Discussion worksheets for popular literature readings on river processes and policy

Scott Rice-Snow

Ball State University

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection.

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Scientific Accuracy
Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
Pedagogic Effectiveness
Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
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This page first made public: Apr 18, 2006

Summary

These five worksheets guide student preparation for in-class discussion of reading assignments from Life on the Mississippi, Cadillac Desert, and The Control of Nature.

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Context

Audience

Undergraduate honors earth science colloquium (focused-topic class) on rivers.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

The following topics are introduced in lecture/practicum before each discussion:

Cadillac Desert Ch. 1, 3, 4: drainage basins, flow in channels
Life on the Mississippi: basin and channel hydrology, canoe trip, erosion and sediment transport, channel forms, channel patterns
Control of Nature Ch. 1: sediment deposition, delta formation
Cadillac Desert Ch. 11, 12: longitudinal profiles
Control of Nature Ch. 3: channel-head processes

How the activity is situated in the course

Throughout the semester, as part of a continual mix of lecture, hands-on work, discussion, and student presentations.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

Specific content focus changes by assignment. Overall focus is on developing ways for society to intelligently deal with river systems through understanding of physical river processes.

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

Evaluation of complex issues bridging science, economics, and politics. Critical analysis of literature with a strong point of view.

Other skills goals for this activity

Applying science principles to critique social policy. Effective participation in large group discussion.

Description of the activity/assignment

I find that when assigning lengthy readings for in-class discussion, it is extremely helpful to guide students' preparation with specific questions, and incorporate these in worksheets that explicitly call for students to write out their responses before entering the classroom. These worksheets can provide some added structure for whole-class discussion, or can provide a specific agenda for review of the readings in small groups. Because these readings are more than a few years old, I have also found it useful to assign small groups of students to give brief reports that expand on and update the issues raised in the readings.

Determining whether students have met the goals

Monitoring of verbal contributions by individual students in discussion; related essay test questions.

More information about assessment tools and techniques.

Download teaching materials and tips

Activity Description/Assignment (Microsoft Word 56kB Mar27 06)

Other Materials

Supporting references/URLs

Reisner, Mark, 1993, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water (Revised and Updated): New York, Penguin, 582 p.
Book review of Cadillac Desert

Clemens, Samuel, 1883, Life on the Mississippi (multiple editions).
Available online at http://www.online-literature.com/twain/life_mississippi

McPhee, John, 1989, The Control of Nature: New York, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 272 p.
More information at http://us.macmillan.com/Book.aspx?isbn=9780374708498
Excerpt from the New Yorker magazine: Atchafalaya

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