InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Map your Hazards! > Instructor Stories
 Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The materials are free and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Instructor Stories and Adaptations

These resources describe how the module was adapted for use in different settings. We hope these stories inspire your own use of the module and give you insight into how to adapt the materials for your classroom.

Brand Photo
Brittany Brand: Volcanoes and Society at Boise State University. The module was implemented over a 3-week period in an upper division, non-major honors course called Volcanoes and Society. Students were enrolled in the class as an Honors College elective. Students completed the module during our two 75-minute lecture time periods per week. Some aspects of the module were also completed as homework. Students' final presentations were given during our 2-hour final exam time-slot.

Pamela McMullin-Messier
Pamela McMullin-Messier: Social Ecology at Central Washington University. The module was incorporated over a 3-week period in an upper division environmental sociology course with 25 students utilizing class time for lecture, discussion and group work; students completed assignments outside of class. Most of the students were enrolled in the course to satisfy their sociology or environmental studies major or minor curriculum requirements. The module was adapted to the course setting sequentially as an end-of-the-quarter research project.

Picture of Melissa Schlegel
Melissa Schlegel: Natural Disasters and Environmental Geology at the College of Western Idaho. The module was used over several weeks in an introductory geology course on natural hazards and environmental geology. The course was taught in both classroom and laboratory settings to a total of 49 students. Students were enrolled in the course to satisfy their science curriculum requirement or enhance their geology degree. The module was easily adapted to both the classroom setting and the laboratory setting.

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Additional Instructor Stories

Silvia Secchi: Using the Map your Hazards Module in Geography, People and the Environment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Silvia Secchi, University of Iowa
My class combines social and biophysical science perspectives to make students undertint the challenges of environmental management. I thought the Map Your Hazard module was a great fit for it. I adapted the module to focus on flooding because my institution, Southern Illinois University (SIU), is in a flood prone area and there are many environmental justice challenges associated with floodplain management here. Further, I study this issue myself with other collaborators at SIU, so I thought this interpretation of the module would be combine place-based education with my research strengths. The main challenge was the large class size.

Tiffany Rivera: National Parks Geology at Westminster College (UT)
Tiffany Rivera, University of Missouri-Columbia
Designed for students of all majors, National Parks Geology introduces fundamental geologic concepts through the lens of America's National Parks. My courses have gradually migrated from traditional lecture-based sessions, to integrated lecture and active learning periods. By immersing students in InTeGrate materials, they became more engaged with the content and enjoyed coming to class. The use of three different InTeGrate modules throughout the semester provided students with a variety of activities to challenge them with concepts, quantitative analysis, map reading and creating, and societal issues that affect the National Parks.

Elizabeth Nagy: Using portions of four InTeGrate modules in Physical Geology at Pasadena City College
Elizabeth Nagy, Pasadena City College
Replacing lab activities with materials from four InTeGrate modules in an introductory physical geology course at a two-year college I replaced about half of my previous laboratory activities in an introductory physical geology class with ten activities adapted from four Integrate Modules. The students seemed to enjoy the group work and moving around the room, something that I rarely did in previous semesters. I also enjoyed the diversity of teaching techniques.

Also Related to Map your Hazards!

Teaching Sustainability in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar
Feb 9 2018 We, a geology professor and a sociology professor, will discuss our team-taught first-year seminar focused on environmental and social sustainability. In this course, we seek to increase students' understanding of the complex nature of sustainability in a consumer society. InTeGrate materials are invaluable in helping first-year students connect the natural science and the social science perspectives. During this webinar, we will discuss our course, the benefits of these modules for interdisciplinary learning, and the ways we modified them to be accessible for non-majors in their first semester at college. We will conclude by exploring ways that InTeGrate modules can contribute to interdisciplinarity in collaborative teaching models ranging from linked courses to team-taught courses. Participants are encouraged both to ask questions of the presenters and to discuss their own experiences using InTeGrate to link multiple perspectives.

Introduction to InTeGrate Modules: Hands-on, data-rich, and socially relevant geoscience activities
Apr 10 2015 Download Webinar Slides (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 24.2MB Apr10 15) Click to view

Integrating Hazards and Societal Impact into Your Course
Apr 7 2017 Hazards and societal impact are vital topics for teaching about the Earth. These issues are commonly touched on in introductory courses, but they are not investigated deeply. If students are given more time and structured examples to explore issues, they can develop a greater sense of the importance of societal impacts. The Map Your Hazards! Assessing Vulnerability, Hazards, and Risk module provides material to delve further into societal impact. Brittany Brand, Map Your Hazards module co-author, will provide an overview of the module and learning objectives for each unit. She will highlight student examples of vulnerability and risk maps and share common places students struggle with the module. Finally, she will discuss how the module has been modified for different courses and discuss how it could fit into the curriculum. Myla Jeffries, the Community Outreach Specialist for Ada County Emergency Management will discuss her experience consulting and collaborating with geoscience faculty and students. The webinar will include 30 minutes of presentations and 25 minutes of discussion. Participants are encouraged to both ask questions of the presenters and discuss their own experiences regarding incorporating hazards and societal impact into their course.

Introductory InTeGrate-rich Physical Geology course
Sep 28 2018 Friday, September 28, 2018 10:00 am PT | 11:00 am MT | 12:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm ET Presenter: Elizabeth Nagy-Shadman (Pasadena City College) This webinar is part of a series supporting teaching with InTeGrate ...

Water and Food Sustainability
Feb 15 2017 Water and food are critical to human life, but the quality and supply of these substances is not consistent throughout the world. Guiding students through activities that focus on agriculture, water resources, river systems and food access can help them see where their lives intersect local or national/global issues of water and food sustainability. This webinar will highlight teaching strategies and examples using data-driven teaching activities and place-based learning to help students analyze data and give them relevant issues to anchor their knowledge. Chris Sinton, InTeGrate module co-author, will discuss examples of how to get students to work with large datasets and consider regional issues related to crop and irrigation patterns from the "Water, Agriculture, and Sustainability" module. Cynthia Hewitt, co-author of the "Food as the Foundation of Healthy Communities" module will focus on food access as a starting point to build interdisciplinary awareness of the nexus of food with energy and water systems in sustainable communities. She will also discuss innovative collective learning to introduce systems thinking at the intersection of social science and science-based inquiry. Mark Sweeney, co-leader of the University of South Dakota Implementation program "Sustainable Rivers", will share how place-based learning related to river processes can be infused across the liberal arts curriculum. The webinar will include 30 minutes of presentations and 25 minutes of discussion. Participants are encouraged to both ask questions of the presenters and discuss their own experiences regarding water and food sustainability.

Sustainability Across the Curriculum
Mar 2 2017 Sustainability is emerging as a central theme for teaching about the environment, whether it is from the perspective of science, economics, politics, or society. Teaching about sustainability creates an opportunity to connect classroom material to society. Camelia Kantor, Claflin University's InTeGrate Implementation Program leader, will discuss the importance of Earth Science content and awareness and how integrated and problem-based learning environments help contextualize the need for sustainability. Rachel Teasdale, CSU–Chico's Implementation Program leader, will discuss the Sustainability Pathway general education program and how data-rich and societally relevant teaching activities can be used in STEM and non-STEM courses. The webinar will include 30 minutes of presentations and 25 minutes of discussion. Participants are encouraged to both ask questions of the presenters and discuss their own experiences regarding sustainability across the curriculum.

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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »