Teaching Activities

These teaching activities have a strong spatial thinking component. Search the collection to find activities suitable for your classes.




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Results 1 - 20 of 346 matches

Karst Hydrogeology: A virtual field introduction using Google Earth and GIS
Rachel Bosch, Northern Kentucky University
Students will have the opportunity to select and virtually explore the hydrogeology and geomorphology of a karst landscape using Google Earth, lidar data-sourced DEM(s) and geologic maps, and GIS software (QGIS) ...

Online Field Experience Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching with Online Field Experiences Exemplary collection
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Karst Hydrogeology and Geomorphology: A virtual field experience using Google Earth, GIS, and TAK
Rachel Bosch, Northern Kentucky University
Students will have the opportunity to select and virtually explore the hydrogeology and geomorphology of a karst landscape using Google Earth (or perhaps Google Mars or Google Moon if they so choose), lidar ...

Online Field Experience Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching with Online Field Experiences Exemplary collection
See the activity page for details.

Geoethics Case Study: The Keystone Pipeline--Energy, Jobs or Environment?
Dave Mogk, Montana State University-Bozeman
David Mogk and Andrew Thorson, Montana State University-Bozeman Summary The Keystone Pipeline is a complex project that raises important environmental, economic, and international policy issues. Tar sands from ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Geology of Yosemite Valley
Nicolas Barth, University of California-Riverside
This is a four-part module designed to be flexible in duration and student grade-level. (1) Geology of Yosemite Valley Virtual Field Trip. A 43-stop web-based Google Earth tour with embedded views, hyperlinked ...

Online Field Experience Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching with Online Field Experiences Exemplary collection
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Student-Generated Sustainability Short Stories Anchored in Science and Information Literacies and the SDGs
Laura Guertin, Penn State Brandywine
To build and improve upon their science and information literacies, students create a collection of short non-fiction stories that connect to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Baseflow recession
Les Hasbargen, SUNY College at Oneonta
This baseflow recession exercise will help students build skills in analyzing time series data in a spreadsheet. It should also open their eyes to the variation in streamflow, both at a single location over a year, ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Unprecedented
Eugene Mahmoud, Mt. San Antonio College
This project is designed to introduce lower-division science and engineering students to mathematical modelling through the analysis of real-world data related to the novel coronavirus global pandemic. The project ...

MATLAB Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching Computation in the Sciences Using MATLAB Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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A Penny For Your Thoughts: An Exercise in Taphonomy
Robert Gastaldo, Colby College
Physical and chemical (biostratinomic) processes that operate on an entity prior to its burial and incorporation into the fossil record ultimately influence how it is interpreted by a researcher when collected and ...

Oceanography Virtual Field Trips
Jennifer Nelson, Purdue University-Main Campus
Students explore online data, maps, webcams, and articles from specific US locations to understand and visualize the oceanographic phenomena of that location. Through the worksheet, students will learn to explore ...

Writing Assignment for Marine Biology
Anthony Santorelli, Anne Arundel Community College
Students write about the important aspects of a species of sea life, including physical characteristics, habitat, behaviors and interaction with humans and also provide a video that addresses that sea life along ...

Adopt a Microbe! - Digital Adaptation
Molly Ludwick, Kings Mountain Middle School; Beverly Owens, Cleveland Early College High School
This activity is a Google Slide playlist that will introduce students to microbes that can be found in deep sea sediments, and what roles they play in their environment. This playlist is suitable for use in remote ...

The Thunderstorm and Wind Gods of Japan
Dennis Edgell, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
This activity includes a PowerPoint slide show (or PDF version) of a special topic lecture and in-class handout for students. Students listen to a lecture, then answer questions on the handout, either individually ...

Water Optimism - focusing on solutions for the hydrosphere in a take-home final exam
Laura Guertin, Penn State Brandywine
This take-home final exam asks students to demonstrate their improved skills in searching for sources (information literacy) and writing on freshwater science/society/policy intersections (science literacy), and ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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's a ... FIRE! A simulation of fire caused by gender reveal parties.
Sarah Patterson, Virginia Military Institute
In this project, students create a simulation of a spreading fire through a forest using MATLAB. This simulation contains many different parameters that control the random spread. Students will complete a ...

Sage Hen Flat fieldcamp/capstone activity
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison
This activity attempts to simulate the process of field-based science investigation for the Sage Hen Flat area of the White Mountains, California. The Sage Hen Flat pluton is Jurassic in age and intrudes ...

Online Field Experience Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the Teaching with Online Field Experiences Exemplary collection
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Geologic Issues: Community Impacts and Science Communication
Linda Reinen, Pomona College; Karen Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island
Responding to the need for recruitment and retention of a diverse geoscience population, we developed a capstone homework assignment for use in introductory-level geoscience courses. This is a place- and ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Rally Speeches for Coastal Optimism
Laura Guertin, Penn State Brandywine
Storytelling is an effective way to communicate what is happening along our local-to-international coastal zones. However, most of the stories students hear are ones of "doom and gloom." Therefore, ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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What's in the Water? Benchmarking Activity
Kelsey Bitting, Elon University
This short (15-25 min) writing activity asks students to respond to a series of prompts related to the content knowledge and societal issues explored in the "What's in the Water?" PFAS Contamination ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Geospatial Thinking and the Digital Revolution
Katherine Milla, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
In this exercise students watch a video and then participate in a think-pair-share activity. The activity is designed to stimulate reflection and discussion on the nature of geospatial data. The activity emphasizes ...

Geoethics Case Study: Pebble Mine, Alaska
Dave Mogk, Montana State University-Bozeman
David Mogk, Montana State University-Bozeman Summary The proposed Pebble Mine, Alaska, is one of the world's biggest proven Cu-Au-Mo deposits. However, it is located at the headwaters of rivers that flow into ...