Undergraduate required course in Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology

I assume basic college level reading and writing skills and basic familiarity with geologic/earth internal processes from introductory geology, familiarity with minerals from mineralogy and familiarity with chemistry and chemical principles from a first year chemistry course.

This is the first assignment of the semester and is a stand-alone exercise. Students do their first reading of the article before coming to class on the first day. The assignment involves teamwork, in-class presentation and culminating written summary.

Goals of this exercise:
1. to give students the opportunity to explore the kinds of data and interpretations that contribute to our understanding of early earth processes.
2. to help students develop skills and confidence in reading scientific literature.
3. to help develop teamwork and emphasize the importance of teamwork in learning.
4. to provide a reference for later discussions of some of the types of data used in the article.

Because this exercise comes early in the semester, most students do not have the content knowledge to critically evaluate the data and interpretations in this article; however, the paper provides a nice model for students of critical evaluation of multiple hypotheses.

This activity helps build student skills and confidence in reading journal articles. Students discover the strength of teamwork in problem-solving. Student make their first presentation to class in a relatively non-threatening (non-graded) setting. The assignment also forces them to summarize in writing what they learned from the activity.

This is a mentored journal reading assignment and the first assignment of the semester. It introduces students to early earth formation processes and helps grow confidence in journal reading.

I grade the written summary, but do not specifically grade the presentation. I grade primarily on completion of the assignment (ability to follow directions and communicate reasonably). I give students feedback on the quality of their ideas and observations and their writing. If appropriate, I also give feedback on the quality of their participation and teamwork. Because it is an early assignment, most students make an effort to do the work. This provides me with a good baseline for the students and alerts me to students with specific strengths or challenges.

Wood, B.J., Walter, M.J., and Wade, J., 2006, Accretion of the Earth and segregation of its core: Nature, v. 441, p. 825-833.