Geology of National Parks
Kurtis Burmeister
University of the Pacific
a Private four-year institution, primarily undergraduate
.Summary
Overview of topics in physical geology within the context of North American National Parks. Semester-long course with weekly lectures (3) and lab periods for 20-25 students. Significant field component includes 3 multiple day field trips.
Course Size:
15-30
Course Context:
This will be an introductory course with no pre-requisites that satisfies both general education requirements and satisfies the pre-requisite for all intermediate level course for intermediate-level courses for our geology and environmental science majors. The course is field-intensive (3 multiple day field trips), has a significant writing component (several 1-2 page writing assignments), and a required weekly three-hour lab.
Course Goals:
1. Students should be able to interpret the geologic history, tectonic setting, and geologic processes in a region
2. Students should be able to identify potential impacts of human activities on parks (e.g., physiographic regions)
3. Students should be able to analyze information on geosciences-related topics in the popular media and effectively communicate results to others
2. Students should be able to identify potential impacts of human activities on parks (e.g., physiographic regions)
3. Students should be able to analyze information on geosciences-related topics in the popular media and effectively communicate results to others
How course activities and course structure help students achieve these goals:
The goals outlined above will be addressed within a course plan structured around a series of topics, including:
(1) Introduction: tools for forensic time travel and predicting the future;
(2) Assembling North America: Voyageurs NP;
(3) Supercontinent cycles: Acadia, Adirondacks, Great Smoky Mountains NPs;
(4) Evolution of the Sierra Nevada: Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Mt St Helens NPs;
(5) Marine environments: Florida/Gulf coast coral reef environments:
(6) Passive margin coastlines: Virgin Islands, Everglades, Cape Cod;
(7) Emerging coastlines: Point Reyes, Channel Islands, Olympic Peninsula NPs;
(8) Stretching the crust: Death Valley NP, Grand Tetons NP;
(9) Dissecting a great plateau: Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Zion NPs;
(10) Folding and thrusting: Glacier NP, Rocky Mountains NP;
(11) Natural resources: Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge; and
(12) Hot spots—the fire from below: Hawaii volcanoes, Yellowstone NP.
Within this course structure, a series of activities will help students achieve specific discipline-related goals. Examples of these activities and assignments include:
Goal 1—concept maps of rock, hydrologic, and carbon cycles; rock cycle game; defining plate boundaries jigsaw; concept sketches of plate boundaries; gallery walks on topographic and geologic map interpretation
Goal 2—concept mapping causes, effects & feedbacks in biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere of the Yellowstone fires; gallery walk on the ethics of rock & fossil collecting
Goal 3—written (abstract) reviews of "Scientific American" style articles; weekly PowerPoint journal of one geoscience-related topics in the news
Rubrics will be used to assess whether students have met the specific content- and skill-related goals of each activity or assignment
(1) Introduction: tools for forensic time travel and predicting the future;
(2) Assembling North America: Voyageurs NP;
(3) Supercontinent cycles: Acadia, Adirondacks, Great Smoky Mountains NPs;
(4) Evolution of the Sierra Nevada: Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Mt St Helens NPs;
(5) Marine environments: Florida/Gulf coast coral reef environments:
(6) Passive margin coastlines: Virgin Islands, Everglades, Cape Cod;
(7) Emerging coastlines: Point Reyes, Channel Islands, Olympic Peninsula NPs;
(8) Stretching the crust: Death Valley NP, Grand Tetons NP;
(9) Dissecting a great plateau: Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Zion NPs;
(10) Folding and thrusting: Glacier NP, Rocky Mountains NP;
(11) Natural resources: Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge; and
(12) Hot spots—the fire from below: Hawaii volcanoes, Yellowstone NP.
Within this course structure, a series of activities will help students achieve specific discipline-related goals. Examples of these activities and assignments include:
Goal 1—concept maps of rock, hydrologic, and carbon cycles; rock cycle game; defining plate boundaries jigsaw; concept sketches of plate boundaries; gallery walks on topographic and geologic map interpretation
Goal 2—concept mapping causes, effects & feedbacks in biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere of the Yellowstone fires; gallery walk on the ethics of rock & fossil collecting
Goal 3—written (abstract) reviews of "Scientific American" style articles; weekly PowerPoint journal of one geoscience-related topics in the news
Rubrics will be used to assess whether students have met the specific content- and skill-related goals of each activity or assignment
Skills Goals
Critically reading and writing skills, Data analysis and interpretation
How course activities and course structure help students achieve these goals:
Critically reading and writing skills: students will be asked to read two Scientific American articles on geoscience-related topics and write abstracts that summarize those articles
Data analysis and interpretation: students will analyze and interpret data on air quality trends from two National Parks and summarize their results in a short writing assignment that compares and contrasts the causes, effects, and remediation efforts of air quality issues at their two parks
Data analysis and interpretation: students will analyze and interpret data on air quality trends from two National Parks and summarize their results in a short writing assignment that compares and contrasts the causes, effects, and remediation efforts of air quality issues at their two parks
Assessment
Rubrics will be used to evaluate student learning
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