Getting students to "put on paleontologists' hats" before their first fossil-hunting field …
Getting students to "put on paleontologists' hats" before their first fossil-hunting field trip allows for a more enriching field experience. Rather than handing out an instructor-prepared field guide (that few students read, anyway), the students essentially work up their own geologic/paleontologic interpretation of a site, using a custom toolkit they develop through classroom and homework exercises. The activity begins with a worksheet that can be completed in groups during class (recommended) or as homework. Students are asked to imagine scenarios of fossil preservation, suggest factors that influence the completeness of the fossil record, and think of ways that fossil assemblages can give clues to the stratigraphic position and paleoenvironment of a rock formation. The instructor is involved as a guide, introducing concepts and terminology as needed. Students will also discuss -- with help from a textbook, specimens, or slide presentation - how the characteristics of major fossil groups might be used to identify a fossil in outcrop (for example, the coil of a gastropod, the pinnules of a crinoid). Next, each student is assigned to be an expert on one taxon or faunal group that they will encounter on the trip. This requires reading a fossil identification guide or instructor-prepared handout. They will make an "expert's notecard" to bring along on the field trip, and will be expected to find and present examples of their fossil(s) on the field trip. The taxonomic level or groups assigned will vary depending on the fossil assemblage and the class size. The activity culminates with the field experience, during which students keep a detailed field notebook (bringing along their in-class worksheets for reference). In the field, students will identify modes of preservation, assist one another as "experts" in fossil identification, and discuss the paleoecological and paleoenvironmental setting of the geologic section. After the field trip, the class compiles a faunal list for the site. Each student writes up an interpretation based on their individual observations and those made as a class. This set of activities can be streamlined if, for instance, the field trip is only a small unit of a general geology course. Rather than using open-ended discussion questions on the preliminary worksheet, the instructor can assign reading or give a lecture that covers modes of preservation and other concepts that students will use to complete the worksheet. The goal remains, however, for students to think about what they will observe at the outcrop BEFORE they are on the rocks.
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This short video reviews how nations and individuals can work together to …
This short video reviews how nations and individuals can work together to reduce the emission of CO2. It discusses strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (energy conservation, renewable energies, change in energy use) and the role that government can play in this process.
Selecting one environmental situation students will learn about some basic human rights …
Selecting one environmental situation students will learn about some basic human rights norms and then analyze that environmental situation in terms of those human rights norms.
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Geography 430 is an active, creative learning community focused around understanding the …
Geography 430 is an active, creative learning community focused around understanding the changing relationships between people and their environments, the causes and consequences of environmental degradation, strategies for building a more sustainable world, and the methods and approaches that scholars have used to understand human-environment interactions. The primary course objectives are to help geographers, earth scientists, and other professionals to deepen their appreciation for the complexity of human-environment systems and to develop skills that allow them to interpret, analyze, and communicate effectively regarding human-environment interactions in their lives as students, professionals, and citizens.
This short video shows how humanity uses energy today; what sources we …
This short video shows how humanity uses energy today; what sources we use; and why, in the future, a growing global population will require more energy.
In this activity, students learn how people prepared for and then dealt …
In this activity, students learn how people prepared for and then dealt during a hurricane by analyzing news headlines about Hurricane Florence (2018). Then they analyze data about the amount of damage that different categories of hurricanes cause, learning that even low category storms are able to cause damage.
In this activity, students use maps and data to learn about where …
In this activity, students use maps and data to learn about where and how hurricanes form and possible correlations with climate change affecting their strength.
This assignment is designed to expose students in my undergraduate 3 credit …
This assignment is designed to expose students in my undergraduate 3 credit non lab elective geohydrology course to a variety of hydrogeological environments and groundwater issues/problems that exist in the United States. Much of the course (field trip and local groundwater contamination case study) highlights and emphasizes understanding of the shallow unconsolidated aquifers in Michigan. Students use as their main source of information the data and illustration rich professional USGS Groundwater Atlases. Using this resource, in this activity students learn about the structure of aquifers in volcanic rock, karst and permafrost regions. They teach their fellow students about groundwater problems that result due due to overpumping, subsidence, sinkholes, saltwater intrusion and coal mining.
Key words: hydrogeologic environments, water supply and water quality problems, aquifers
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This activity is for students to work in teams (2012) or individually …
This activity is for students to work in teams (2012) or individually (2013) to develop a project (such as a physical or numerical model), survey based research, case study, technical briefs on a remediation technology, etc. of the students' choice, based on their understanding of and interest in the subjects covered in the class. This is used in the GL 199 Hydrogeology course, which is offered through the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences at Norwich University. This is an experimental course that has not made it to the course catalogue as yet. It is currently offered to students majoring in Geology, with an acknowledgement that a course in hydrogeology is a desirable component of a Geology curriculum. Environmental Science students are encouraged to take it to deepen their understanding of subsurface processes. This course is considered a science elective for Civil and Environmental Engineering majors, and greatly complements the Hydrology, and Soils and Materials classes that are a part of the regular CE&E curriculum. Students from freshmen through seniors across these three majors are accepted into the course. With a cross section of majors and academic years in the class, it was determined that a project that has students thinking about a topic of their choice and developing fundamental research and collaboration skills is critical to meeting common workplace demands.
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Aquatic ecosystems are home to a complex intersection of physical and biological …
Aquatic ecosystems are home to a complex intersection of physical and biological factors and an intersection of natural and anthropogenic factors. In the Chesapeake Bay, low oxygen events have occurred periodically and may be connected with harmful algal blooms, fish kills, heavy flooding/runoff events, and warming temperatures. Careful monitoring of the system by the Chesapeake Bay Program since 1984 allows scientists and policymakers to evaluate the causes of the events and monitor improvements in the health of the ecosystem.
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Il volume rappresenta la tappa finale della prima stagione di implementazione del …
Il volume rappresenta la tappa finale della prima stagione di implementazione del Progetto ABACUS (giugno 2019 - settembre 2020), sostenuta dal finanziamento pubblico garantito dalla Regione Siciliana e dalla Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri. In tal senso, la pubblicazione raccoglie sia una sezione di materiali di discussione critica sul percorso progettuale e sui primi esiti maturati, sia una ricca parte di contributi tematici offerti da referenti istituzionali, studiosi ed esperti, docenti accademici e ricercatori, professionisti e rappresentanti di organismi del Terzo settore Sono state così affrontate ed esaminate differenti tematiche e problematiche socio-culturali e socio-economiche, e prospettive e approcci metodologico-operativi tra loro affini e convergenti, che si sviluppano a cavallo delle politiche sociali, giovanili e culturali, della progettazione sociale e culturale, dell'innovazione sociale e della diversità culturale, in differenti contesti socio-territoriali siciliani e italiani, con una particolare attenzione per quelle iniziative che rappresentano casi paradigmatici in cui le istanze istituzionali, della ricerca, dell'educazione e della formazione si incontrano con le aspettative dei pubblici differenziati e, specialmente, delle giovani generazioni, anche sull'orizzonte della innovazione dell'occupazione giovanile.
This video discusses impacts that the Eastern US is experiencing due to …
This video discusses impacts that the Eastern US is experiencing due to climate change. It describes the seasonal shifts that may affect tourism in New England, extreme heat in the Southeast, how rising sea level affects coastal areas, changes in hurricane intensity, the spread of invasive species and disease, as well as other topics.
This video features Katharine Hayhoe presenting a lively discussion of impacts that …
This video features Katharine Hayhoe presenting a lively discussion of impacts that the Midwestern US is experiencing due to climate change. It steps through evidence for how climate change is affecting agriculture, tourism, drought and flood, water cycles and freshwater availability, the spread of invasive species and disease, as well as other topics.
This video features research conducted at University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic …
This video features research conducted at University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, which studies isotopes of hydrogen trapped in ice cores to understand climate changes in the past.
This diagram uses the metaphor of an iceberg to demonstrate the idea …
This diagram uses the metaphor of an iceberg to demonstrate the idea of visible vs hidden as it relates to Earth science phenomena. This teaching strategy helps students to see beyond the obvious and to develop their awareness of the underlying causes, relationships, and/or conditions that can contribute to phenomenological events. It also provides a framework for digging deeper into phenomena-driven lessons in Earth Science.
This lesson invites young students to inquire about phase changes, about what …
This lesson invites young students to inquire about phase changes, about what happens as water changes into ice and as ice changes into water, observing ice melting and freezing under a variety of conditions.
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