Sidewalks provide a good analog for the study of fractures when outcrops are not available. This exercise is taught as the first lab of the semester in an undergraduate structural geology course. Students learn to make systematic observations, measure the orientation and location of fractures, manipulate and analyze data, and consider some kinematic and dynamic questions regarding the origin and significance of fractures. Their experiences are also used later in the course to reinforce key concepts of brittle deformation. Done as a group project, it emphasizes the importance of group work and encourages students to propose and defend their ideas.

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This is a problem-based learning activity that guides students through a process whereby the class as a whole investigates various stakeholder perspectives on the global climate change controversy. Individual students then reflect on their own perspectives in light of what they have learned.

An exercise to analyze trends in global oil reserves, production, and consumption.

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Comparative planetary geology requires understanding how geological processes are affected by changes in physical environment-each planet and moon provides an opportunity to refine our understanding of how physical geological processes operate. Volcanism is a great example of a major geological process highly susceptible to such variations. Students performing this exercise will constrain how "Amboy Crater" would look if the same eruption happened on the Moon and Mars. Part 1 of the exercise asks small groups to assess either the yield strength of the Amboy flows or the time required for the flow to travel a given distance. After discussion of the results, Part 2 asks students to characterize the dimensions of the same flow, if emplaced on Mars or the Moon (changing only gravitational acceleration), and the time required for it to form; they are asked to predict the outcome in advance. Part 3 uses "Erupt" freeware by Ken Wohletz to explore how gravity changes will affect cinder cone geometry; the model is tested first to see if it correctly predicts an Amboy-like geometry, and afterwards students are asked to brainstorm what other factors should also be modified to improve the accuracy of the simulation, and how these changes would be expected to affect the geomorphological outcome. Finally, Part 4 asks students to use simple ballistic equations, implemented via an online Applet (Stromboli), to constrain the launch angle and starting velocity for the eruption that formed Amboy Crater (modifications are supposedly underway to permit this applet to run with different values of gravitational acceleration and air resistance).

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The activity is divided into seven parts, as follows:

Part A: students access an online data set of historic global temperature anomalies and use the webpage to answer questions about the source and presentation of the data.
Part B: students copy the data into an Excel spreadsheet and organize it so that it is easy for them to use and for others to follow.
Part C: students graph their data, explore the use of trend lines, and use a linear regression line to predict future temperatures.
Part D: students access an online data set of historic temperature anomalies within their latitude zone, analyze this data, and compare their results to those from Part C.
Part E: students access an online data set of historic temperatures for their state, analyze this data, and compare their results to those from Parts C and D.
Part F: students choose two original questions related to climate variability and use these or other data sets to address their questions.
Part G: students evaluate the statistical significance of their linear regression lines and interpret their results in the context of climate variability

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During a lab period, students go out in the field to an area that contains at least 2 fault/fracture sets. Students measure orientations of faults and make observations about the relationship between different fault sets. After the field trip, the students compile their field data, plot it on a stereonet and write-up a brief report. In this report students will use their field observations and stereonet patterns to determine whether faults are related or unrelated to each other.

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In preparation for this lab activity, students have read the textbook material on Waves (Garrison, 6th ed., Oceanography), and attended a lecture on the same topic. In class, students will access Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) data published by the Ocean Engineering Research Group, Center for Coastal Studies, Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Students will compile specific real-time wave and sea surface temperature data sets as specified in the lab assignment. This requires students to generate and interpret multiple graphs from the available data, set-up their own system of data acquisition, and interpret the wave height and sea surface data in the context of the local physical oceanographic parameters.

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This quarter-long project forms the basis of a third-year course for majors and nonmajors at the University of Washington, Bothell called Science Methods and Practice. Students use databases to identify novel research questions, and extract data to test their hypotheses. They frame the question with primary literature, address the questions with inferential statistics, and discuss the results with more primary literature. The product is a scientific paper; each step of the process is scaffolded and evaluated. Given time limitations, we avoid devoting time to data collection; instead, we sharpen
students' ability to make sense of a large body of quantitative data, a situation they may rarely have encountered.

We treat statistics with a strictly conceptual, pragmatic, and abbreviated approach; i.e., we ask students to know which basic test to choose to assess a linear relationship vs. a difference between two means. We stress the need for a normal distribution
in order to use these tests, and how to interpret the results; we leave the rest for stats courses, and we do not teach the mathematics. This approach proves beneficial even to those who have already had a statistics course, because it is often the first time
they make decisions about applying statistics to their own research questions.

We incorporate peer review and collaborative work throughout the quarter. We form collaborative groups around the research questions they ask, enabling them to share primary literature they find, and preparing them well to review each other's writing. We encourage them to cite each other's work. They write formal peer reviews of each other's papers, and they submit their final paper with a letter-to-the-editor highlighting how their research has addressed previous feedback.

A major advantage of this course is that an instructor can easily modify it to suit any area of expertise. Students have worked with data about how a snail's morphology changes in response to its environment (Price, 2012), how students understand genetic drift (Price et al. 2014), maximum body size in the fossil record (Payne et al. 2008), range shifts (Ettinger et al. 2011), and urban crop pollination (Waters and Clifford 2014).

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College-level adaptation of a chapter in the Earth Exploration Toolbook. Examine satellite images of atmospheric ozone in the Southern Hemisphere to study changes in concentration over a time.

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During a previous field trip to a local stream, students examine the stream and flood plain, evaluate evidence for high-discharge events, measure discharge, see the USGS gauging station for the stream and examine historical discharge records. Then, to prepare for hometown stream exercise, students chose a stream of personal interest to them and with at least 30 years of NWIS discharge data, and also gather personal knowledge and background information about their stream. The instructor uses Stony Brook data to model the project by downloading NWIS discharge data and using the data to a) describe the typical annual pattern of discharge, b) graphpeak annual discharge for the years of record, c) making a flood frequency graph and d) integrating background information into an analysis of the stream's discharge. Students then do this for their own streams. The activity involves students in accessing and analyzing real data, integrating background information into a technical analysis. They also gain experience with Microsoft Excel and via other students' work, learn about streams that can be quite different from their own.

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This assignment teaches geochemistry students to explain the mathematical forms of rate laws, and organize paragraphs in their writing assignments properly.

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A student activity to determine the angle of repose and what factors determine the angle of repose.

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The relationship of animals and humans has been the subject of differing philosophical views for thousands of years. The controversy continues today in many aspects of contemporary life. Some people believe that a vegan lifestyle is the only moral choice. Others believe that humans should treat animals "humanely," but can use animals and animal products at will, including for biomedical or other scientific research. Others believe that humans have no moral responsibilities for animals and are free to treat animals as they want.
Advocates of animal rights believe that animals have legal rights and are members of the moral community. As such, animals should not be used by humans for any purpose. Advocates of animal welfare believe that non-human animals should be treated humanely and without unnecessary suffering, but otherwise are available for humans to use for food, clothing, research, and entertainment.

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Students are shown a series of animations in powerpoint. Each powerpoint slide illustrates a basic concept in reflection and refraction (e.g., Snell's law, Crossover distance, Crossover time, dipping layers, multiple interfaces. As the slides are animated, students see the distance versus time relationships. These slides can be given to students so that they can review the concepts as many times as is necessary. Addresses student misconceptions

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Students will create an animation to represent one of the many feedback loops that influences climate change. To create their animation, students will use clay, cut paper, whiteboard or other materials commonly found in the classroom. They will make a storyboard, plan a narration, rehearse their animation and then film their animation with stop-motion photography.

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Annotations are short and cannot give detailed information, but they should cover these points:
1. The general contents of the work. What does it discuss and how detailed is it? This is the main portion of the annotation.
2. The author's qualifications. Is the writer a trained scholar? A journalist? Someone relating a personal experience?
3. An evaluation of the reliability. Is the information given reliable? Are facts or opinions stressed?
4. The intended audience. Is it for a general reader or a specialist? How much, if any, background knowledge is needed to understand it? Was is easy or difficult to read?

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During this exercise, students compare a series of satellite images taken 3-4 years apart to investigate the effects of human land use and annotate the images using ImageJ software.

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Use Purdue OWL to annotate the paper Scale and Cross-Scale Dynamics: Governance and Information in a Multilevel World

The Polar Rock Repository at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center offers no-cost Rock Boxes for use by educators in both schools and informal learning environments, such as libraries, scout groups, and Science Olympiad teams. Each box may be borrowed for one month and contains more than 30 representative samples (rocks, minerals, fossils), printed materials for student use (books, descriptions, etc), teacher materials (also available online), and tools to examine the samples. With few exceptions, all of the samples in the boxes were brought back from Antarctica over the past century by U.S. expeditions!
A virtual version of the Rock Box may be viewed here. In addition to 3D models of rock samples, high resolution photographs and descriptions are linked.

This exercise focuses on anthropogenic effects on erosion. It could be run as a single lab or as a series of in-class exercises or problem sets. We discussed an article by Hooke and used it as a launching pad for a discussion of back of the envelope calculations. Students then estimate the volume moved by mountain-top removal and how long it might take a river to mobilize that sediment. They estimate the cost for beach nourishment along Florida beaches. They estimate the contribution of local construction projects and road gravel to stream sediment loads. This activity gives students a chance to formulate a problem, make simple measurements, estimate unknowns, and calculate volumes, rates, and costs of various human earth-moving activities.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills
Uses geomorphology to solve problems in other fields

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