MER (Mars Exploration Rover ) Landing Site Selection part of Cutting Edge:Discoveries from Mars:Activities
Via a jigsaw role-playing exercise in which students become geologists, astrobiologists and engineers, real data and available constrains are used to identify landing sites for the MER rovers. A debate format is ...

Mars Landing Site Selection: An exercise in reading geologic maps and other geologic data sets part of Cutting Edge:Discoveries from Mars:Activities
Students use available Mars data to select the next rover landing sites, given appropriate engineering, geologic and biologic constraints. -

Determining the Geologic History of Rocks from a Gravel Deposit part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Cooperative Learning:Examples
Gravels deposited as a result of continental glaciation are used to teach introductory-level earth-science students the application of the scientific method in a cooperative learning mode which utilizes hands-on, ...

Earth Systems Science part of Cutting Edge:Course Design:Goals Database
Earth is studied in terms of how different physical and chemical systems interact with each other.

Better Field Instruction by using Jigsaw Groups part of NAGT:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Jigsaw groups places field site students in active, shared responsiblity, collaboration as they infer the concepts previously chosen and supported by their instructor.

Earth and the Solar System part of Cutting Edge:Introductory Courses:Courses
This is high enrollment science course for non-science students in which we examine the evidence for how geological, biological, atmospheric, oceanic, and climatic processes work and interact here on Earth. We then ...

Classification of Igneous Rocks part of Cutting Edge:Introductory Courses:Activities
This is a Think-Pair-Share activity in which I show class photos of a range of igneous rocks in terms of composition and texture. After they complete the activity I fill in the voids in their knowledge with lecture ...

Using a Groundwater Pollution Problem to Develop Professional Communication Skills part of Pedagogy in Action:Library:Professional Communications Projects:Examples

Exploring phyllosilicate structures with polyhedral models part of Cutting Edge:Mineralogy:Activities
In this exercise, students build polyhedral models to learn about phyllosilicate structures and how they relate to physical properties. This directed-discovery activity is a very 'hands-on' experience ...

Discovering the Principles of Relative Age Determination â a Think-Pair-Share In-Class Activity part of Integrate:Workshops:Teaching the Methods of Geoscience:Activities
In this in-class activity, students are challenged to identify rock units and geologic features and determine the relative ages of these features without prior instruction in the classical methods of relative age determination.