Instructor Stories and Adaptations

These resources describe how the module was adapted for use in different settings. We hope these stories inspire your own use of the module and give you insight into how to adapt the materials for your classroom.

Prajukti (juk) Bhattacharyya: Environmental Geology at the University of Wisconsin--Whitewater. The module was adapted to be used in this environmental course for both majors and introductory students at a public undergraduate university. The instructor took advantage of how easy it is to teach the units out of order, even teaching some parts of the unit separately from the module to better work with other course topics

Joy Branlund: Introduction to Earth Science at Southwestern Illinois College. The module replaces the typical rocks and mineral section of this community college course. The module activities worked well in the active-learning classroom, and the instructor appreciated how the interwoven concept maps strengthened students' cognitive skills.

Leah Joseph and Sally Willig: Geology: The Earth Around Us at Ursinus College. The module was used near the beginning of the semester to partially replace and enhance the rocks and minerals portion of the course using both class and lab time. The human element of the module was a good fit for the mostly non-science-major audience at this private liberal arts college.

Modifications on this activity from the community...

Show Less

Contributed by Alice Baldridge, Saint Marys College of California

I used the first module integrated into my first week intro materials and then taught the bulk of the class as a mineralogy/petrology course. After discussing igneous and metamorphic minerals and rocks, we did activities from the Mineral Resources and Mining Impacts modules and then ended the semester with the Mineral Resources created by Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks module and discussed society and impacts the last day of class. We also had the opportunity to visit and tour a gold mine that is getting ready to reopen in the next year and see some of the processes directly. This was done the week of Thanksgiving so tied in very nicely with the last few activities.

My department is an environmental science program and so I struggle in some classes to make the upper division geology courses relevant to their interests. These modules were a really nice way to relate earth materials content to environmental issues and helped the students engage in the course.

Learn more about using InTeGrate modules and courses

Additional Instructor Stories

Skip to search results Skip to pagination

Christopher Berg: GEOL 1121 (Physical Geology) at the University of West Georgia
Christopher Berg, Orange Coast College
My course is a 16-week introductory geology lecture course that is taught in a traditional setting. I replaced half of my traditional lecture content with InteGrate modules and units. I found that by incorporating the student materials into a course packet, integrating readings and assignments into my online CMS, and using in-class polling techniques, I could successfully adapt most of the activities to my large-lecture classroom setting. Students gained an appreciation for the natural resources our society depends upon that they previously took for granted, and the challenges related to preparing for and mitigating natural hazard threats and their wide-reaching impacts.

Mark Abolins: Geol 1030 Introduction to Earth Science/Geol 1031 Introduction to Earth Science Lab at Middle Tennessee State University
Mark Abolins, Middle Tennessee State University
My course is introductory general studies Earth Science, taught in a flipped instruction format with a large amount of active learning during the "lecture" period. Transition from "traditional lecture" to "flipped instruction" happened during 2013-2014 through involvement in the Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) course redesign work group and the Tennessee Board of Regents Course Revitalization Initiative. Students use Pearson's "MasteringGeology" to complete pre-class assignments consisting of both publisher and original content, and they participate in active learning during the "lecture" period. A course response system (clicker remote and app system) is used to assess in-class learning and attendance.

Tiffany Rivera: National Parks Geology at Westminster College (UT)
Tiffany Rivera, University of Missouri-Columbia
Designed for students of all majors, National Parks Geology introduces fundamental geologic concepts through the lens of America's National Parks. My courses have gradually migrated from traditional lecture-based sessions, to integrated lecture and active learning periods. By immersing students in InTeGrate materials, they became more engaged with the content and enjoyed coming to class. The use of three different InTeGrate modules throughout the semester provided students with a variety of activities to challenge them with concepts, quantitative analysis, map reading and creating, and societal issues that affect the National Parks.

Elizabeth Nagy: Using portions of four InTeGrate modules in Physical Geology at Pasadena City College
Elizabeth Nagy, Pasadena City College
Replacing lab activities with materials from four InTeGrate modules in an introductory physical geology course at a two-year college I replaced about half of my previous laboratory activities in an introductory physical geology class with ten activities adapted from four Integrate Modules. The students seemed to enjoy the group work and moving around the room, something that I rarely did in previous semesters. I also enjoyed the diversity of teaching techniques.

Also Related to Humans' Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources

Skip to search results Skip to pagination

Hands-on, data-rich, and socially relevant geoscience activities for 2YC classrooms: An introduction to InTeGrate modules
Feb 13 2015 Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 9-10 AM Pacific | 10-11 AM Mountain | 11 AM-12 PM Central | 12-1 PM Eastern This webinar has already taken place. View the webinar products. Convener: Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman (Pasadena City ...

Educating Skillful Visualizers
Mar 30 2018 Friday, March 30, 2018 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET Presenters: Kim Kastens (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) and Tim Shipley (Temple University) This webinar is part of a series ...

Assessing the Impact of InTeGrate Materials in Introductory Environmental Science and Botany Courses
Aug 31 2017 Using InTeGrate modules in an Introduction to Environmental Science course since the Spring of 2016 has resulted in measurable gains in student achievement in objectives related to soils, agriculture, mining, climate change, among other topics. Utilizing the QUBES InTeGrate Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN) in Spring 2016 was invaluable for guidance with modifying and launching the initial modules used in the course: 'A Growing Concern' and 'Soils, Systems, and Society.' Additional modules were added in the Fall of 2016 to strengthen the course and implementations of previous modules were improved. Recent experiences as a co-mentor for QUBES InTeGrate FMN in Spring 2017, has led to new depths of reflection, additional modules utilized, and new courses employed. Student feedback and results of assessments will be shared as part of the session.

Sustainability Across the Curriculum
Mar 2 2017 Sustainability is emerging as a central theme for teaching about the environment, whether it is from the perspective of science, economics, politics, or society. Teaching about sustainability creates an opportunity to connect classroom material to society. Camelia Kantor, Claflin University's InTeGrate Implementation Program leader, will discuss the importance of Earth Science content and awareness and how integrated and problem-based learning environments help contextualize the need for sustainability. Rachel Teasdale, CSU–Chico's Implementation Program leader, will discuss the Sustainability Pathway general education program and how data-rich and societally relevant teaching activities can be used in STEM and non-STEM courses. The webinar will include 30 minutes of presentations and 25 minutes of discussion. Participants are encouraged to both ask questions of the presenters and discuss their own experiences regarding sustainability across the curriculum.

Developing Graduate Students' Teaching Capacity with InTeGrate Teaching Materials
Aug 18 2016 Developing graduate students' teaching capacity is essential to instilling good teaching practices and beneficial teaching skills in future faculty. This webinar will provide an opportunity to hear from geoscience faculty and graduate students who have developed InTeGrate modules, led InTeGrate implementation training workshops, and adopted InTeGrate modules after participating in a training workshop. Anne Egger, an InTeGrate project leader, will discuss the InTeGrate training workshops she ran for graduate students and post-docs with the Stanford InTeGrate Implementation Program and she will give an overview of the Stanford implementation program. Megan D'Errico, a Research Specialist at San Diego State University, will talk about her experiences as a training workshop participant at Stanford University and her adoption of the InTeGrate module Climate of Change. Joy Branlund, from Southwestern Illinois College is an author of the Human's Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources module and she will talk about the thinking behind the module and how it has worked in her courses. The webinar will include 30 minutes of presentations and 25 minutes of discussion. Participants are encouraged to both ask questions of the presenters and discuss their own experiences developing graduate students' teaching capacity.

Exploring ways to make the InTeGrate Mineral Resources module your own
May 29 2018 Tuesday, May 29, 2018 11:00 am PT | 12:00 pm MT | 1:00 pm CT | 2:00 pm ET Presenters: Joy Branlund (Southwestern Illinois College) This webinar is part of a series supporting teaching with InTeGrate principles, ...

Teaching Sustainability in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar
Feb 9 2018 We, a geology professor and a sociology professor, will discuss our team-taught first-year seminar focused on environmental and social sustainability. In this course, we seek to increase students' understanding of the complex nature of sustainability in a consumer society. InTeGrate materials are invaluable in helping first-year students connect the natural science and the social science perspectives. During this webinar, we will discuss our course, the benefits of these modules for interdisciplinary learning, and the ways we modified them to be accessible for non-majors in their first semester at college. We will conclude by exploring ways that InTeGrate modules can contribute to interdisciplinarity in collaborative teaching models ranging from linked courses to team-taught courses. Participants are encouraged both to ask questions of the presenters and to discuss their own experiences using InTeGrate to link multiple perspectives.

Sustainable Solutions to Societal Issues: Teaching Earth literacy across the undergraduate curriculum
Thursday, September 21, 2017 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET Presenters: Diane Doser (University of Texas at El Paso) and Gigi Richard (Colorado Mesa University) This webinar is part of a ...

Introductory InTeGrate-rich Physical Geology course
Sep 28 2018 Friday, September 28, 2018 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET Presenter: Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman (Pasadena City College) This webinar is part of a series supporting teaching with InTeGrate ...

« Previous Page Next Page »