In this short activity, students or groups are tasked to make concept …
In this short activity, students or groups are tasked to make concept sketches that track the source of electrical power as far back as they can conceive. The concept sketches reveal students' prior conceptions of the power grid and energy mix, and lead naturally into a lesson or discussion about energy resources and power production.
This is a hands-on activity students design, build, and test. They compare …
This is a hands-on activity students design, build, and test. They compare the energy-generating capacities of vertical- and horizontal- axis wind turbine prototypes they have built as potential sources for power in a home.
This optional homework asks students to investigate some of the impacts of …
This optional homework asks students to investigate some of the impacts of previous mines, mining, and/or mineral resources processing on the surrounding environment and human health. Many of the sites were operated prior to significant changes in the U.S. regulation of mines that was instituted in the late 1960s. Through the investigation of an Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) National Priority List (NPL) website (aka Superfund), students will explore not only the impacts but also the amount of time, effort, and resources it takes to remediate the sites. This background can be referred to in later parts of the module when discussing mining in other countries where the regulations are not as stringent as those in the United States.
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This short video explains how climate change can lead to more extreme …
This short video explains how climate change can lead to more extreme precipitation events and more frequent flooding. Information from the CDC has succinct information about the health downsides of extreme precipitation events, including mental health impacts.
The students must use crayons or colored pencils to create maps of …
The students must use crayons or colored pencils to create maps of global precipitation and evaporation rates. One worksheet is provided to each group of students. Then a representative from each group explains their map to the rest of the class, and the instructor shows a similar map from NOAA or NASA.
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This activity in a case study format explores ice loss from the …
This activity in a case study format explores ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet by way of outlet glaciers that flow into the ocean. Students do basic calculations and learn about data trends, rates of change, uncertainty, and predictions.
This is an activity designed to allow students who have been exposed …
This is an activity designed to allow students who have been exposed to the El NiÃo-Southern Oscillation to analyze the La NiÃa mechanism and predict its outcomes in a case study format.
By supplementing existing traditional labs on mineral and rock identification, and on …
By supplementing existing traditional labs on mineral and rock identification, and on interpreting geologic maps, and creating a lab time for analyzing data available on the web, the students will determine if indoor radon levels correlate best to bedrock geology or to glacial deposits in New York State.
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In this activity, students investigate soil erosion and how a changing climate …
In this activity, students investigate soil erosion and how a changing climate could influence erosion rates in agricultural areas. This activity is part of a larger InTeGrate module called Growing Concern.
In this activity, students retrieve two short papers from Penn State's library …
In this activity, students retrieve two short papers from Penn State's library e-reserves, read them, and spend a week discussing them with their classmates and me. They reproduce three plots with graphing software of their choice and submit their plots to an electronic dropbox. They take a quiz housed within Penn State's course management system. As part of this quiz, they use an online drawing tool to sketch a diagram. Teaching Tips Adaptations that allow this activity to be successful in an online environment This activity was created specifically for an online course. As more and more face-to-face courses incorporate technology for reserved reading and turning in assignments, this kind of activity could be useful an any course.
Elements of this activity that are most effective This activity is extremely instructive for me to have an early gauge regarding the skill level of my students in terms of general online savviness as well as a bit about their quantitative skills and content knowledge.
Recommendations for other faculty adapting this activity to their own course: Make sure you tailor an activity like this one to your own specific course management system. I also recommend making it completely low stakes. I grade only on participation. Log in frequently during this activity to offer help, advice, and encouragement because this is very important at the beginning of an online course when there is the most confusion. I usually make this activity last for the first whole week of courses in case some students register at the last minute.
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In this exercise learners use statistics (T-test using Excel) to analyze an …
In this exercise learners use statistics (T-test using Excel) to analyze an authentic dataset from Lake Mendota in Madison, WI that spans the last 150 years to explore ice on/ice off dates. In addition, students are asked to investigate the IPCC Likelihood Scale and apply it to their statistical results.
Students produce a set of eight personal travel 'insights' from field trips …
Students produce a set of eight personal travel 'insights' from field trips within their bioregion. Each insight consists of an image produced by the student and accompanying text; students are producers of meaning rather than consumers.
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This resource provides an easy-to-read table summary of solutions to decrease anthropogenic …
This resource provides an easy-to-read table summary of solutions to decrease anthropogenic releases of CO2 to the atmosphere. The sources in the data set are clickable for a deeper look into the emission source, references, and a list of additional resources.
This in-class exercise is done during the last half of the class …
This in-class exercise is done during the last half of the class meeting prior to a midterm exam (which is held during a class period), to get the students to initiate their own review processes. To begin, a map of the lecture hall is shown, divided into a large number of seating areas (18, in the example used in the attached material). The exact number is not too important, it just needs to be enough to ensure not too much repetition yet sufficient variety among the teams. Each seating area is assigned a particular type of exam question (diagram, matching, ordering, multiple answer, short essay answer, or whatever other question types you use) and a topic that will be on the immediately upcoming midterm exam. The topics are currently taken from the textbook, divided relatively finely but not so finely that there is insufficient material for them to formulate an exam question from the material. Ten minutes is allotted for the students to form groups of 2-3 (more in a team is less productive for individual students), then for each team to review its assigned topic, and to create a reasonable question and answer set in the assigned format. Following this, another 10 minutes is allotted for the teams to evaluate one other team's set and to work out improvements with the originating team, if needed. (This last activity doesn't always happen.) At the end of this stage I collect a copy of the question, the answer, the names of the originators, and the names of the checkers for each Q&A set. I post all the question/answer sets on Blackboard as fast as I can enter them, so they can serve all the students as a review basis for the exam. Depending on my schedule, that can take from 2-6 hours. I try not to correct incorrect answers or other problems, preferring instead to post a warning (see attached examples) urging students to check the answers given. This is not generally successful, as many students merely memorize the list, right or wrong, without apparently checking it.
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Students in groups of two create a 4-minute educational video, brochure, and …
Students in groups of two create a 4-minute educational video, brochure, and poster on an aspect of soil erosion, soil conservation, and/or watershed health for agricultural regions within the midwestern states. This is a half term project and the materials are presented in a forum towards the end of the semester. The project is aimed to help students learn to pitch science to a wide audience and provide practice (indirectly) applying scientific principles to conservation efforts.
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Water conservation teams will perform a school water audit to determine how …
Water conservation teams will perform a school water audit to determine how much water the school uses (indoors and outdoors), what activities and behaviors contribute to water loss and waste, and what changes could be enacted to conserve water at their school.
In this service learning project, students will collaborate in teams and with community partners to:
Collect data from existing sources such as past water bills, campus census data, and school facility maps Measure school water use (indoors/outdoor) and make "field" observations by performing the 7-Step School Water Audit Analyze data, formulate problem statements, and make recommendations for action plans to improve water efficiency Create an extended abstract or poster for the project Present the project to an authentic audience of students, teachers, school administrators, water supply entities and other community partners Make real-world changes to conserve water
This is an in-depth activity that focuses on Wisconsin ecosystem characteristics and …
This is an in-depth activity that focuses on Wisconsin ecosystem characteristics and energy flow within ecosystems. The activity is lengthy, but selected parts of it could be adapted to a variety of teaching situations.
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