This activity helps learners see the elastic properties of rocks by actually bending marble. How rocks respond to stress is a fundamental concept, critical to forming explanatory models in the geosciences (e.g., elastic rebound theory). Whereas learners are likely to have lots of experience with rocks, few will have directly experienced them behaving elastically. As a result of this "missed experience", most learners conceptualize rocks as rigid solids; a concept which generally serves students well in everyday life but impedes learning about particular geologic concepts.

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Rock the Boat is an open-access multimedia resource designed to provoke dialogue about graduate supervision relationships within universities, and their impact on student and faculty wellbeing. Drawing upon the tradition of Research-based Theatre, Rock the Boat draws attention to graduate supervision as a vital form of pedagogy, and as rife with challenges — especially relating to equity, inclusion and diversity.

The transformation of massive rock to sediment (i.e., gravel) is a process of nature not confined to Earth. A qualitative introduction to the forces of weathering and erosion that control the development of fragment shape in gravel provides insight into fundamental processes spanning planetary bodies in our solar system. A few images and video snips provide visual evidence that students observe to learn about these sedimentary processes. In a short exercise that may be used in lecture or a laboratory session, students make observations, write descriptions, discuss issues with peers, and use hypotheses to extrapolate terrestrial sedimentary science to another planetary body. Questions are arranged in order of, and span, the hierarchy of cognitive skills. This design should make this exercise accessible to students across a variety of levels, from non-science to geoscience majors.

This is a book written by a community college Spanish instructor. It contains explanations, examples, fill-in-the-blank activities, reading activities, writing activities and speaking activities. The grammar and vocabulary covered in this book are in line with the state-wide accepted goals and objectives for grammar at the 101 level in Arizona. If you would like an editable version of the book, or learn how to make this type of book, feel free to contact me at jared.reynolds@yc.edu.

A. Scavenger Hunt Description This Scavenger Hunt Assignment is designed for the First Year Seminar for Natural Sciences (NSF 101) and the First Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Math and Science (LMF 101) (STEM majors).The main objective of this assignment is to familiarize students with their campus and its resources, to encourage students to collaborate with each other, and to be aware that the scientific method is applied to solve any problem, not just scientific issues. It is meant to address the Integrative Learning Core Competency. Students are given the entire class time (at least two hours) to complete the assignment. For LMF sections, I often add more clues, because the class runs for an additional hour. I have the students report back to class, so we can discuss and share their experiences and explain the follow-up Lab Report Reflection. For LMF sections the discussion is after the 2 hours allotted for the clues. The NSF section discusses the Scavenger Hunt and follow-up Lab Report Reflection the next class following the Scavenger Hunt group activity. The Lab Report Reflection is due the week following the discussion, but students may hand it in before the due date. The Reflection is written as a STEM lab report/abstract format, using the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning, & Rebuttal (CERR) method, which is used within the Natural Sciences Dept. for all STEM classes. The CER method is the Scientific Method, which uses more ordinary language. So instead of making a hypothesis, students make a testable claim. I write CERR method, which includes the second, to remind students to include possible contradictions, challenges, and/or rebuttals to experiments they do, and the research they find reading scientific journals. This assignment is worth 5% of students' total grade, 2.5 % for the actual hunt and 2.5% for the reflection. I do not take off points for students that complete the hunt alone because they were absent. The penalty is having to do the assignment on their own time.

In the activities included below, students will closely examine images related to the Human Rights theme. Students will make connections to informational and literary texts that expand their understanding of global issues and their rights as citizens of the world. The activities included ask students to reference specific literary and informational texts, however, all activities may be adapted to fit with a number of different texts that touch on the same topics and issues.

This course examines the science of natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes and explores the relationships between the science of and policy toward such hazards. It presents the causes and effects of these phenomena, discusses their predictability, and examines how this knowledge influences policy making. This course includes intensive practice in the writing and presentation of scientific research and summaries for policy makers.

In this lab report writing assignment, students will use the scientific method to solve a real life problem from their own lives. Students use the scientific method to record observations, develop a hypothesis, and set up their experimental design, which they then actually carry out. This approach allows students to practice using the process of science without the intimidation of scientific terms and concepts.

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Using two sets of flubber, one representing the Earth and one representing a glacier, demonstrate how the crust sinks and rebounds to the weight of a glacier, and how this motion can be measured using GPS.Flubber is a rubbery elastic substance, a non-Newtonian elasco-plastic fluid, that flows under gravity, but breaks when under high stress. Flubber is useful for demonstrating a wide range of Earth and glacier processes.

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After a preliminary discussion of hotspots (emphasizing the generic term melting anomalies), the mantle plume hypothesis, and alternative hypotheses, students are assigned roles for a debate on the mantle plume controversy. Students conduct an in-class debate, presenting arguments from opposite sides of the plume debate. After the debate students write a reflection paper on their perspective on the debate.

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Students will produce P and S waves using a Slinky�� to understand how seismic waves transfer energy as they travel through solids. All types of waves transmit energy, including beach waves, sound, light, and more. When an earthquake occurs it generates four different types of seismic waves. We will focus on two of these: Compressional-P (longitudinal) and shearing-S (transverse) "body waves." These travel through the Earth with distinct particle motion and predictable speed.

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This is a term paper submitted as a series of iterations over the course of a semester. Students, with guidance from the professor, select a region and find papers in the literature describing geophysical data and interpreted results. Each iteration adds a new set of geophysical data (following the sequence covered in the course) and the students gradually build a geophysical cross section across their region of interest. What is effective about this assignment is that it both exposes student to current literature and allows them to compare/contrast the results derived from different geophysical techniques in the same area. This exposes students to the advantages and trade-offs between different techniques, and how combinations of geophysical data are more effective at illuminating crustal properties than any individual technique alone. It also reinforces one of the basic concepts I emphasize in the lectures -- that variation in physical characteristics (density, magnetic susceptibility, seismic velocity, etc.) between sandstone/basalt/granite can be used to characterize them.
Has minimal/no quantitative component

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Sequence-stratigraphic and mass-balance analysis of experimental stratigraphy. Students are charged with evaluating how basin subsidence geometry influences depositional patterns. In addition to providing practice applying sequence-stratigraphic methods, this project builds quantitative data-analysis and writing skills.

Right now I use four essay assignments in Paleontology. These assignments work to help students meet several goals of the course, including using reading/writing for critical thinking, synthesizing information from different sources, and formulating new research questions.

In particular, the last two of the four assignments are designed as part of a multi-step process. Each student is assigned a particular reading for which he or she will be the primary discussant in a class discussion. Two things are required to make this discussion work and to achieve the (hoped for) "aha" moments for the students.

Students must take the time to read and understand the paper they've received. It's useful, particularly if students are just starting out reading primary literature, to discuss how to approach reading a journal article. Maybe most important is inculcating the idea that most people don't read straight through a paper, that multiple readings are important, and that it's not like reading a novel -- it takes time to absorb.
On discussion day, have students talk about the papers in chronological sequence. There should be back and forth discussion, of course, but when this process works right, (which is most of the time, in my experience), the stepwise introduction and discussion of the papers allows students to see how the problem was originally framed, how it developed, and how new information changes interpretations (and that there may not be a clear resolution).

After the discussion, hand out essay assignments tailored to the skills and knowledge you want them to acquire.

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This project is designed to introduce students to a local hydrogeologic problem or issue of interest to the community. The project requires the students to learn about their local groundwater environment and apply principles and concepts that they learn in the classroom to an issue that is of concern to the public. This project provides a good introduction to "real world" problems that the students are likely to encounter as professionals. Students are required to synthesize information from a variety of sources and develop their own assessment of the problem and also to make recommendations based on their professional opinions.

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THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. This activity is a way to begin a course with reflection by students about their extraordinary good fortune in being able to take advantage of higher education. Students are asked to define their obligations, course goals, and commitments to work and integrity during the course. The student activities include two homework exercises assigned in sequence at the beginning of a course. In-class discussion held after the assignments are completed and the responses are reviewed by the teacher will hopefully establish some shared community ideas of ethical norms in the course.

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This course outline is designed for a Level 7 advanced communication course at Portland Community College. It addresses listening, speaking, pronunciation, and presentation skills within the theme of entrepreneurship by drawing inspiration from the TV show “Shark Tank” and its various incarnations in other languages/countries around the world.

The curriculum is designed for a term of 8 weeks. Each class period is 3 hours long, and the class meets twice weekly for a total of 16 class periods plus final exam. During the course, students complete several projects:

*a survey of people outside of class
*a report to the class about the survey results
*a video commercial for a new product
*a live pitch for a new product to a panel of guest “sharks”

The course outline links to all supporting materials in the form of Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Slides, Quizlets, YouTube videos, etc.

Students are given guidelines and suggested topics for their research paper. Pertinent questions students should consider are also provided. Examples from previous students are also provided.

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Critical Data Studies (CDS) is an interdisciplinary field that addresses the ethical, legal, sociocultural, epistemological and political aspects of data science, big data, and digital infrastructure.

This course focuses on current topics in critical data studies scholarship. Students will develop tools and methods to think critically and engage the public in conversation about data and society.

The overall course and module are designed for asynchronous independent or group learning experiences. Instructors and students are encouraged to use the module as a whole or incorporate individual videos, discussion, writing and/or reading assignments into their course of study as desired.

[Note: The first module is available, and a second module is planned for a future release]

This activity is designed to enhance student comprehension of mineralogy and its applications by having students read scientific articles from the journal American Mineralogist, answer questions, and discuss the article in class.

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