This is a partially developed activity description. It is included in the collection because it contains ideas useful for teaching even though it is incomplete.
Channel Planform Adjustment
Devon Burr, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Topic: fluvial geomorphology
Course type: Upper level undergraduate course
Description
The exercise I have in mind would model how a river adjusts its channel planform to changes in slope, sediment size, discharge, and sediment cohesion.
Learning Goals or Outcomes
1) An appreciation of how various parameters affect channel planform
2) An understanding of how selected parameters combine to create specific planform patterns
How would you assess whether those goals have been met?
1) whether the output from the model -- eg., plots of variation in each parameter vs. channel planform, and then plots of multiple variable vs channel planform -- are correct
2) whether the student can answer questions about this topic on a subsequent exam
References
Knighton 1998 "Fluvial Forms and Processes"
Anderson and Anderson 2010 "Geomorphology: The Mechanics and Chemistry of Landscapes"