In this unit, students make regular journal entries about a plant/animal/insect community …
In this unit, students make regular journal entries about a plant/animal/insect community in the natural area around our school and use this to create a Non-fiction Class Book. They also interview family/resources to discover, record and present stories about human relationships with nature from their culture(s).
Students are initially assigned to one of four maps of the world: …
Students are initially assigned to one of four maps of the world: Seismology, Volcanology, Geochronology or Topography. They are also given a map of the world's plate boundaries and are asked to classify the boundaries based upon the data from their assigned map. Students are then assigned to a tectonic plate, such that each plate group contains at least one "expert" on each map. As a group, they must classify their plate's boundaries using data from all four maps. Recent volcanic and seismic events are discussed in the plate tectonic context. Has minimal/no quantitative component Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields
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The exercise is built around 4 global data maps: 1) Earthquake location …
The exercise is built around 4 global data maps: 1) Earthquake location and depth, 2) Location of recent volcanic activity, 3) Seafloor Age, and 4) Topography and Bathymetry The exercise is based on the "jigsaw" concept, mixing the students to work in different groups during the exercise. DPB includes opportunities for all students to make oral presentations to their fellow students. The exercise is done over about 3 hours. I usually do it in 50 minute periods on three separate days, but it can also be done in a three hour lab period. Although the data used in DPB are state-of-the-art, the exercise does not depend on student access to computers. Unlike many others, this exercise is based on observation and classification, rather than learning computer data manipulation skills. The students enjoy DPB and many report it as the best activity of their semester! I hope that you will find it useful in your classroom!
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In this in-class activity, students are challenged to identify rock units and …
In this in-class activity, students are challenged to identify rock units and geologic features and determine the relative ages of these features without prior instruction in the classical methods of relative age determination.
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Students examine a video clip showing dead albatross chicks with their guts …
Students examine a video clip showing dead albatross chicks with their guts full of plastics. They are asked to write down a list of all the steps that lead to the chicks ingesting the plastic. Through pooling of information and group work the class creates a mind map of the steps including those that are geological, oceanographic and anthropogenic. This mind map becomes the tool for organizing the presentation of material through the course of the semester.
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This student-centered Exploration Routine can be used in many different ecosystems and …
This student-centered Exploration Routine can be used in many different ecosystems and provides a way for students to search for, observe, research, and share discoveries about organisms. It can be used with any type of organism or phenomenon you choose for students to focus on, such as macro-invertebrates in streams or ponds, under-log organisms, insects caught with nets, or plants.
I find that when assigning lengthy readings for in-class discussion, it is …
I find that when assigning lengthy readings for in-class discussion, it is extremely helpful to guide students' preparation with specific questions, and incorporate these in worksheets that explicitly call for students to write out their responses before entering the classroom. These worksheets can provide some added structure for whole-class discussion, or can provide a specific agenda for review of the readings in small groups. Because these readings are more than a few years old, I have also found it useful to assign small groups of students to give brief reports that expand on and update the issues raised in the readings.
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In this series of inquiry-based exercises about volcanoes and plate tectonics, students …
In this series of inquiry-based exercises about volcanoes and plate tectonics, students will collect, plot, and interpret data and finish with a role-playing activity and a virtual field trip.
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This is a field investigation on diversity of life where students count …
This is a field investigation on diversity of life where students count the number of kinds organisms in two locations. Students report their results on posters and propose reasons why there might be difference in diversity between the locations.
In this project, students perform library research on an assigned marine animal, …
In this project, students perform library research on an assigned marine animal, create a formatted poster of their topic, and share with their classmates what they've learned in a poster session, conducted in the way of poster sessions at science conferences. Afterward, students complete a written assignment where they are asked to reflect on their experience as a participant in a community of science students, their focused learning on their own marine animal, their larger learning about the diversity of marine life from their poster session participation, and what it implies about the intrinsic value of the ocean realm, and the need for conservation. The outcomes for this assignment are aligned with course-specific outcomes articulated in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. They are:
Synthesize central concepts from assigned readings of scientific literature in written assignments. Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse environments in the context of ocean science. Interpret data generated by oceanographic techniques, and present written and oral summaries of their findings. Explain the basic structure and function of the ocean realm, the impact of humans on it, and the impact of the ocean realm on humans.
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Individual students have different ethical "lines." This class discussion proceeds with a …
Individual students have different ethical "lines." This class discussion proceeds with a series of prompts that presents a set of scenarios that explores ethical boundaries. Students discuss right and wrong actions with respect to a river and discuss why those actions are "right" or "wrong" as well as how their ethical viewpoints vary.
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Students will use the IRIS Earthquake Browser to assess the pattern of …
Students will use the IRIS Earthquake Browser to assess the pattern of earthquakes in Arkansas before, during and after (>2011) fracking related wastewater injection. Students will use critical thinking skills to determine if earthquakes are related to fracking related activities.
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A workshop for enabling students to sit quietly and observantly in the …
A workshop for enabling students to sit quietly and observantly in the natural world.
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Students will learn field sampling and laboratory techniques to utilize environmental DNA …
Students will learn field sampling and laboratory techniques to utilize environmental DNA (eDNA) as an early detection tool for invasive or rare species, with a focus on zebra mussels.
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Earth Scientists often work independently in laboratory or field situations, and may …
Earth Scientists often work independently in laboratory or field situations, and may be confronted with ethical challenges at times when their is no external scrutiny of one's conduct. How can we best train students to "do the right thing" in accordance with professional ethical standards? A number of scenarios are presented so that students must consider the context, conduct, and consequences of their actions.
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The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program web site allows you to download earthquake …
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program web site allows you to download earthquake data as an Excel spreadsheet from any area in the world over a specific time period and magnitude range. This is a fantastic resource that makes it possible to study any area you want and not be limited to canned data sets. It's also very easy to save the Excel files in a way that can be imported directly into ArcMap and then into ArcScene.
In this in-class activity, students download earthquake data from the Sumatra area and examine it first in Excel. They quickly observe that, even when they sort the spreadsheet in various ways, they can develop only a limited picture of the data. In the second part of the activity, students bring the data into ArcMap to portray it spatially, and they change the symbols to portray various attributes of the earthquakes. In the final part of the activity, students display the data in three dimensions in ArcScene. This latter is particularly powerful, because students can interactively rotate the ArcScene, which helps immensely in their abilities to visualize the depth distribution of quakes.
Although the activity focuses on Sumatra, the activity could easily be done for any area of the world. Later in the semester in this course, students download earthquake data from other areas in the world when they evaluate earthquake hazards in other regions.
You can also download a GIS Primer (Acrobat (PDF) PRIVATE FILE 1.2MB Mar30 10) that we have written, which is a simple GIS "how-to" manual for tasks including those used in this exercise.
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Learn about dinosaur teeth with Dr. Julia McHugh the curator of paleontology …
Learn about dinosaur teeth with Dr. Julia McHugh the curator of paleontology at The Museums of Western Colorado.. Why are some teeth flat and others pointed? Is there a difference between mastodon and mammoth teeth? Step into the Dinosaur Journey collections and learn about the many different teeth that live "behind the scenes".
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