Teaching Introductory Geoscience: A Cutting Edge Workshop Report
Cathryn Manduca, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College; Barbara Tewksbury, Hamilton College; Anne Egger, Stanford University; Heather Macdonald, College of William and Mary; Karin Kirk, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College
Presentations from the July workshop: Examples of
innovative approaches for introductory courses
Classroom, Lab and Field Activities: Search nearly 400
examples from across the geosciences
A sampling of activities in the collection
The workshop program, with links to each
presentation
Keynote presentation about
creating long-term impacts for
introductory courses
Example of a capstone project
designed for long-term impact. Here
students apply course content to their
hometown geology.
Workshop participants reviewed
each others’ activities, using a
rubric for activity design
Abstract:
Introductory undergraduate courses serve as recruiting grounds for
majors and future professionals, provide relevant experiences in
geoscience for pre-service teachers, and offer opportunities to influence
future policy makers, business people, professionals, and citizens. An
introductory course is also typically the only course in geoscience that
most of our students will ever take. Because the role of introductory
courses is pivotal in geoscience education, a workshop on Teaching
Introductory Courses in the 21st Century was held in July 2008 as part of
the On the Cutting Edge faculty development program. A website was
also developed in conjunction with the workshop.
One of the central themes of the workshop was the importance of
considering the long-term impact a course should have on students.
Ideally, courses can be designed with this impact in mind. Approaches
include using the local geology to focus the course and illustrate
concepts; designing a course for particular audience (such as Geology
for Engineers); creating course features that help students understand
and interpret geoscience in the news; and developing capstone projects
to teach critical thinking and problem solving skills in a geologic context.
An example exercise using an
earthquake case study
Student handout
Part II: Meeting in your “Consulting Team”
You are a consulting firm being interviewed by the city of Anchorage,
or the local government of Sumatra (depending on your earthquake
area of study). There has been a lot of growth in this area since your
studied earthquake and they are concerned about the possibility of
another earthquake catching them unprepared. Your group is a part of
a consulting firm “competing” for the bid that will help the city to
best prepare. You are competing against your fellow classmates for
this bid. Each group will be provided with a large white board on
which to present their presentation. As a group, you must do the
following:
Teach each other what you learned in your expert groups. Start with
a brief summary about what your topic was about and how you went
about becoming an expert in that topic area (so make sure you’re
explaining more than just the answers to the questions given).
Take notes (in your notebook) when your other teammates are
describing their learning process.
As a group, strategize what recommendations you should make to
the city council members/local governmental officials and what the
best approach to your successful bid might be (remember, you’re in
competition with some of your fellow classmates—you want to make
sure you’ve given some careful thought to your presentation—be
creative! Name your consulting firm, use a nice balance of images
and text on your “poster” board, make sure it’s legible, etc…).
Your poster board should include the following:
o Your consulting firm name and your names.
o Claim: Cause of the earthquake & the amount of
damage/death that resulted.
o Evidence: Tectonic setting, regions of greatest amount of
damage and the cause, structures: what failed, what
didn’t and why
Keynote presentation about
teaching the process of science
with ideas generated by
workshop participants about
how to integrate the process of
science in their courses
Pedagogic inspiration for working with intro-level students
Grading rubric
Workshop participants also explored strategies for designing engaging
activities including exploring with Google Earth, using real-world
scenarios, connecting with popular media, or making use of campus
features on local field trips. In addition, introductory courses can
emphasize broad skills such as teaching the process of science, using
quantitative reasoning and developing communication skills. Materials
from the workshop as well as descriptions of more than 200 introductory
courses and 350 introductory-level activities are available on the website.
Find it all at:
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/intro
•Google Earth, Streams and Glaciers
•Incomprehensibly Small and Incomprehensibly Large
•Fun with Foam: Introduction to Strike and Dip
•Rock-Tectonics Synthesis Lab
•Rock Cycle in Chocolate
•Coastal Management Case Study
•My Favorite Dead Thing
•Computerized Field Trip Preview of the Berkshire Mountains
•Lost At Sea
•Analyzing your Hometown Stream using On-line USGS NWIS Data
•Tracking Tectonic Plates Using Two Independent Methods
•Using ArcGIS to Investigate the Connection between Bedrock Geology
and the Development of Ancient Egyptian Civilization
•Wind River Eco-Challenge: A Virtual Excursion Exercise for Introducing
Topographic Maps
Courses: Browse over 200 examples of
introductory geoscience courses
A sampling of courses in the collection
Strategies for teaching large classes
Methods to improve student motivation
•Earth Systems and Climate Change
•Evolution of the Earth
•Sustainable Earth
•History of Life
•Geology of the National Parks
•Geological Disasters: Agents of Chaos
•Geology and Human Events in North Africa and the Middle East
•Plus many examples of Physical Geology, Earth Science and Environmental Geology