Michelle Kinzel: Using Ocean Sustainability in GEO 101 — Introduction to Physical Geography at Southwestern College

Unit 1

I allowed students to work on the worksheets in this unit, and I spent a considerable amount of time visiting the groups and correcting misconceptions as they went along. I also left some of the PowerPoint images on the screen in the front of the classroom for reference as the students were working (map of currents).

Unit 2

For this unit, the handouts I made of the pH and CO₂ graphs were in black and white, and I showed the color versions from the PowerPoint in the front of the room. I also visited the groups at their computer stations and previewed their graphs and Excel sheets as they were plotting them.

Unit 3

We had an issue with the pace of the video, as it went very quickly. Because I had flexibility with time, we discussed the questions as a group after watching the video one time, and then we watched in through a second time. This is not practical for all classes, and this has been addressed in the revisions for this unit. Before we started the class, I also introduced some of the ecology terms they would encounter in the video.

Unit 4

This was one of the units I authored, and I was very familiar with the materials. This unit involved a great deal of coordination, and I found the first time I taught it that while it was clear to me, the students were confused at first as to what to do. They did not initially understand that they were to switch stations and perform only a piece of work at each station. By revising the unit, we have guided the instructors to have printed directions at each station to accompany the oral instructions, and encourage the instructor to prepare and read the materials with extra scrutiny before the class time.

Unit 5

This unit seemed to go very smoothly. With a combination of my experience, my authoring this unit, and the students becoming accustomed to the style of the InTeGrate Materials, the students formed their jigsaw groups and began summarizing the scientific charts and graphs very quickly. There was a struggle to complete the amount of writing in the break-out groups, and this has been addressed by having the students complete this task as homework, with more flexibility in their time on that task.

Unit 6

I think students were most surprised by this unit, as the idea of geoengineering was a big and novel concept for most of my students. They were surprised that human actions could have such large-scale events, and they were encouraged by exploring the types of scientific approaches being used to address climate changes. Most of the students had heard about climate change before, but none had heard about geoengineering and were enthusiastic about the topic and the unit.