APPLICATION COVER PAGE
TLC FACULTY PROJECT GRANTS
A Developmental Faculty Support Program
Applications Due: May 15, 2006, or Until All Funds Have Been Awarded
Date
April 1, 2006
Project Title Impacts of the Pacific Northwest Plate Tectonic Boundary on Eastern
Washington: Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions
Faculty Who Will Participate Directly in the Project
Project Leaders:
Dr. Richard L. Orndorff
Dr. P. Ted Doughty
Dept Geology
Dept Geology
Brief Project Description:
We propose to add experiential modules to Geology 100 labs that incorporate (1) the use
of a working seismograph and (2) sediment cores from Turnbull National Wildlife
Refuge that show local impacts of past Cascade volcanic eruptions. We believe that these
two modules will enhance student understanding of the impacts of a convergent plate
tectonic boundary on the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States. Using real
scientific tools and real data in the lab will likely increase student enthusiasm and
positively affect learning, recruitment, and retention. The seismograph and other
materials that we propose to purchase will represent significant educational tools that will
be incorporated throughout the Geology curriculum.
Project Beginning Date
Project Ending Date
January 1, 2007
January 1, 2008
Signatures of Applicants:
Project Leaders
_________________________________
_________________________________
Department Chair Signature (Project Leader’s Department)
________________________________________________
Application Continued
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APPLICATION FORM
TEACHING & LEARNING CENTER FACULTY GRANTS
A Developmental Faculty Support Program
All proposals that meet the criteria outlined in the Application Guidelines will be funded, so long
as funds are available. The Teaching & Learning Center will work with applicants to design
fundable projects. You should allow for the possibility of multiple meetings with Center staff as
you go through this project revision process.
Applications Due: May 15, 2006, or until all funds have been awarded (i.e., first-come-first-served)
Your application should include:
1. Cover page.
2. Completed project planner.
3. Proposal narrative.
4. Project budget.
Learning Goals and Project Plans
Your proposal should be for the purpose of increasing student learning, which can be specified
with new learning goals or through better student performance on existing learning goals.
Project Planner for TLC Faculty Grants
Learning Goals
Student Activities
Assessment
What do you anticipate that
students will know more fully and
be able to do better as a result of
the course modifications that you
are proposing to develop in this
project?
What will you ask students to do
in order to meet each learning
goal or objective?
How will you know if each goal or
objective has been accomplished?
Understand how earthquake
waves travel and how wave
arrivals are used to locate
earthquake epicenters and
determine earthquake
magnitudes.
1(a) Use wave records
from actual earthquakes to
locate epicenters and
determine magnitudes.
1(b) Explore the behavior
of recent earthquakes
beneath Cascade
volcanoes.
1(a) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on actual
earthquakes.
1(b) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on the record
of earthquakes beneath
Cascade volcanoes.
Learn how a seismograph
works and how it responds
to energy released by fault
motion and by magma
within Cascade volcanoes.
2(a) Demonstrate an
understanding of
seismograph technology.
2(b) Explore the sensitivity
of a working seismograph
to environmental
vibrations.
2(a) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on drawing a
diagram of a seismograph
and explaining how it
produces and electrical
signal.
1(b) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on physically
testing the sensitivity of a
working seismograph by
jumping, hammering, etc.
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Use the local (SpokaneCheney) sedimentary record
(ash layers) to explore the
temporal and special
impacts of Cascade volcanic
eruptions on Eastern
Washington.
Understand how plate
tectonic interactions control
earthquake activity and
volcanic eruptions in
Washington state. Explore
potential future impacts of
this boundary on the Inland
Empire.
3(a) Describe volcanic ash
layers in sediment cores
from shallow lakes in
Turnbull National Wildlife
Refuge.
3(a) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on identifying
discrete ash layers and
determining age relationships
and source volcanoes.
4(a) Draw a cross-section
of the Pacific Northwest
convergent plate boundary;
include magma source and
Cascade volcanoes.
4(b) Plot the temporal
record of large Cascade
eruptions.
4(a) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on drawing
and labeling the PNW plate
boundary.
4(b) Assign and assess a lab
activity based on
extrapolating the pattern of
past eruptive events to
potential future events.
Proposal Narrative
1. Describe how your project will increase student engagement in their learning and result
in increased learning. Please refer to items in your Planner.
We propose to add experiential modules to Geology 100 labs that incorporate (1) the use
of a working seismograph and (2) sediment cores from Turnbull National Wildlife
Refuge that show local impacts of past Cascade volcanic eruptions.
Convergent plate boundary in the Pacific Northwest (from Harris, 1988).
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The northwest coast of the United States is a convergent plate tectonic boundary where
the Juan de Fuca Plate is subducted beneath the North American Plate. The overall plate
motion causes rare huge earthquakes (the plate boundary is identical to the boundary that
caused the 2004 magnitude 9.0 Indonesian earthquake that killed 200,000 people), and
the upward movement of magma from the melting Juan de Fuca Plate results in smaller
earthquakes and periodic volcanic eruptions, some of immense scale. This regional
boundary illustrates many geologic processes and represents a significant hazard for
Washington residents.
Ash from the catastrophic Mt. Mazama eruption 6800 years ago (From Harris, 1988).
Residents of Eastern Washington often view earthquake and volcano hazards as a
“western” problem. The reality is far different. Mt. Mazama in southwestern Oregon
erupted 6800 years ago and blanketed the northwest in ash. The volcano collapsed into its
emptied magma chamber to create Crater Lake, one of the world’s deepest lakes. Shallow
lake cores from Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge illustrate the local impacts of this
eruption. Beneath 18 inches of organic sediment lies a thick layer of white ash from the
Mazama eruption.
Left: Upper organic sediment.
Right: Clean Mazama ash from TNWR.
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Students respond to real tools, real data, and, in this case, a real hazard. We propose to set
up a working seismograph and use it to track earthquake activity at the plate boundary
and within Cascade volcanoes fed by the subducting plate. We also propose to collect
sediment cores illustrating the local record of cataclysmic Cascade eruptions. Students
will (1) test and understand the inner workings of a seismograph, (2) use seismography to
track plate motion and magma movement, (3) study the sedimentologic record of past
eruptions, and (4) make hypotheses about potential future earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions.
Schematic of AS1 seismograph for real-time earthquake recording
(from manufacturer).
We believe that this project will increase student understanding of the impacts of a
convergent plate tectonic boundary on the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States.
Using working scientific tools and real data in the lab will likely increase student
enthusiasm and enhance learning, recruitment, and retention in Geology. The
seismograph and other tools that we propose to purchase will likely be incorporated
throughout the Geology curriculum.
2. Explain how student activities that will result from your project will make student
learning observable to you. Describe how you will measure the results of those
observations. Please refer to items in your Planner.
We will create lab activities that use earthquake data from the seismograph (for locating
epicenters and determining magnitudes) as well as physically testing the resolution of the
seismograph itself. We intend to use earthquake data from magma movement within
Cascade volcanoes and tie this information to evidence of past volcanic eruptions that
impacted eastern Washington. Information about past events will allow students to make
informed predictions about potential future earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that may
impact the Spokane-Cheney area. These exercises will be graded to determine the level of
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student comprehension based on our new active, experiential learning modules. We will
also include specific questions on new lab evaluation forms to get feedback about the
effectiveness of our proposed lab activities.
3. Describe the process and timeline by which you intend to complete your project. Include
a pilot or testing phase, which will produce results that you will analyze and report as
evidence of how well the project has achieved your learning goals. Also include your
availability to participate in a Scholars Learning Community that the Teaching &
Learning Center will organize for you and other grant recipients for the purpose of
creating a community of mutual support and friendly criticism.
Note: Two out of six Geology faculty members (neither of this proposal’s authors) will
be on faculty leave during fall quarter, 2006. As other faculty members take up the
teaching load for those on leave, neither PI will be able to get release time during the fall.
Hence release time is scheduled for winter quarter.
Timeline:
Winter quarter, 2007
Spring quarter, 2007
Fall quarter, 2007
1-course buyout for Orndorff
1-course buyout for Doughty
Set up and test seismograph
Collect and analyze sediment cores
Participate in a Scholars Learning Community
Develop lab exercise on volcanic ash beds
Develop seismograph lab activity for GEOL 100
Test lab exercises in GEOL 100
Participate in a Scholars Learning Community
Use updated lab exercises in GEOL 100
Collate assessment of exercises
Write report on activities and assessment
Participate in a Scholars Learning Community
4. List the faculty names who will service as project leaders. Describe the responsibility of
each project leader.
Dr. Richard L. Orndorff:
Acquire and set up seismograph and computer. Monitor and test seismograph. Develop
display center in hallway so that working seismograph is visible to visitors to the Science
Building. Design lab activities for seismograph.
Dr. P. Ted Doughty:
Acquire additional coring tools and hallway display center. Collect representative
sediment cores from Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Determine ash bed sources and
produce hall and lab displays. Design lab activities related to volcanic eruptions, ash
beds, and plate tectonics.
Project Budget
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1. List and describe the expected costs of your project. Teaching & Learning Center staff
will advise you on estimating these costs. They will also help select and order equipment
and materials for your project.
Phase 1:
AS1 Seismograph (including shipping)
Dedicated laptop computer
$600.00
$1400.00
Phase 2:
Hall display for sediment cores
Coring accessories (to increase depth of coring tool)
$1000.00
$500.00
2. List all sources of financial support that you expect to obtain for your project and
describe how the total support will be apportioned among the various sources.
This proposal represents the only potential funding source. The Geology Department has
already invested in an SBS Coring Tool for sampling sediment to a depth of six feet at a
cost of $1,500.00.
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