet.

We will do our best to respond promptly to emails (within 1-2 working days), but please realize that this may not always be possible. Please include "LFS 250" in the subject line so that we can prioritize course emails. If your question is one that is relevant to the wider course, we may copy and paste your question (anonymously) and our answer on Canvas.

 

ASSIGNMENT & ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW

Additional information for each assignment can be found under the Assignments tab in Canvas. There is a wide diversity of assignments for LFS 250, split between individual (60% of your grade) and group (40% of your grade) assignments.

Please note that the accepted format for almost all assignments is the American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please follow this format for all assignments (the Story of Self is an exception). In brief, this means double-spaced on letter-sized paper (8.5" x 11") with 1" margins all around. More detailed information about this format, including how to cite references correctly can be found here and here.

 

DUE DATES & LATE ASSIGNMENTS

All assignments are due at the times and dates listed in the Assignment Overview above. All times are in Vancouver time (PST/PDT, UTC-7 hours). Students in different time zones will have to convert to their own time/date. Late assignments will be reduced by 10% per day late. Efforts have been made to set due dates that will allow all team members to contribute to group assignments in case of technological difficulties and account for tutorial sections at different times due to time zone differences. If you anticipate that you won't be able to meet a deadline or run into technological difficulties, it is important that you contact your TA early and provide a valid reason for your late submission.

 

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW & DUE DATES

Most individual and group assignments are due at 11:59pm Vancouver time on Tuesdays.

Assignment	Percent of Grade	Due Date	Submit to TurnItIn
Individual	60
Critical Reflection Essays (4)	20	Sep. 30, 2022, 11:59pm Dec. 13, 2022, 11:59pm Feb. 28, 2023, 11:59pm Apr. 14, 2023, 11:59pm	YES
UBC Farm Concept Map	5	Sep. 20, 2022, 11:59pm	No
Dairy Farm System Diagram	5	Oct. 25, 2022, 11:59pm	No
Midterm Oral Exam	10	Dec. 6, 2022, in Tutorial	No
Final Oral Exam	10	Apr. 11, 2023, in Tutorial	No
Participation Tutorial 5% Competency Self-Assessments 1% Story of Self 1% Team Charters 1% Peer Evaluations 2%	10	Tutorial: every third class Competencies: 3 times over year Story of Self: Sep. 13 @ 11:59pm Team Charters: Sep. 27 & Jan. 17 @ 11:59pm Peer Evaluations: end of each term	No
Group	40
BC Dairy System Diagram	10	Dec. 9, 2021, 11:59pm	YES
School Food System Lesson Plan & Systems Diagram	15	Mar. 31, 2022, 11:59pm	YES
Group Presentations (2)	15	Ongoing throughout term	No

 

PARTICIPATION

Participation is a core element and process of learning in LFS 250. All students are expected to participate meaningfully in the course. Participation includes engaging in live online sessions, attending tutorials, and completing course surveys, polls, quizzes, select group assignments, and reflective activities. Participation makes up 10% of your overall grade.

Below some of the broad ways that you will be evaluated on your participation are described.

Preparation - the extent of your reading, analyzing and understanding of the course material demonstrated by actively submitting materials (submitting notes, worksheets, one page summaries of articles, etc.), completing pre-session/introductory quizzes, submitting entrance tickets.

Contribution to Discussion - the extent to which you volunteer answers, ask questions, express your own opinion, and integrate material relevant to the topic. Contributions can occur in either small or large group settings, and be in written or oral form.  

Group Presence, Self-Awareness & Responsiveness - facilitation of small group discussions, not impeding others in their facilitation or contributions, providing constructive feedback, actively listening, and exhibiting respect for others. Evidence of self-awareness of one’s presence and impact in a group setting, e.g., identity, privilege and power related to social identities/location.

Communication skills – being clear, concise, and using appropriate vocabulary and terminology (in oral and written form). This can be difficult for students whose first language is not English – instructors and TAs will take this into account when marking participation.

NOTE: do not confuse communication skills with objective measures of accuracy or “being right”. The purpose of discussion is to discuss uncertainty of concepts, hear different perspectives, and challenge commonly held beliefs, values and assumptions, not publicly state correct answers. ?

Attendance - attendance in sessions, punctuality, not leaving early.

 

Tutorial Participation

In tutorials, TAs will rate student participation in tutorial rooms based on the participation criteria listed below. For T08-T12, some students may experience technical difficulties from time to time and will not be able to attend an online tutorial. This is expected and will be taken into account by TAs. At the end of each tutorial an exit ticket question or activity will be posed (i.e., a reflective question based on that week's material). Submission of an answer to the exit ticket will provide a measure of attendance, while the quality of the response will also be graded and form part of the participation mark for that tutorial. Tutorial attendance and participation will make up 5% of your overall grade.

Camera Use on Zoom for Online Tutorials

Our expectation is that all students will have their cameras turned on in the online tutorials (T08-T12). However, we also recognize that there may be classes or specific times when it is not possible or comfortable for you to have your camera on. Each student will be provided with two virtual "tokens" per semester where they can turn off their camera for a tutorial session, without any questions asked (you will, however, need to communicate the use of your token to your TA). If you do not use your tokens during a semester, then you will receive up to an extra 1% bonus mark per token on your tutorial participation (up to 4% extra for your overall grade during the year). If you think using a camera will be difficult or impossible for you in all tutorials, please let your TA know.

Tutorial Participation Criteria

Does Not Meet Expectations

0 – The student is absent.

0.25 – The student is present but disruptive and distracting; does not arrive prepared; does not respond well to TA feedback on behaviour in tutorial.

0.5 – The student is present but mentally elsewhere; does not contribute to the conversation; unclear if student is prepared; often distracted with electronic devices. Exit ticket is not completed.

Meets Minimum Expectations

0.8 – The student is present and paying attention; contributes at least once to class discussion; or participates through hand raising, taking notes, online chat, discussion with group members, or completing written assignments. Exit Ticket is complete but lacks an in-depth response.

Exceeds Expectations

1.0 – The student arrives prepared for class; participates multiple times in class discussion; is responsive to participation and engaged in contributions and comments made by others; contributions are thoughtful and provoke additional comments from others; does not dominate conversation; listens carefully and responds thoughtfully to comments made by others. Exit Ticket demonstrates a deep engagement with the topic and understanding of course material.

Group Multiplier/Peer Evaluation

Participation in the tutorial involves a significant amount of group work. To assess individual student's contribution to their team's assignments, at the end of each term a group multiplier will be applied to each individual’s group mark. Within each individual group, each team member will assess the other's participation and teamwork during the term to create a multiplier for each student. TAs will also adjust the multiplier based on their judgment and observations of tutorials. The multiplier can range from 0.0 (student didn't participate in any of the group activities) to 1.1 (student exceeded group contribution expectations), so at most will increase a student's group mark by 10% (3.5% of your total grade). If a student doesn't contribute at all to group work during a semester, the group multiplier could result in a group mark of 0% for that individual.

 

If you are having issues with stress, anxiety or other mental health problems, please do not hesitate to contact one of the course instructors or your tutorial TA. UBC also provides a number of resources if you are one of your colleagues is in need:

• https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/student-services/medical-emotional-difficulties/
• https://facultystaff.students.ubc.ca/assisting-students-distress 
• https://students.ubc.ca/campus-life/diversity-campus/sexual-diversity 
• https://students.ubc.ca/health-wellness/student-health-service 
• https://students.ubc.ca/health-wellness/mental-health-support-counselling-services

 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

All students are subject to the University's rules on Academic Misconduct and are should behave as honest and responsible members of the academic community. All students are subject to these rules, and are expected to act with academic integrity at all times. It is also the student's obligation to inform himself or herself of the applicable standards for academic honesty.

Plagiarism should be a particular concern for students in LFS 250. Plagiarism is a serious offence and any student caught plagiarizing will be subject to penalties set out in the UBC calendar. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying or paraphrasing from another author or source without proper citation
• Copy work from another student
• Copying your own work used for another course
• Broadly, any form of intellectual theft where another's work or ideas are presented as another individual's

 

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CONSIDERATIONS

During this pandemic, the shift to online learning has greatly altered teaching and studying at UBC, including changes to health and safety considerations. Keep in mind that some UBC courses might cover topics that are censored or considered illegal by non-Canadian governments. This may include, but is not limited to, human rights, representative government, defamation, obscenity, gender or sexuality, and historical or current geopolitical controversies. If you are a student living abroad, you will be subject to the laws of your local jurisdiction, and your local authorities might limit your access to course material or take punitive action against you. UBC is strongly committed to academic freedom, but has no control over foreign authorities (please visit here for an articulation of the values of the University conveyed in the Senate Statement on Academic Freedom). Thus, we recognize that students will have legitimate reason to exercise caution in studying certain subjects. If you have concerns regarding your personal situation, consider postponing taking a course with manifest risks, until you are back on campus or reach out to your academic advisor to find substitute courses. For further information and support, please visit:http://academic.ubc.ca/support-resources/freedom-expression.