Seafloor Ages Lecture Tutorial
Summary
Students work on this Lecture Tutorial worksheet on seafloor ages in pairs during lecture. It directly confronts misconceptions students have about the age of the seafloor, and it guides students to more complex thinking about the topic.
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Context
Audience
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students need a basic understanding of divergent boundaries
How the activity is situated in the course
This activity is used during a break in lecture. There are many Lecture Tutorial worksheets covering different topics that can be used throughout the semester.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
Understand and explain seafloor ages and their pattern as a result of divergent boundaries
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
Critical thinking; simple map interpretation
Other skills goals for this activity
Working in groups
Description of the activity/assignment
This assignment is done by pairs of students in class after a short introductory lecture on divergent boundaries. Students work through the worksheet as it guides them towards more conceptually-difficult questions based on a map of the seafloor ages of the Atlantic Ocean. Students confront their misconceptions and come away with a more scientifically-correct understanding of the pattern of ages on the seafloor.
Determining whether students have met the goals
The Lecture Tutorial worksheet is usually not collected although questions are reviewed and answered by the instructor during class.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.Teaching materials and tips
- Activity Description/Assignment (Acrobat (PDF) 140kB May1 08)
Other Materials
Supporting references/URLs
Kortz, K.M., Smay, J.J. and Murray, D.P, 2008, Increasing Learning in Introductory Geoscience Courses Using Lecture Tutorials, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 56, in press.