Private Mineral Gallery Walk

Dexter Perkins
,
University of North Dakota
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Summary

Public display of "private mineral" posters created by students and a group learning session based on the posters.

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Context

Audience

This exercise is designed for a mid/upper-level undergraduate geology course on the principles of mineralogy.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

Students should have knowledge of basic chemistry and of minerals equivalent to what they would learn in an introductory geology class.

How the activity is situated in the course

This activity is the 36th of 36 mineralogy exercises and is the last in the course.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

  • Develop critical thinking skills.
  • Evaluate, contrast and compare the different student presentations.
  • Learn to use disparate information to answer complex questions.

Other skills goals for this activity

Description of the activity/assignment

Students make and display posters of the mineral they researched throughout the semester. The instructor and TA review the posters while students answer questions as they walk around and examine each other's posters.

Determining whether students have met the goals

Questions asked about the posters can depend on in part on the kinds of posters made. Ask lots of questions and listen to the students as they debate them.

More information about assessment tools and techniques.

Teaching materials and tips

Other Materials

Supporting references/URLs