Geology 305
Earth Science for Elementary Educators
Course Syllabus: Spring 2004

Instructor: Dr. Russanne Low
Telephone: 612-626-0205
Email: rlow@cce.umn.edu please put all caps GEOL in subject line for faster response!

Course Objectives:

Geology 305 will expose you to a broad overview of the structure and processes occurring on Earth and in space. A broad understanding of the interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and space is vital in making educated decisions pertaining to natural resource and environmental issues in an increasingly technical world. You will gain experience in observing natural processes and insight into how science strives to determine the interrelationships within the Earth system. The course is focused on Earth system science content with development of methods specific to teaching of K-8 Earth science as a secondary objective.

Prerequisites:

The course assumes a basic understanding of fundamental concepts of biology, chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences. Formal prerequisites include Biol 100 and Phys 101. If you have special needs please feel free to discuss them with me. Students with a disability should please let me know and contact the Disability Services Office (AH 117, #389-2825) or the Learning Center (389-1791).

Text and Materials:

Required:
Merritts, D., DeWet A., Menking, K. (1998), Environmental Geology. W.H. Freeman ISBN 0-7167-2834-6
Wynn, CM and Wiggens A. (1997) The Five Biggest Ideas in Science. John Wiley ISBN 0-471-13812-6

The course will be using resources archived in the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) as its fundamental text resource. Materials from the MN Geological Survey ( This site may be offline. ) and NASA will also be used.

Grading:

Midterm 1: 25%
10 weekly assignments: 10%
Curriculum assignment: 15%
Class Portfolio: 15%
Final Examination: 35%

Weekly assignments:

Each week you will be required to conduct research on-line on the classroom topic. During this course, you are required to use the Digital Library for Earth System Education. Resources in this library will help you make the connection between course content and what you will teach in your classroom. You will be reviewing and collecting resources that reinforce content, provide scientific visualization of concepts, or have useful classroom applications. In this way you will have an opportunity to build a teaching portfolio that will provide you with all the material you need to teach your students all the Earth and Space science standards and benchmarks of the new MN science standards.

At the end of the semester you will submit your portfolio in the form of a CD. The portfolio will contain all the materials you have produced in this course. We will discuss the portfolio in more length in class.

Syllabus:

Week 1

History and Methods of Science ----- Ch 1, RQ: 1, visit to MN Geological Survey
Origins of the Universe ----- Big Idea, Ch. 1, Big Idea #5

Week 2

Dynamic Earth system ----- Ch 2, RQ: 1,2,4,6,7,8,9,10; TQ 2, E 2

Week 3

Geologic Time and Earth History ----- Ch 3, RQ:2,3,6; E1
Geological Time Scale ----- Big Idea#3

Week 4

Lithosphere ---- Ch 4, RQ: 1,2,3,7,9; TQ 2
Rocks and Minerals ----- Big Idea #1, #2 (review??!!)
Plate Tectonics
Rock Cycle

Week 5

Lithosphere (cont'd.) ----- Ch 5: 146-157, Big Idea #4

Week 6

Soils ----- Ch 6:, RQ: 1-7; TQ 1

Week 7

Hydrosphere ----- Ch 7, RQ: 14,15; TQ 1 ----- Ch 8, RQ: 1,2 TQ 3

Week 8

Atmosphere ----- Ch 9, RQ: 1-7; TQ 3, E 1-2

Week 9

Oceans ----- Ch 10, RQ: 7-11; TQ 5-6

Week 10

Energy ----- Ch 11, RQ: 1-4, 14; TQ 1-3

Week 11

Environmental Change ----- Ch 12, 1-11; TQ 1,2; Big Idea Ch. 7, 8

Week 12

Predicting change ----- Ch 13, RQ: 3-14; TQ 1