InTeGrate and Intro Courses
Many of the InTeGrate materials and approaches are well matched to the needs of introductory level courses. Development of introductory-level material was a specific focus of the InTeGrate project and our focus on addressing key societal challenges is a great hook for engaging a broad spectrum of students.
Browse InTeGrate Materials Appropriate for Introductory Courses »
InTeGrate also provides guidance on Geoscientific Thinking and Introductory Geoscience Students
InTeGrate Intro-Level modules can be arranged, re-arranged and deconstructed to create entire courses
Most of our intro-level modules contain 2-3 weeks worth of material broken up into a handful of activities. You can stack these modules end-to-end and pull out individual activities as needed to create a full course worth of material. Examples of intro courses that made intensive use of InTeGrate materials can be found in this description about the system-wide effort at the University of Texas El Paso.
Putting InTeGrate materials into your Intro Course was also the focus of a 3 day workshop at the 2017 Earth Educator's Rendezvous. You can explore the program and supporting materials for that workshop.
How instructors across the country have adopted InTeGrate materials for their intro courses
Cindy Shellito: Adapting Climate of Change for a Large Lecture Course at the University of Northern Colorado
About this Course An an introductory survey course in meteorology and climatology. 55–72 students Three 50-minute lecture sessions One 2-hour lab weekly public university Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 180kB Aug29 13) ...
Cynthia Fadem: Teaching Climate of Change in Environmental Geology at Earlham College
This course introduces whole‐Earth materials and processes with a focus on the formation of and human interaction with surficial environments. We examine phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, wasting, flooding, desertification, and climate change. Discussions and lectures employ case studies allowing students to place geologic phenomena in human context, including analysis of sustainable development, water supply, mining, agriculture, and waste disposal practices. Laboratory and field trip exercises employ maps, specimens, real‐world data sets, and local geological sites and resources. This course is designed for students who want to understand Earth and how it works.
Becca Walker: Teaching Climate of Change in an Introductory Oceanography Course for Nonscience Majors at Mt. San Antonio College, CA
OCEA10 provides an introduction to the ocean environment, including geological, chemical, physical, and biological oceanography topics. Students are told to be prepared to work hard and use their brain! This is not a marine biology course. The course covers marine biology briefly, but the majority of the course focus is geology, chemistry, and physics.
Lisa Gilbert: Teaching Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes in Oceanographic Processes at Williams-Mystic
Oceanographic Processes examines coastal and open ocean environmental science issues. Topics such as sea level rise, global warming, coastal erosion and hazards, pollution and nutrient cycling, and fisheries productivity shed light on the critical importance of understanding the human relationship with the sea. The focus of the course is on controlling processes with regional comparisons. Blue water oceanography is conducted in the Atlantic, and comparative coastal oceanography includes field studies on the West and Gulf coasts of the United States as part of the Williams-Mystic program. Oceanographic Processes also explores the diversity of ocean ecosystems and communities through numerous field studies in New England marine habitats that lead to independent research projects.
Josh Galster: Teaching Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes in Earth and the Environment at Montclair State University
Earth and the Environment was an introduction to the basic processes of Earth and how human activity has affected the planet. It covered the basic systems that make up the planet (biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) and how humans interact with those systems.
Joan Ramage: Teaching Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes in Introduction to Environmental Science at Lehigh University
This course in introductory environmental science focuses on an integrated system-level approach to understanding our natural environment at all space scales, and on human time scales. Concepts to be covered span natural and human-induced drivers of environmental change, consequences within ecosystems, physical systems, and social systems, and options for mitigation of and adaptation to environmental change. Example topics include change within systems, biogeochemical cycles, population pressure, ecosystems and diversity, productivity and food security, energy, water resources, climate change, pollution, ozone, urban issues, and sustainability.
Martha Murphy: Teaching A Growing Concern in Introduction to Environmental Science at Santa Rosa Junior College
ENVS 12 is an introduction to environmental issues from a scientific perspective, focusing on physical, chemical, and biological processes within the Earth system, the interaction between humans and these processes, and the role of science in finding sustainable solutions. Topics include contemporary environmental issues related to resource use, pollution, and human population growth.
Sarah Fortner: Teaching A Growing Concern in Geology of the Critical Zone at Wittenberg University
This course will give students experience employing the scientific method. Laboratories will include fieldwork and inquiry-based activities. Students will also conduct research on environmental issues within their community and be responsible for conducting a community outreach project. This semester that will include evaluating potential urban wetland sites on vacant city lots. Activities & lectures will encourage interaction and discussion between students. Students will solve problems and work together as real scientists do over memorizing facts (e.g. definitions and equations) that can easily be looked-up.
Hannah Scherer: Teaching A Growing Concern in Ecological Agriculture at Virginia Tech
Ecological Agriculture presents an overview of historic and modern agricultural practices. Surveys the principles of ecology in the context of managed ecosystems, civic agriculture, and food systems. Explores ecologically based practices and their use in holistic and integrated agricultural systems.
Joy Branlund: How Humans' Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources meets a community college's general-education goals, at Southwestern Illinois College
About this Course An introductory Earth Science course primarily comprised of non-science majors. 24 students Two 95-minute lecture sessions One 2-hour lab Community college Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 281kB Oct30 13) ...