Listening to Earth's Secrets: What earthquakes reveal
How can we, as educators, engage students in authentic scientific practices while teaching about earthquakes and the dynamic Earth? This interactive workshop introduces free, classroom-ready digital tools and curricular resources from EarthScope Consortium designed to help students think and act like geoscientists. Participants will explore an earthquake location app suite that guides learners through more modern methods of earthquake location modeled on how scientists analyze real seismic data.
Participants will also experience additional tools designed to give students agency over their own learning. As they work independently through each activity, they make decisions, test ideas, and refine their understanding—without relying on step-by-step teacher guides or the teacher's answers. Instead, instructional support and prompts are embedded in the resources themselves, enabling faculty to focus on facilitating, and extending learning.
Faculty will experience these resources from a student perspective, then discuss strategies for adapting them to upper level high school, and college-level introductory courses in geoscience, environmental science, and related disciplines. The session will highlight pedagogical approaches that emphasize inquiry, data literacy, and collaborative problem-solving—skills that extend well beyond the geosciences.
By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with ideas for implementing these ready-to-use digital activities and practical ideas empowering students to take ownership of their learning. Bring your laptop to ensure you get the most out of this workshop.
Featured apps and data portals are anticipated to be:
- Interactive Poster: What's Inside the Earth?
Also links out to other apps- Seismic Monitor (recent earthquakes)
- Station Monitor (find stations near me)
- Seismic Waves (shows how seismic waves travel through the Earth from different large earthquakes)
- Determining and Measuring Earth's Layered Interior
- Interactive Earthquake Browser
- EQLocate
Intended Audience
Secondary and undergraduate introductory instructors, including graduate student teaching assistants.
Goals
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Integrate high-quality instructional principles for student-centered active learning.
- Utilize EarthScope resources (web tools) in a logical sequence.
- Access EarthScope apps and resources.
- Record plans to integrate at least one app into a course.
Program
- 1:30 Welcome
- 1:55 Digging into Earth's Layers
- 2:35 Break
- 2:45 Apps in Action
- Interactive Earthquake Browser
- EqLocate - use Explore mode, include the station with the dot.
- 3:30 Debrief Strategies and Next Steps
- 3:50 Wrap-up and workshop evaluation
- 4:00 Adjourn
Resources
Presentation
- EER 2026.pptx (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 26.3MB Jul21 26)
Handouts:
- Participant Agenda.EER.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 361kB Jul18 26)
- Listening to Earth's Secrets_ What earthquakes reveal.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 487kB Jul18 26)
- whats_inside_the_earth_concept_map FILLABLE.pdf (Acrobat (PDF) 18kB Jul18 26)
- whats_inside_the_earth_concept_map_BW.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 15kB Jul18 26)
- Exploring Patterns in Global & Regional Seismicity SW-3
- Mapping Worldwide Earthquake Epicenters pp. 3-5
- EER Implementation Plan.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 722kB Jul18 26)
Links:
- earthscope.org >> education >> resources>> choose Seismology or Geodesy Resources
- https://www.youtube.com/@EarthScope_science
- GETSI (Geophysics Tools for Societal Issues) - https://serc.carleton.edu/getsi/index.html
- The Math You Need
- Intro level: https://serc.carleton.edu/mathyouneed/index.html
- Majors level: https://serc.carleton.edu/mathyouneed/geomajors/index.html
- SERC - NSF NGF Geodesy resources: https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/geodesy/materials.html?q1=sercvocabs__651%3A1&q2=sercvocabs__651%3A1+end&ffb275702c&search_mode=hybrid
- References:
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education: Supporting Equitable and Effective Teaching. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DBASSE-BOSE-22-04/publication/28268
- Sahito, Z. H., Khoso, F. J., & Phulpoto, J. (2025). The Effectiveness of Active Learning Strategies in
Enhancing Student Engagement and Academic Performance. Journal of Social Sciences Review, 5(1), 110-127.
https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v5i1.471




