In this series of inquiry-based exercises about volcanoes and plate tectonics, students will collect, plot, and interpret data and finish with a role-playing activity and a virtual field trip.

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In this video segment from NatureScene, observe some methods of plant identification with regards to the diversity of hardwoods at the Congaree Swamp.

This is a field investigation on diversity of life where students count the number of kinds organisms in two locations. Students report their results on posters and propose reasons why there might be difference in diversity between the locations.

In this project, students perform library research on an assigned marine animal, create a formatted poster of their topic, and share with their classmates what they've learned in a poster session, conducted in the way of poster sessions at science conferences. Afterward, students complete a written assignment where they are asked to reflect on their experience as a participant in a community of science students, their focused learning on their own marine animal, their larger learning about the diversity of marine life from their poster session participation, and what it implies about the intrinsic value of the ocean realm, and the need for conservation.
The outcomes for this assignment are aligned with course-specific outcomes articulated in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. They are:

Synthesize central concepts from assigned readings of scientific literature in written assignments.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse environments in the context of ocean science.
Interpret data generated by oceanographic techniques, and present written and oral summaries of their findings.
Explain the basic structure and function of the ocean realm, the impact of humans on it, and the impact of the ocean realm on humans.

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Join Simon, Anita and Dennis as they explore the names of clouds. And what's a Contrail?Download the Clouds Module storybook and learning activities!

A collection of repeat photography of glaciers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The photos are taken years apart at or near the same location, and at the same time of year. These images illustrate how dramatically glacier positions can change even over a relatively short period in geological time: 60 to 100 years. Background essay and discussion questions are included.

Individual students have different ethical "lines." This class discussion proceeds with a series of prompts that presents a set of scenarios that explores ethical boundaries. Students discuss right and wrong actions with respect to a river and discuss why those actions are "right" or "wrong" as well as how their ethical viewpoints vary.

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This video provides a good introduction to the field of attribution science. Beginning with an introduction to weather and climate, it describes how severe weather might be linked to climate change and the science behind attribution studies. It gives a good explanation behind how scientists use climate models to study whether severe weather events were influenced by climate change. It also discusses the question, "does climate change cause extreme weather?" and provides an introduction to the concepts of probability, causation, and correlation in regards to attribution science (how much climate change influenced an event verses normal variations in weather).

Students will use the IRIS Earthquake Browser to assess the pattern of earthquakes in Arkansas before, during and after (>2011) fracking related wastewater injection. Students will use critical thinking skills to determine if earthquakes are related to fracking related activities.

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It is common in the real world to see mathematical examples where the cents sign was used when the dollar sign was supposed to be used. Converting and comparing decimals and fractions can help clear up this misconception. Two real coupons clipped from a Sunday paper coupon section are included in this activity. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

One particular type of domino game, sometimes called the All Fives Domino game, uses multiples of five in order to score points. It can be the basis for a number of games designed to develop conceptual understanding of multiples of numbers through twelve and provide opportunities to reinforce learning objectives in a fun and competitive manner. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

A workshop for enabling students to sit quietly and observantly in the natural world.

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Students will learn field sampling and laboratory techniques to utilize environmental DNA (eDNA) as an early detection tool for invasive or rare species, with a focus on zebra mussels.

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Earth Scientists often work independently in laboratory or field situations, and may be confronted with ethical challenges at times when their is no external scrutiny of one's conduct. How can we best train students to "do the right thing" in accordance with professional ethical standards? A number of scenarios are presented so that students must consider the context, conduct, and consequences of their actions.

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The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program web site allows you to download earthquake data as an Excel spreadsheet from any area in the world over a specific time period and magnitude range. This is a fantastic resource that makes it possible to study any area you want and not be limited to canned data sets. It's also very easy to save the Excel files in a way that can be imported directly into ArcMap and then into ArcScene.

In this in-class activity, students download earthquake data from the Sumatra area and examine it first in Excel. They quickly observe that, even when they sort the spreadsheet in various ways, they can develop only a limited picture of the data. In the second part of the activity, students bring the data into ArcMap to portray it spatially, and they change the symbols to portray various attributes of the earthquakes. In the final part of the activity, students display the data in three dimensions in ArcScene. This latter is particularly powerful, because students can interactively rotate the ArcScene, which helps immensely in their abilities to visualize the depth distribution of quakes.

Although the activity focuses on Sumatra, the activity could easily be done for any area of the world. Later in the semester in this course, students download earthquake data from other areas in the world when they evaluate earthquake hazards in other regions.

You can also download a GIS Primer (Acrobat (PDF) PRIVATE FILE 1.2MB Mar30 10) that we have written, which is a simple GIS "how-to" manual for tasks including those used in this exercise.

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This video segment from Kentucky Life explains the differences between dragonflies and damselflies and explores their habitats.

The goal of this activity is for to students to observe and quantify the inherent organization within the channel network of a single drainage basin (a la Horton, 1945). The students will use the contour-crenulation method to flesh out the channel network within a selected drainage basin. They will then use the Strahler system to deterime the stream order of each channel segment. They then measure and average various attributes (slope, length, etc.) of the channel segments, by stream order. These data will then be plotted on semi-log graph paper to illustrate the matematical relationships between channel attributes and stream order. This activity gives students practice in delineating drainage divides and channel networks on topographic maps, using map scales to measure distances on topographic maps, and graphing data using a semi-log format. In addition, they are asked to compare their "real-world" results against the classic "laws" of basin morphometry presented in their textbook. This permits a discussion of sample size and measurement error versus theoretical relationships presented in a textbook.
Designed for a geomorphology course

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This exercise begins with a field trip to the San Gabriel Mountain foothills near our campus. Students are given a set of topographic maps and asked to follow our progress as we hike into a small drainage basin in the Claremont Wilderness Park. Through interactive discussion, we explore regional landscape and the geomorphic form, function, and processes of a drainage basin system. Students are expected to complete their assignment on drainage basin analysis during the following week, working from the maps provided. Students are asked to identify the basic landscape units in the San Gabriel Mountain foothill region, delineate a set of drainage basins, and analyze the geomorphic characteristics of these basins using longitudinal profiles and morphometric indices. From this information, they are expected to draw basic conclusions about the geomorphic processes affecting this landscape system, and its relative state of equilibrium.
Designed for a geomorphology course

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This exercise is typically integrated with lecture during the first two days of a chapter on fluvial geomorphology.

Day 1:
The first day of class begins with a discussion of the components of a drainage basin and typical drainage basin patterns, including dendritic, parallel, trellis, rectangular, radial, annular, and multibasinal. After viewing the typical textbook diagrams of these drainage basin patterns, each student is given his/her own topographic map and a geologic map from the same region. The students are given the following instructions:

1.Write a one paragraph description of your study area, and include the following information:

Quad. name
Drainage basin pattern(s) -- in bold
Geological influence

2.Email the paragraph to me as an MS Word document by 9:00AM on [date -- next day]. I will read the paragraph, but I will not modify any wording, so make sure it is accurate and well-written.

The maps are usually distributed in the last 10 minutes of a 50-minute class period, so that the students have some time to get familiar with the maps and ask any questions that arise immediately. Recommended 7.5 minute quad.s for the exercise include:

dendritic: Effingham, IL; Alma, WI-MN
parallel: Ithaca West, NY; Antelope Peak, AZ
trellis: Waldron, AR
rectangular: Hillsboro, KY; Cumberland MD-PA-WV
radial: Mt. Rainer, WA
annular: Maverick Spring, WY
multibasinal: Whitwell, TN; Oolitic, IN

The Website http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/featureindex.html is also a useful reference for other topographic maps.

Day 2:
On the second day of class, we discuss the initiation of channels and basin morphometry. After lecturing on topics like tractive force, micropiracy, cross-grading, and bifurcation, we discuss typical stream courses (i.e., insequent, consequent, subsequent, obsequent, and resequent). In the last 5 minutes of class, the paragraphs from the previous day are redistributed in such a way that every student has a paragraph written by one of their peers and a new set of maps. The students are given the following instructions:

1.Rewrite/edit what you have been given, if necessary, to emphasize the bolded drainage pattern.
2.Decide whether the stream patterns are representative of consequent, insequent, or subsequent stream courses.
3.Explain your reasoning using the geologic map.

Discuss the influence of the resistance of geologic materials on the stream course.
Discuss the influence of slope on the development of the stream course.

4.Email the paragraph to me as an MS Word document by 9:00AM on [date -- next day].

Once final paragraphs are submitted, they are redistributed to the entire class so that all students have a complete set of paragraphs describing a variety of drainage basin patterns and stream courses from a variety of geologic settings. Maps remain in the classroom for the duration of the term so that students can reference them if they choose to.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Has minimal/no quantitative component

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This math problem demonstrates the concept of geometric progression, through an example of a million dollar contract between an employee and an employer. Application of the concept of geometric progression to social cause activism is addressed. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.