Bill Hirt

Characterizing Plate Boundaries part of Cutting Edge:Online Teaching:Activities for Teaching Online
Students examine maps showing four different types of geologic data along three specific plate boundaries, and document the patterns in the data along each boundary. Next, they compare their observations to the patterns of seismicity, volcanism, etc. they would expect to find along different types of boundaries based on their reading in order to decide which type of boundary each of the three they examined is most likely to be. The exercise's strengths are that (1) it promotes careful observation and (2) asks students to interpret their observations in terms of an understanding of some more general principles (processes at plate boundaries and isostasy).

Geology of the National Parks part of Cutting Edge:Online Teaching:Online Courses
Geology of the National Parks uses global tectonics as a framework to help students to learn about the processes that are shaping Earth today by exploring the landscapes of parklands situated in a variety of plate boundary and hotspot settings. It also affords students an opportunity to learn about the geologic history of North America, to look at how the processes that have shaped the continent might affect their lives through a number of interactive activities, and to examine how data and conclusions are related in science by abstracting two articles from the recent literature.