Workshop Program

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Thursday, July 30, Day 1

stromatolite fossil

6:00 Dinner Appel Commons

7:00 Welcome and introductions, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

7:30 Keynote panel and discussion on the role and relevance of paleontology in a 21st century undergraduate curriculum

Four panelists will offer their views on what an undergraduate student should be able to do after having taken a course in paleontology, acknowledging the fact that few will become professional paleontologists. Our panelists will also offer their views on what they could do to demonstrate the relevance of paleontology in the 21st century, especially within academic departments. Following the panel discussion, we will have a general discussion on implications for the goals of undergraduate paleontology courses.

Our panelists will be:

Friday, July 31, Day 2

7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Appel Commons

8:15-8:30 Preview of the day, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

8:30-9:30 Plenary on digital resources for teaching paleontology. Two workshop participants will give short catalyst presentations on various ways of using online resources effectively in paleontology courses. Following the catalyst presentations, we will have a brainstorming session on extending and applying the ideas presented. Our catalyst presentations will be:

9:30-10:00 EarthTime: integrating high resolution geochronology with paleontology. Doug Erwin, Smithsonian, will give a short presentation on using EarthTime in paleontology courses, with discussion to follow.

10:00-10:30 Break

10:30-12:00 Great strategies for teaching paleontology. This time block is divided into three sets of concurrent presentations by workshop participants. You may go to any one in each time block. These presentations will be repeated on Monday. All sessions will be in Hollister Hall.

10:30-10:55 Set 1

1a Systematics of some enigmatic fossils (Allison Tumarkin-Deratzian, Temple University - Presentation (PowerPoint 5.9MB Aug2 09)) Hollister 366

1b Paleoecological Exercise: Testing Competition Among Paleozoic Brachiopods (David Kendrick, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) Hollister 368

1c Hands-on activities for understanding ammonite sutures (Clint Cowan, Carleton College - Presentation (PowerPoint 8.2MB Jul31 09)) Hollister 312

1d Using range through charts: Constructing a diversity curve (Katherine Bulinski, Bellarmine University - Presentation (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug3 09)) Hollister 401

11:00-11:25 Set 2

2a Lab on phylogeny and cladistics (Christopher Brochu, University of Iowa) Hollister 366

2b Niche partitioning in Silurian tabulate corals (Peg Yacobucci, Bowling Green State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 1.7MB Jul29 09)) Hollister 368

2c Could you outrun a dinosaur? (William Ausich, Ohio State University) Hollister 312

2d An Exploratory Activity in Marine Diversity analysis (David Sunderlin, Lafayette College) Hollister 401

11:30-11:55 Set 3

3a Rarefaction exercise (Steve Hageman, Appalachian State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 7.5MB Jul31 09)) Hollister 366

3b Laboratory exercise on bivalve functional morphology (Steve Stanley, University of Hawaii - Presentation (PowerPoint 114.8MB Aug3 09)) Hollister 368

3c Take-home assignment using FossilPlot (Leif Tapanila, Idaho State University) Hollister 312

3d Introduction to Skeletons (Jack Farmer, Arizona State University) Hollister 401

Velociraptor skull

12:00-1:30 Lunch, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

1:30-3:00 Discussion and brainstorming on paleontology course design and content. Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

Participants will brainstorm a variety of models for balancing systematic, conceptual, and chronological approaches to teaching paleontology in the context of ideas that emerged during the opening panel discussions on goals for paleontology courses.

Download the discussion assignment (Microsoft Word 67kB Jul31 09)

3:00-3:30 Break Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

3:30-5:00 Great strategies for teaching paleontology. This time block is divided into three sets of concurrent presentations by workshop participants. You may go to any one in each time block. These presentations will be repeated on Monday. All sessions will be in Hollister Hall.

3:30-3:55 Set 4

4a What is a paleontological species? (Deborah Anderson, St. Norbert College) Hollister 312

4b Dinosaur taphonomy (David Varricchio, Montana State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 3.9MB Aug1 09)) Hollister 320

4c Graphic correlation exercise (Dan Stephen, Utah Valley University) Hollister 362

4d A paleobiogeography exercise (John Taylor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Presentation (PowerPoint 8.6MB Aug7 09)) Hollister 368

4:00-4:25 Set 5

5a Theoretical morphology- modeling the growth of clonal organisms (Thomas Olszewski, Texas A&M University) Hollister 312

5b Taphonomy experiment (Karen Koy, Missouri Western State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 10.1MB Aug7 09)) Hollister 320

5c Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic correlation of sedimentary strata in the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Bret Bennington, Hofstra University - Presentation (PowerPoint 3.5MB Jul22 09)) Hollister 362

5e Quaternary faunal environments (Chris Hill, Boise State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 1MB Aug1 09)) Hollister 368

4:30-4:55 Set 6

6a Ontogeny-anisometric growth (Judy Massare, SUNY Brockport) Hollister 312

6b The fidelity of the fossil record: using preservational characteristics of fossils within an assemblage to interpret the relative state of spatial and temporal fidelity (Michael Savarese, Florida Gulf Coast University - Presentation (PowerPoint 14.2MB Jul29 09)) Hollister 320

6c Graphic correlation (Ronald Martin, University of Delaware - presentation (PowerPoint 4.9MB Jul24 09)) Hollister 362

6d Paleobiology Database activity (Heather Wall, Syracuse University) Hollister 368

5:00-5:15 End-of-day wrap-up, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

6:00-7:00 Dinner, Appel Commons

7:30-9:00 Posters, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

fossil leaf

Saturday, August 1, Day 3

7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Appel Commons

8:15-8:30 Preview of the day, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

8:30-10:00 Designing effective assignments and activities (PowerPoint 651kB Jul16 08), Barbara Tewksbury, Hamilton College

Barb will introduce a rubric (Acrobat (PDF) 18kB Jul16 08) for evaluating the quality of an assignment or activity. Participants will consider strategies for improving the effectiveness of a sample activity in preparation for reviewing each other's activities after the break.

10:00-10:30 Break

10:30-12:00 Reviewing submitted activities and assignments, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

Participants will use a slightly different rubric (Acrobat (PDF) 30kB Jul16 08) to review and provide comments on activities that have been submitted for this workshop and provide feedback to authors.

12:00-12:30 Box lunch, pick up at Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

12:30-5:00 Afternoon session at the Paleontological Research Institution, with discussion on using museum resources for teaching paleontology

6:00-7:00 Dinner, Paleontological Research Institution

7:30-9:00 Tours of PRI collections

chesapecten fossil
 

Sunday, August, Day 4

7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Appel Commons

8:15-8:30 Preview of the day, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

8:30-10:00 Revision of submitted assignments, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

10:00-10:30 Break, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

10:30-12:00 Effective ways of teaching evolution. Participants will take part in focused discussions and brainstorming on successfully addressing the challenges of teaching evolution.

12:00-1:30 Lunch Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

1:30-3:00 Great strategies for teaching paleontology. This time block is divided into three sets of concurrent presentations by workshop participants. You may go to any one in each time block. These presentations will not be repeated. All sessions will be in Hollister Hall.

1:30-1:55 Set 7

7a Sequential reading/writing assignment (David Kendrick, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) Hollister 312

7b Quaternary paleoecology and climate change, Bladen County, NC (Martin Farley, University of North Carolina at Pembroke) Hollister 320

7c Paleoecology lab (James Ebert, SUNY College at Oneonta - Presentation (PowerPoint 1.2MB Aug1 09)) Hollister 362

7d Coral Patch Reefs of Belize - A Student Project Video (Allen Curran, Smith College) Hollister 368

2:00-2:25 Set 8

8a Paper dissection (David Varricchio, Montana State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 4.4MB Aug2 09)) Hollister 312

8b Dendrochronology:linking life and climate in the past (Kena Fox-Dobbs (University of Puget Sound) Hollister 320

8c Fossil identification and classification lab (Ralph Willoughby, University of South Carolina-Aiken) Hollister 362

8d Smearslide analysis of sediments from Indonesian coastal marshes (Katrin Monecke, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown) Hollister 368

2:30-2:55 Set 9

9a Grant proposal project (Rowan Lockwood, College of William and Mary) Hollister 312

9b Paleobotany exercise: 200,000 years of pollen and environmental change (Chris Hill, Boise State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 2MB Aug2 09)) Hollister 320

9c Field lab - ecosystem and paleoenvironment analysis (Emma Rainforth, Ramapo College - Presentation (PowerPoint 5.2MB Aug1 09)) Hollister 362

9d Capstone research project: Holocene history of estuarine environmental change (Michael Savarese, Florida Gulf Coast University - Presentation (PowerPoint 8.5MB Jul29 09)) Hollister 368

3:00-3:30 Break, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

3:30-5:00 Strategies for promoting paleontology and its relevance to the general scientific curriculum.Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

Participants will develop a list of strategies for promoting paleontology as a discipline via undergraduate education at a variety of levels. Topics will include:

  • how to improve negative attitudes toward paleontology among students and colleagues
  • how to integrate paleontology concepts into courses in the core geoscience or bioscience curricula
  • how to make paleontology more relevant to today's students and colleagues
  • how to give students experiences that emphasize the relevance of paleontology to modern cross-disciplinary science (e.g., isotope biogeochemistry, geobiology, conservation paleobiology, etc.)

5:00-5:15 End-of-day wrap-up, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

6:00-7:00 Dinner, Appel Commons

Evening on your own

nautilus fossil

Monday, August 3, Day 5

7:00-8:00 Breakfast, Appel Commons

8:15-8:30 Preview of the day, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

8:30-10:00 Great strategies for teaching paleontology. This time block is divided into three sets of concurrent presentations by workshop participants. You may go to any one in each time block. These presentations are repeats of earlier presentations. All sessions will be in Hollister Hall.

8:30-8:55 Set 10

10a Systematics of some enigmatic fossils (Allison Tumarkin-Deratzian, Temple University - [file 'Presentation']) Hollister 312

10b Lab on phylogeny and cladistics (Christopher Brochu, University of Iowa) Hollister 320

10c What is a paleontological species? (Deborah Anderson, St. Norbert College) Hollister 362

10d Using Student-Generated Concept Sketches for Learning, Teaching, and Assessment (PowerPoint 6.9MB Jul27 09) (Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College) Hollister 368

9:00-9:25 Set 11

11a Theoretical morphology- modeling the growth of clonal organisms (Thomas Olszewski, Texas A&M University) Hollister 312

11b Ontogeny-anisometric growth (Judy Massare, SUNY Brockport) Hollister 320

11c Paleoecological Exercise: Testing Competition Among Paleozoic Brachiopods (David Kendrick, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) Hollister 362

11d Niche partitioning in Silurian tabulate corals (Peg Yacobucci, Bowling Green State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 1.7MB Jul29 09)) Hollister 320

9:30-9:55 Set 12

12a Rarefaction exercise (Steve Hageman, Appalachian State University) Hollister 312

12b Dinosaur taphonomy (David Varricchio, Montana State University) Hollister 320

12c Taphonomy experiment (Karen Koy, Missouri Western State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 10.1MB Aug7 09)) Hollister 320

12d The fidelity of the fossil record: using preservational characteristics of fossils within an assemblage to interpret the relative state of spatial and temporal fidelity (Michael Savarese, Florida Gulf Coast University - Presentation (PowerPoint 14.2MB Jul29 09)) Hollister 320

10:00-10:30 Break, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

10:30-12:00 Great strategies for teaching paleontology. This time block is divided into three sets of concurrent presentations by workshop participants. You may go to any one in each time block. These presentations are repeats of earlier presentations. All sessions will be in Hollister Hall.

10:30-10:55 Set 13

13a Hands-on activities for understanding ammonite sutures (Clint Cowan, Carleton College - Presentation (PowerPoint 8.2MB Jul31 09)) Hollister 312

13b Could you outrun a dinosaur? (William Ausich, Ohio State University) Hollister 320

13c Laboratory exercise on bivalve functional morphology (Steve Stanley, University of Hawaii - Presentation (PowerPoint 114.8MB Aug3 09)) Hollister 312

13d Graphic correlation exercise (Dan Stephen, Utah Valley University) Hollister 368

11:00-11:25 Set 14

14a Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic correlation of sedimentary strata in the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Bret Bennington, Hofstra University) Hollister 312

14b Graphic correlation (Ronald Martin, University of Delaware - Presentation (PowerPoint 4.9MB Jul24 09)) Hollister 320

14c Using range through charts: Constructing a diversity curve (Katherine Bulinski, Bellarmine University - Presentation (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 1.5MB Aug3 09)) Hollister 312

14d Diversity analysis (David Sunderlin, Lafayette College) Hollister 368

11:30-11:55 Set 15

15a Take-home assignment using FossilPlot (Leif Tapanila, Idaho State University) Hollister 312

15b A paleobiogeography exercise (John Taylor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Presentation (PowerPoint 8.6MB Aug7 09)) Hollister 320

15c Quaternary faunal environments (Chris Hill, Boise State University - Presentation (PowerPoint 1MB Aug1 09)) Hollister 362

12:00-1:30 Lunch, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

1:30-2:30 Balancing content, skills, and theory - what we've learned. Participants will discuss the most important lessons learned over the course of the workshop and will have time to consider what the three most significant changes each person will make in his/her paleontology course as a result of the workshop.

2:30-4:30 Informal poster session, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

4:30-5:00 Wrap-up and end-of-workshop evaluations, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

6:00-7:00 Dinner, Appel Commons

7:30-8:00 Field trip preview, Cafe, Anabel Taylor Hall

Tuesday, August 4, Day 6

7:00-7:30 Breakfast, Appel Commons; pick up box lunch)

7:30 Departure for field trip led by Carlton Brett (University of Cincinnati)

Wear comfortable hiking clothes and lightweight hiking boots or sturdy sneakers (no sandals, please). Bring a hat, rain gear, and sunscreen. The trip will include stops at the following places:

1) the Seneca Stone Quarry, near Seneca Falls, with a spectacular section of Middle Devonian limestones and black shale with a goniatite bed; 2) the Fayette Town quarry with a nice fossil collecting site nearby; 3) the Taughannock Falls overview and possibly one other section.