Amy Gelinas
Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan: Types of Mass Movement
EDP 621 Spring 2007
Grade Level: 9th to 10th grades
Objectives:
Students will be split into groups of four (their cooperative learning group) according to
academic ability: 1-high achiever, 1-low achiever, and 2- average achievers. The lesson
will be based on Jigsaw II methodology. The objectives are to determine:
(1) The factors that influence mass movement,
(2) The different types of mass movement, and
(3) How mass movement will affect topography.
Time: 1 week or 5 class sessions
Teaching presentation: 1 day
Expert group discussion: 1 day
Team reporting: 1 day
Team project: 1 day
Group study and testing: 1 day
Materials:
Unsorted sand of various grain sizes
Water
Plastic trees
Plastic animals
Buckets for water drainage
Rocks of various sizes
Newspaper
Toothpicks
Large trays with water drainage
Expert handouts
Procedures:
The lessons will consist of five different parts. First, there will be a short lecture. Second,
students will work in their expert groups to determine what factors contribute to each
type of mass movement. Third, the students will work in their cooperative learning
groups to teach each other the different types of mass movement. They will also decide
on which type of mass movement project they will create the next day and how they will
build it. Fourth, the students will create an experiment that demonstrates a particular type
of mass movement. The day will end by having students demonstrate their project. And,
fifth, the students will meet briefly in their groups to review. Then a quiz will be given.
1. Teaching presentation (day 1): A PowerPoint presentation will be given that will
lecture on the basics of mass movement.
a. Angle of repose, water, and gravity
b. Major types of mass movement
i. Creep
ii. Slump
iii. Debris flows
iv. Landslides
c. Topography changes
Amy Gelinas
2. Expert group discussion (day 2): Students will first submit an individual summary
statement on their expert topic. This is to encourage all expert group members to
contribute. The students will then split into their expert groups. Each expert group
will work on a worksheet and discuss a particular type of mass movements.
3. Team Reporting (day 3): The students will teach each other what exactly occurs
during each type of mass movements and how gravity, angle of repose, and water
concentrations vary within each type producing different types of mass
movement. They will also work on how these type of mass movements will
change the topography. Then they will discuss what type of mass movement will
they will set up for their project the following day. They will discuss how they
will set it up and what materials they will need. Groups will also submit a form to
the teacher saying who will be responsible for what in the group project to ensure
that all students in the group contribute.
4. Project day (day 4): Students will set up their experiments and fine tune them
until they know that they work. They will consult with other groups to determine
if they can find a better way of making their project. Near the end of class, they
will talk about the type of mass movement that they focused on, how they set up
their experiment, as well as what challenges they had completing the project and
how they addressed them.
5. Review and Quiz (1 day): The students will complete a questionnaire to determine
how well they worked together in class. They will also list specific actions that
they can take to contribute to a better performance as a group-member. The
students will quiz each other on the material presented then take an exam.
.
Amy Gelinas
Expert Group: Creep
Group Members:
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Summary Statement:
1. List the factors that affect creep?
2. How do these factors interact to produce creep?
3. Determine whether creep is a fast or slow process, and discuss why?
4. What is solifluction?
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5. What does creep tell you about the underlying rocks?
6. How does creep change the land’s surface (topography) and how might it affect
vegetation?
7. What are symptoms of creep?
8. Is weathering or erosion the dominant characteristic of this type of mass
movement?
9. Compare and contrast creep with a debris slide.
Amy Gelinas
Expert Group: Slump
Group Members:
Summary Statement:
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
1. List the factors that affect slump?
2. How do these factors interact to produce slump?
3. Determine whether slump is a fast or slow process, and discuss why?
4. Compare and contrast slump with debris flows?
Amy Gelinas
5. What distinctive features does slump leave behind?
6. How does slump change the land’s surface (topography)?
7. Where are the risks of slump the greatest (I don’t want a place name, I want a
geologic setting)?
8. Is weathering or erosion the dominant characteristic of this type of mass
movement?
Amy Gelinas
Expert Group: Debris Flows
Group Members:
Summary Statement:
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
1. List the factors that affect debris flows?
2. How do these factors interact to produce debris flows?
3. Determine whether debris flows are a fast or slow process, and discuss why?
4. What types of debris flows are there? How are they different? What geologic
settings would they occur in?
Amy Gelinas
5. What is viscosity? How does viscosity of the flow determine what type of debris
flow will occur?
6. How do debris flows change the land’s surface (topography)?
7. What environmental conditions usually instigate debris flows?
8. Is weathering or erosion the dominant characteristic of this type of mass
movement?
9. Compare and contrast the different types of debris flows.
Amy Gelinas
Expert Group: Landslides
Group Members:
Summary Statement:
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
1. What is a scientific definition of a landslide? How is this different from the
public’s definition of landslides?
2. List the factors that affect landslides?
3. How do these factors interact to produce different types of landslides?
Amy Gelinas
4. Determine whether landslides are a fast or slow process, and discuss why?
5. What geologic settings would each type of landslide occur in? What conditions
must be different to form this type of landslide?
6. How do landslides change the land’s surface (topography)?
7. What environmental conditions usually instigate landslides?
8. Is weathering or erosion the dominant characteristic of this type of mass
movement?
Amy Gelinas
Elements of Cooperative Learning
1. Individual Accountability: Each student will have a particular job to do on the
project. Each student will write their own summary statement of the particular
type of mass movement they are becoming experts in. Each student will take a
quiz and receive a grade based on their learning alone.
2. Positive Interdependence: Students are responsible for teaching each other the
characteristics of and subtypes of mass movements. To do this, each student must
thoroughly understand the material presented in the expert groups. Each student
has specific tasks they will perform on the project. And, the students will study
together before they take the quiz.
3. Social Skills: Communication, clarifying objectives, making a plan of action, and
self-assigning jobs are necessary skills to complete this lesson. Students must
work together to ensure individual understanding of the material presented.
Students need to be able to work as teachers as much as they work to be good
students.
4. Face-to-Face Interaction: Students will be in contact with at least 6 other students
during this lesson. Students will face each other around lab tables so they can
collaborate on their answers.
5. Heterogeneous Grouping: Each student will be assigned to a cooperative learning
group based on their academic ability, sex, and ethnicity by the teacher. The
students will be assigned so that no “best friends” or “worst enemies” are in a
group together.
6. Evaluation: The students will be evaluated by their grade on the quiz (50%) and
their project (50%). The quiz grade will be based on improvement over their base
scores as in Slavin (1980) with additional points assigned based on group
improvement. The project grade is group based and will be based on how well the
students work together as a group, how well their project works and demonstrates
the concept presented, and how well they did their presentation.
7. Processing: Before the quiz on day 5 there will be a short questionnaire to
determine how well the group worked together. The students will address what
conflicts they had and discuss how they would address them in the future.
References:
Slavin, R.E., 1980. Using Student Team Learning. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins
Universtiy.