Introduction to Modeling Folds
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students make Play-Doh models of synclines and anticlines, including one of a plunging fold. They use these models to answer questions about what these structures look like in map view and cross-sectional view.

Erosion in a River
Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown these diagrams and instructed to "Click ...

Resistance to Weathering
Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click on ...

Feedback Loops
Alexandra Davatzes, Temple University
This assignment requires students to use analogical reasoning to identify the key attributes, the causal structure, that make a feedback loop positive (by amplifying/accelerating the effect) or negative (by ...

Grand Canyon Cross Section Lab
Doug Lombardi, University of Maryland-College Park
Students examine a geologic map of the Grand Canyon and two imaginary vertical cores through canyon stratigraphy. They use these data to construct a cross-section across the canyon and to answer questions about ...

Isostasy Prediction
Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click ...

Earth Layers
Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click ...

Geologic Time
Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click on ...

Modeling Unconformities
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students make models of various kinds of unconformity: disconformity, angular unconformity, and buttress unconformity. They examine those models from a variety of perspectives and consider how each one appears in ...

Introduction to Structure Contours
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students construct structure contour lines for a "dipping bed" in our classroom and on a geologic map. In my class, this is a multi-day activity. In part 1 of this exercise, students use "topographic ...