Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum activity. In advance of an actual lab activity, …
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum activity. In advance of an actual lab activity, students virtually simulate the calibration of a laboratory micropipettor. QL: Accuracy and precision.
To prepare students to think about the data, assumptions, and interpretations that …
To prepare students to think about the data, assumptions, and interpretations that are part of a phylogenetic analysis. This exercise comes in five parts. The first part is all of the data -- all specimens and age dates for all specimens. This simulates the impossible -- a complete fossil record. The second part has 10% of the specimens randomly removed (an imperfect fossil record), but all age information is provided for the 90% given. Similarly, the third and fourth parts have 20% (different 20%s) of the data randomly removed, and all information is provided for the 80% of remaining specimens (a more imperfect fossil record). The fifth part has dates only for the modern forms -- all other dates are removed. This simulates the situation for a group lacking a fossil record or a situation where the fossil record is ignored.
Depending on the class size, students either individually or in groups develop a phylogeny from their data prior to class time. In class we lay everything out on tables and compare and contrast the various phylogenies and in the process discuss many of the basic assumptions, practices, biases, etc. of phylogenetic reconstruction.
You could make this more complex and have students code things into MacClade, Paup, etc.; however, I use this for the concepts of phylogenetic reconstruction only.
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In this activity, students have an opportunity to learn about the geomorphology …
In this activity, students have an opportunity to learn about the geomorphology and soils of your campus. Within a team, students collect soils information and use it to construct of stratigraphic cross-section and outline major geologic events in the history of a given site.
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Students are given an outline map of the campus with no scale …
Students are given an outline map of the campus with no scale indicated. They are to work in small groups to determine the scale. Although rules and tape measures are provided, students are given no instruction on how to best determine the scale and are tasked with devising their own methodology. Students write their scales on the blackboard and we finish the class with a discussion of their various methodologies, sources of error, and why there is some variation among their results.
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Reading and constructing geologic maps is one skill that every geologists has …
Reading and constructing geologic maps is one skill that every geologists has to master. Initially, this means that we have to understand the symbols that are used on geologic maps. Once we know the general meaning of these symbols, we will have to learn how to measure and plot them. The measuring is generally done using a magnetic compass. Finally, we have to plot the data on a map so that others understand the geology based on our mapping.
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Students use GPS units and record the location of some feature of …
Students use GPS units and record the location of some feature of interest on the campus. A shapefile is created from data recorded in an Excel file. This data is incorporated into a map which includes shapefiles and imagery for various campus features.
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Link the college or university operations with local ecology. In this study, …
Link the college or university operations with local ecology. In this study, students use a tool from urban ecology, the nitrogen budget, to research the inputs, outputs and subsytem transfers of nitrogen on the college or university campus.
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Students learn how make phylogenetic trees from morphological data using a variety …
Students learn how make phylogenetic trees from morphological data using a variety of candy. Techniques and concepts learned include outgroup analysis, making a character matrix, coding characters, parsimony, building phylogenetic trees, monophyly, polytomy, synapomorphy, and why scientists can get wildly different trees with the same taxa.
The purpose of this exercise is to understand the capability and limitations …
The purpose of this exercise is to understand the capability and limitations of several instruments (AA, ICP-OES, ICP-MS) used for geochemical analysis. Students compare and contrast the cost, detection limits, etc. of these instruments.
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Students conduct this investigation collaboratively and with minimal guidance from the instructor. …
Students conduct this investigation collaboratively and with minimal guidance from the instructor. Students are presented with the research problem at the start of the semester, typically within the first week of classes. Soon after, a class-wide discussion is facilitated through the posing of some preliminary questions. Eventually and within the first few weeks, students outline a project design and methodology for implementation in the field and laboratory. Along the way and as project-pertinent topical units are covered, students are given journal articles to read that might further their thinking about the project, might present some appropriate methodology, or might serve as a model investigation.
Field work is accomplished early in the semester and with minimal time invested. Because scheduling field trips that can accommodate everyone is difficult, the field experience is optional. In these situations, someone chronicles the field work with either a digital still camera or digital videocamera and then these are shared with everyone in the class.
All aspects of the project are collaborative; students collect and share data, prepare and share figures and tables, and collectively prepare the poster and abstract.
The following files are uploaded as supportive teaching materials: 1. Geobio Research Project Description F08.doc: This is the project overview that is distributed to students as a handout at the start of the semester. 2. Geobio Research Project Qs.doc: This set of questions is distributed early in the semester to spark a discussion and to aid in the design of the project. 3. Geobiology GSA SE 2009 Abstract.doc: This is a copy of the abstract that was submitted to the 2009 Southeast Section Geological Society Of America meeting in St. Petersburg. 4. Geobio GSA SE09 Poster.ppt: A copy of the poster presentation given at the 2009 Southeast GSA meeting.
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This interactive animation focuses on the carbon cycle and includes embedded videos …
This interactive animation focuses on the carbon cycle and includes embedded videos and captioned images to provide greater clarification and detail of the cycle than would be available by a single static visual alone.
In this activity, students develop concept maps of the carbon cycle through …
In this activity, students develop concept maps of the carbon cycle through a die-rolling game that simulates carbon reservoirs and fluxes. By the end of this activity, students should be able to describe and explain how the carbon cycle has changed in the last 250 years.
This is two-hour lab exercise based on computer data sets. Students examine …
This is two-hour lab exercise based on computer data sets. Students examine records of CO2 levels in the atmosphere as well as annual temperature records for the US and the world.
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Students will learn that there is a finite amount of carbon on …
Students will learn that there is a finite amount of carbon on earth, which moves around in the environment, from one place to another. Activity is scaleable from elementary to high school with options to introduce advanced content. Wrap up includes role playing the carbon cycle with the addition of human influences (e.g. burning of fossil fuels). Activity can be done in classroom or outside, includes working in a group and role playing. Grades 3-12. This resources is part of the Our Changing Ocean and Estuaries Series
In this experiment, students investigate the importance of carbon dioxide to the …
In this experiment, students investigate the importance of carbon dioxide to the reproductive growth of a marine microalga, Dunalliela sp. (Note that the directions are for teachers and that students protocol sheets will need to be created by teachers.)
Interactive visualization that provides a basic overview of the Earth's carbon reservoirs …
Interactive visualization that provides a basic overview of the Earth's carbon reservoirs and amount of carbon stored in each, CO2 transport among atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, and a graph comparing global temp (deg C) and atmospheric CO2 levels (ppm) over the past 1000 years.
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