Skip to Main ContentSkip to Navigation Your Account Earth Educators' RendezvousMadison, WI July 18-22, 2016 View the Program | Search the ...

Geoethics is an important part of students' pre-professional training, but is typically not formally included in a degree program in a dedicated course or embedded in existing courses. This demonstration will introduce resources available for teaching Geoethics, basic principles that can be introduced (e.g., responsible conduct of research, responsibilities of using and communicating geoscience to the community, stewardship of Earth), and suggested instructional methods. A series of interactive "two minute" ethical challenges and case studies will demonstrate how Geoethics can be effectively taught in all geoscience classrooms.

This activity introduces systems and systems thinking. The activity could be used in almost any course and includes an introduction of terminology, motivation for using systems thinking, practice reading, as well as interpreting and evaluating systems diagrams. By the end of the activity, students will be able to: (1) define systems terminology (such as open and closed system, reservoir, flux, and feedback loop); (2) read and interpret simple systems diagrams; and (3) evaluate a given diagram's appropriateness for a written description of a system.

Multimedia video is recognized as a powerful medium for deploying applicable best practices in teaching and learning. I have discovered, vetted, and curated over 1,000 YouTube videos of interest relevant to introductory geoscience topics. I co-develop and use www.ezsnips.com, our web service, to "snip" source into searchable segments accessible through a public library and retrievable by geoscience keywords. I will distribute free EZsnips accounts to participants and provide access to my library of snips. I have formulated and created "video tutorials", student handouts created with directions that guide students when viewing a video snip. Tutorials also include questions for discussion and answering by students, either singly or in groups. Video tutorials are designed with a specific organization and sequence to scaffold student responses during the activity. Outcomes of these video viewing and tutorial writing activities include student engagement required for observation and recording of video descriptive/information content, peer discussion of challenging questions, and practice of higher cognitive skills needed for summarizing and evaluating dynamic processes. Student responses recorded on the video tutorial handout are also outcomes, particularly valuable in the immediate topic for formative assessment, and across a longer term (e.g., a semester) for summative assessment of progress.

Students take an exam individually. Once they complete the exam they turn it in and get into a group with 3 other students. The students then take the identical test but this time they work together on the questions. There is one answer sheet for the group so they all have to come to agreement on each answer. Listening to their peers and arguing for their case helps them to understand the answer better, even if they had gotten the question correct on their individual test. This also works well for a review when students begin a new class and the instructor wants to review the prerequisite material. Students frequently don't pay close attention when material is being reviewed because they are over confident. Having them solve problems individually first forces them to really think through a problem and see how well they can solve it. Then when the students work together in the group, we give them a scratch card, (Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF AT). The students pool their knowledge and get immediate feedback. The students continue scratching off answers until the correct answer is revealed. The correct answers show a star once scratched.

Sketching is a valuable activity to help students develop spatial skills and understand difficult geoscience concepts. Yet, sketching is rarely implemented at the introductory level due to the time needed to grade and provide constructive feedback. Our interdisciplinary team has developed a set of geoscience sketching exercises that utilize a sketch-understanding program with a built-in virtual tutor, CogSketch. The interactive capabilities in CogSketch allow students to draw, move, and rotate objects and annotate charts, diagrams, and photos. These exercises often mimic how experts mentally complete spatially complex tasks. The built-in virtual tutor compares the student's sketch to a solution sketch and displays feedback on incorrect aspects of the sketch. Students can request feedback from the tutor at any time. We have created 26 CogSketch worksheets with topics ranging from atomic to planetary scale processes and concepts. In our implementation in an introductory physical geology course at UW-Madison, CogSketch worksheets provided more opportunities to sketch than are normally assigned, engaged students (particularly through use of the virtual tutor), and saved hours of instructor grading time. Therefore, Cogsketch worksheets have the potential to increase sketching in large courses, while increasing learning potential with minimal additional time from instructors.

Session begins by introducing the UW-Rock County Solar Project. As a long-term experiment open to all, with a 6 kW system designed with three differently configured solar PV arrays. Activity example using project's web interface will include watts generated and powering appliances. A demonstration with additional hands-on by participants will use solar mini-PV panels with overhead projectors and/or natural sunlight. Electricity is measured in simulation activities for: sun daily movement across the sky, seasonal variation, and various cloud conditions. Example demonstration of creating a solar PV-powered fan with additional hands-on by participants. The solar fan is then converted into a working wind power generator and electrical output is measured. On display is a buffet of green energy learning examples: solar and wind, geothermal heat pump design, micro-hydro for your home, and raptor conservation-landfill electricity. Basic materials and concepts used in all activities are adaptable across a wide array of age-groups and abilities. Outcomes: Educators gain confidence with basic concepts and hands-on use of simple equipment to transform sunlight and wind into electricity. Participants interact with time-tested materials and gather ideas to adapt activities for diverse participant groups and learning levels.

Opportunity to introduce FTIR and Raman spectroscopy into the undergraduate Geoscience curriculum at all levels at modest cost. We have acquired and used these instruments in introductory and intermediate courses to identify minerals in hand samples and powders, and in intermediate courses and research projects to investigate characteristics of mineral chemistry and bonding. We have found that many geoscience educators are not aware of the availability and ease-of-use of these spectroscopic tools. Our hands-on FTIR demonstration will introduce Rendezvous participants to the technology and we will provide teaching materials that we have used for lab activities based on the FTIR spectrometer. We are excited about the use of spectroscopy in our geosciences curricula because it provides us with a new opportunity to incorporate active learning into the study of minerals with data gathering and analysis not unlike powder x-ray diffraction, but at a fraction of the cost. Students who complete spectrometer activities have a broader understanding the meaning and uses of spectroscopic data in the geosciences.