Undergraduate introductory course in geoscience

Students should be introduced to topographic maps and contour lines.

We have used this activity as a homework assignment after the topic is introduced in lecture and reading, but it could also be used in class, in lab, or as group work.

Students will be able to read and understand topographic maps

Students will be able to visualize 3D topography from a 2D representation. This is one example of what cognitive scientists call "disembedding": recognizing salient features in a visually complex scene.

This worksheet focuses on how to build a topographic map and how a 2D topographic map relates to the associated 3D model. Students are given a simple 3D model that contains 2 hills. Students are also given a blank space to draw the topographic map and 5 "photos" that show what the model would look like if it were flooded with water and a photo was taken from above as the water rises every 10 feet. Students drag each photo to the blank map and trace the boundary between the water and the land. This is repeated for each photo until they have built the topographic map. Then students must correctly match the hills from the 3D model to the hills on the 2D topographic map (one hill is taller than the other). After the task is completed, students answer 4 multiple-choice questions.

This worksheet uses the sketch-understanding program with built-in tutor: CogSketch . Therefore, students, instructors, and/or institution computer labs need to download the program from here: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/. At any point during the worksheet, students can click the FEEDBACK button and their sketch is compared to the solution image. The built-in tutor identifies any discrepancies and reports pre-written feedback to help the student correct their sketch until they are done with the activity. Once worksheets are emailed to the instructor, worksheets can be batch graded and easily evaluated. This program allows instructors to assign sketching activities that require very little time commitment. Instead, the built-in tutor provides feedback whenever the student requests, without the presence of the instructor. More information on using the program and the activity is in the Instructor's Notes.

We have developed approximately two dozen introductory geoscience worksheets using this program. Each worksheet has a background image and instructions for a sketching task. You can find additional worksheets by searching for "CogSketch" using the search box at the top of this page. We expect to have uploaded all of them by the end of the summer of 2016.

CogSketch has a gradebook feature that allows instructors to batch grade worksheets using the defined rubric in the worksheet. Once graded, instructors can also open all the sketches and evaluate student work. Instructions are given in the Instructor's Notes.

Download CogSketch: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/