Students work with data bases and GIS to develop saturated thickness maps. Each data base consists of observations made by drillers where they have encountered the High Plains aquifer base and the annual water-level measurements taken in wells screened in the High Plains aquifer by field technicians.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Final independent GIS analysis designed and carried out by the student; once the analysis is complete, each student develops an assignment or activity based on the project for another college-level course.

Jonathon Little, Monroe Community College Summary Students gather GPS data on some variable. Students map this points and overlay relevant layers.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Simple field exercise to introduce the concepts of GPS position data acquisition. Students "write" words in a field and upload the data to map it in GIS or spreadsheet software.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students are divided into teams, each of which is given a list of instructions and a GPS unit, and sent to find certain locations. At each stop, they identify a particular building stone or a plant.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The following are potential questions that could be used in a gallery walk activity about climate. The questions are organized according to the cognitive level at which students are engaged, using Bloom's Taxonomy.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The following are potential questions that could be used in a gallery walk activity about Atmospheric Mosture. The questions are organized according to the cognitive level at which students are engaged, using Bloom's Taxonomy.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students will look at the garbage we create as a culture in a deeper and more connected way and theorizing about the culture that creates and uses it. Designed for use in an online course, it could certainly be adapted for use in grounded courses as well.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students learn how GPS and GIS can be used to gather and analyze point data. The main outcome is a digital map of campus trees classified by size and type. The technical skills learned in this lab will be used in a subsequent lab to analyze water quality data.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students apply their understanding of sedimentary rocks and sediment characteristics to identify where rocks may be forming using a simplified cross-section of a landscape from mountain to sea.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students view the documentary "Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai." They also are required to read Dr. Maathai's "The Greenbelt Movement: Sharing the Approach and Experience." The students must write an essay describing the geo-politics inherent within the Greenbelt Movement, specifically as it relates to environmental security. The students must next examine the potential for a similar social movement to be effective in Myanmar.

During this activity, the instructor introduces a miniature watershed, named a GeoSandbox, to provide a conceptual bridge between the schema created in the soup can water budget activity and the schoolyard watershed activity to follow. Students introduce known quantities of water to the GeoSandbox using spray bottles and measure the resulting surface flow and infiltration. The concepts of topography and land use are also introduced. Additional instructional materials are provided to firmly establish the concept of a watershed for students who need the support.

Designed for an introductory geology course

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The activity begins by asking students to look at a drawing of a crime scene. The crime scene is specifically drawn so that illustrates several key geologic principals, but to the untrained eye it appears as a murder that took place inside an office. After quietly looking at the image for a few minutes alone, they share with a partner what they think happened. As a class, we record a list of "Observations," making sure to use the opportunity to highlight the difference between observation and interpretation. After we complete the list of observations, students then offer their interpretations about the sequence of events. Without using any new vocabulary, the teacher makes sure to highlight the geologic principles of original horizontality, superposition, cross cutting relations, and uniformitarianism in the students' interpretations. After students share enough competing theories, the professor shows slides of geologic examples that have things in common with parts of the crime scene and points out the similar processes. The activity eventually ends without a clear answer about "whodunnit." This open ending leaves students frustrated, but it really gets across the point that we can never know the exact answer to some problems, we can only come up with viable theories. Students continue to ask for months about what "really" happened, but I never tell them :-) Has minimal/no quantitative componentUses geophysics to solve problems in other fields

Students are required to create professional geological-tourism maps for a state (or country) of their choosing. Students will find data sets for their chosen area, and manipulate and display the data into a large format map that is used for display.

Students use geochemical tools used to track the presence of marine (salmon) derived nutrients in the terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of creeks where salmon spawn. They also explore pros and cons of hatchery-raised salmon.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students geocode the locations of the "big box stores" Walmart and Target from addresses that they download. They then compare the spatial distribution of stores at the state level by performing a spatial join with a shapefile of US states, and comparing the distribution of stores with the population of each state. Finally, they write a report of their results as a recommendation for future action, either by an environmental group or a development group.

The Keystone Pipeline is a complex project that raises important environmental, economic, and international policy issues. Tar sands from Alberta Canada will be mined and processed and transported on a ~1700 mile pipeline to refineries in the United States. How should decisions be made responsibly and ethically to balance societal energy needs with anticipated environmental impacts related to mining and processing the tar sands and the ultimate impacts on climate change.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Geoethics Forums is a format for a classroom discussion and creative resolution of an ethical issue. Students research a particular dilemma, identify stakeholders, and then consider possible solutions and tradeoffs working towards the most acceptable path.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Geoethics Forums is a format for a classroom discussion and creative resolution of an ethical issue. Students research a particular dilemma, identify stakeholders, and then consider possible solutions and tradeoffs working towards the most acceptable path. This example case study explores the use of strategic minerals for green and clean technology.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)