Students in this course explore designs of a future Carleton College student house. This is a multi-year project where students from the social sciences, humanities / arts, and natural sciences explore parts of the design of an actual house.

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Individual project designed to combine basic oceanographic concepts in the creation of a travel brochure. Involves some group interaction, but project is individual. Can be done online or in a face-to-face class.
Best completed at midterm or later in the semester so that most concepts have been introduced.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Describe major oceanic processes and evaluate their influence on the coastal environment.
2Use global data on climate and wind patterns to quantify and describe conditions at various specific coastal sites.

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The ecological autobiography is a multi-stage reflective and written exercise that draws on students' personal history and experiences as they consider the ecological context of some period of their lives. The goal is to individually and collectively explore how the landscapes and ecological communities we have inhabited influence us as individuals, set the context of our lives, and influence our expectations of landscape.

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How big is your ecological footprint? This case will assist students in quantifying this construct and allow them to reflect on life styles and alternative approaches that can help them reduce their ecological impacts.

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The goal of this exercise is to have students gain an understanding of how fractures affect groundwater flow patterns. In order for them to complete the activity, they need some background on characteristic fracture patterns in different rock types. This background could be provided in a variety of ways depending on geographic location and outcrop availability. If outcrops of crystalline and sedimentary sequences are available, you could take students in the field and have them observe (and perhaps sketch) the differing fracture patterns. If geology (and or weather) preclude this option, the students could observe fracture patterns from slides of outcrops (see slides in accompanying PowerPoint Presentation).

The classroom portion of the exercise uses a simple 2D numerical model (TopoDrive, available from USGS) to simulate flow in three aquifers: 1) homogeneous isotropic, 2) fractured crystalline, and 3) fractured sedimentary sequences. The task is to observe how the fracture patterns alter the flow patterns as compared to the homogeneous, isotropic simulation. The activity gives students practice in integrating geologic data into numerical models, describing flow patterns, and using computer technology. The activity also integrates knowledge from structural geology with hydrogeology.

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This worksheet helps students think about the cause and effect of pressure/temperature changes in subsurface and how these changes would affect the state of a solid rock. In this worksheet, students are given 6 different scenarios and associated pressure/temperature charts with a solidus line and a starting pressure/temperature point. Scenarios include heating and melting due to a nearby intrusion, diagenesis, decompression melting, cooling of magma at the surface, and adding water to the system. For each scenario, students draw an arrow from the starting point to show how the pressure and temperature would change. For example, students are told that a rock in the subsurface quickly rises towards the surface and melts, so fast that the temperature doesn't change much. A student would then draw a vertical arrow up to show that there is only a change in pressure. There scenarios are chosen to help students better understand the complexities of the subsurface in terms of pressure and temperature.

This worksheet uses the sketch-understanding program with built-in tutor: CogSketch . Therefore, students, instructors, and/or institution computer labs need to download the program from here: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/. At any point during the worksheet, students can click the FEEDBACK button and their sketch is compared to the solution image. The built-in tutor identifies any discrepancies and reports pre-written feedback to help the student correct their sketch until they are done with the activity. Once worksheets are emailed to the instructor, worksheets can be batch graded and easily evaluated. This program allows instructors to assign sketching activities that require very little time commitment. Instead, the built-in tutor provides feedback whenever the student requests, without the presence of the instructor. More information on using the program and the activity is in the Instructor's Notes.

We have developed approximately two dozen introductory geoscience worksheets using this program. Each worksheet has a background image and instructions for a sketching task. You can find additional worksheets by searching for "CogSketch" using the search box at the top of this page. We expect to have uploaded all of them by the end of the summer of 2016.

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In this set of activities, students gain experience in creating multiband image composites and layering multiple raster data sets (DEM and hillshade, geologic map, and satellite imagery in a variety of spectral band combinations) to find interesting correlations and features and to propose a number of research projects that could be carried out using the data sets. You might also be interested in our Full GIS course with links to all assignments.

This activity investigates the oceanographic and climatic characteristics of El Ni��o/La Ni��a (ENSO) events using observational data from moored ocean buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Data are obtained from NOAA's Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) project website which provides a web-based interface for accessing and displaying oceanographic data. In addition to providing an introduction to ENSO, this activity is designed to give students practice interpreting real oceanographic observations by emphasizing the description and identification of patterns in large data-sets. Students first describe patterns in sea-surface and cross-sectional transects of ocean temperatures and surface winds associated with "normal", El Ni��o, and La Ni��a years and then use this as a basis for classifying observations from unknown years and interpreting connections between oceanographic and atmospheric processes occurring in the tropical Pacific.

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In late September (of an election year), one class session is devoted to developing a list of issues key to the class and likely to be discussed by the candidates. The list is converted into 3-5 questions all students will research and answer. Each student is assigned a candidate (President, Governor, congress, state legislature). An effort is made to assign each student a candidate who will appear on his/her ballot and to assign third party candidates.

Student research candidates' positions using web resources, news papers, and campaign materials. Students are strongly encouraged to contact the campaign directly and question the candidate, if possible.

Students report back to the class with a 3-5 minute presentation and a poster that may be displayed in a college commons area. Reports are presented a week prior to the election.

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For this experiment, students use a DC motor as a generator and various shaped turbine designs to test which design produces the most electrical power. Using a fan to generate the "wind", students attach different blades made of folded paper or card stock to the motor to see how much power is generated.

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The purpose of this hands on activity is to experiment with reflectance properties of various surfaces and to gain a better understanding of the effects of the position of the energy source and the detector (azimuth and zenith angles) on the recorded (perceived) brightness.

As the core activity of petrology portion of a mineralogy/petrology course, students cooperatively conduct petrographic and electron microprobe analytical studies on suites of Central Blue Ridge metamorphic rocks collected during class field activities. We make use of a remotely operable electron microprobe instrument at the Florida Center for Analytical Electron Microscopy (FCAEM) to conduct all analyses in class.

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Our remote access system permits students to interact with our electron microprobe and obtain visual information about the tasks performed by lab personnel. Students in a petrology class, for instance, can view backscatter-electron images of a particular sample, ask for specific points to be analyzed, and immediately see the resulting spectrum of characteristic X-rays. With this interaction, such an exercise is more much pedagogically effective. Our video streams mean that students do not need to know how to operate the instrumentation -- that is not the point for students in a mineralogy or petrology course. Instead, seeing a live backscatter-electron image or an X-ray spectrum from a point they chose catches the interest of students and allows them to make decisions while they learn about mineral associations. Many classrooms are now equipped with Internet connections and a computer with a projection system. As a result, a lecturer in such a classroom can project our video streams onto a screen or wall so that the entire class can observe the analysis of a sample. Lab rooms also often have internet-capable computers, so a small group of students could, on the phone, ask lab personnel to move to some point on a sample and examine a specific crystal.

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Working in groups, students learn to navigate a virtual globe, read geophysical data, and assess plate tectonic models. They prepare by studying about plate tectonics from their notes or from the text, and then apply that knowledge to real tectonic settings on the virtual globe. Students drag 3D models out of the subsurface and compare real data to model interpretations. They can also substitute their own sketches for our images.

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Geoscientists (as do all scientists) have a duty to present facts to their audience, whether that audience is composed of other scientists or of the general public. Many scientific issues find their way into the popular press limelight and become blown out of proportion or are even presented in such a way that the articles are factually inaccurate. This activity involves critical reading of popular press articles and a little research to focus on the facts of the straight-up science. A few articles and research prompts of choice have been selected as examples.

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In order to pass the paleobiology class, students must pass a critter test, which contains 25 different fossils. Students are asked to identify the fossils in as detailed a manner as possible.

Students explore a Global Energy Balance Climate Model Using Stella II. Response of surface temperature to variations in solar input, atmospheric and surface albedo, atmospheric water vapor and carbon dioxide, volcanic eruptions, and mixed layer ocean depth. Climate feedbacks such as water vapor or ice-albedo can be turned on or off.

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Each student has been given a packet of information on an energy topic. There are two articles that all the students will receive, on energy conservation and addiction to oil, and then several others on their specific topic. Each student will be instructed to become the classroom expert on their specific topic by reading the articles and being invited to look up more information.

These steps are modified from Step by Step Instructions for Gallery Walk

I learned this technique at a Cutting Edge workshop put on by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers called Designing Innovative and Effective Geoscience Courses in the summer of 2008.

The steps to this lesson are:

I have generated a list of questions around energy.
The questions will be written on poster-sized paper, one question to each sheet.
The questions will be posted in a foyer area.
The students have been given general directions in the previous class, and more specific directions will be given the day of the event.
The students have been prepared by reading packets of energy information, as described above in this document. They have also been advised on how the grading rubric and feedback will be used.
The students will be put into groups of two, because the class is so small. Each group will have a different colored marker. If the groups were larger, roles would be assigned, like recorder, speaker, emissary, etc... That won't work with this small class.
We will begin the gallery walk. Each team will start at a different chart, read the question, talk to each other, then document their response in their colored ink. They will be encouraged to write in a pithy bulleted format closest to the top of the chart.
The teams will rotate to a new station after a period of time (to be determined!) They will rotate clockwise. Arriving at a new station, the students will read the question, the responses of the other groups who posted before them, and add their comments, sort of like a BLOG. The groups can switch recorders at each station to keep all members involved.
I will monitor the students' progress. I may have to intervene to clarify a point or direct the students to think of something they may have overlooked. I will wander between groups, listening in, and asking "Socratic" guiding questions if needed.
Once all groups have responded to all the posters, they can return to posters to read the other postings, and even add to their own comments.
After the rotations and comment period, students will "report out", which each group synthesizes the comments for each question into a summary. The groups will then take turns making oral reports on the questions at hand. I may decide to have them do a written report instead, so that they create a document to refer to later in the course.
I will be gauging student understanding throughout the report stage, to reinforce correctly expressed concepts and correct for errors or misconceptions.

The questions my students had to answer were:

What sources of energy (conventional and alternative-yet-to-be-brought-to-market) are appropriate powering motor vehicles? In detail, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
What sources of energy (conventional and alternative) are appropriate for powering homes? (Heat, hot water, cooking, cooling, light, etc) In detail, what are the advantages and disadvantages?
What are the most polluting energy sources, and what type of pollution do they produce? What are the least polluting energy sources, and why aren't we using them more?
What are fifteen ways the average person can conserve energy?
Do we need to conserve energy? Do developing nations need to? Why or why not?
Should energy conservation be a legal mandate from the U.S. government for our citizens? Should the U.N. require international consensus on energy conservation? Would that be fair to developing nations?
What are the reasons we can no longer depend on fossil fuels (both domestic and imported) to power the United States of America? What are the great issues at stake?
Who will pay the price for energy decisions made (or not made) in the next few years? What do you anticipate that price might be?

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Students are asked to design a poster as an alternative to the Energy Hog ad campaign released by the DOE in 2004. Students are asked to address where our energy comes from how it is used and what might be involved in moving towards non-petroleum resources. They are directed to begin at the DOE and EIA Energy Information Agency websites but may pursue any other resources they deem necessary. This activity provides a real-world context for thermodynamic and electrochemical concepts presented in the second semester of general chemistry.

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Campus Climate Conversations are designed to be both educational and "deliberative," meaning students, staff, and faculty interact with one another in small groups to share views and ideas about climate action strategies. This activity is structured to enhance education and engagement, and to generate collaborative climate action strategies.

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