Rachel Teasdale

Earth and Environmental Sciences

California State University-Chico

Rachel Teasdale is a professor in the department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at California State University, Chico. She is a leader on the RTOP research project investigating reform teaching in geoscience classrooms across the US and has also co-authored InTeGrate and GETSI modules (Living on the Edge: Building resilient societies on active plate margins and Monitoring Volcanoes and Communicating Risks). In addition to geoscience education research, Rachel's research also includes physical volcanology and igneous petrology, best practices in training graduate teaching assistants and faculty professional development.

Workshop Leader, Webinar Participant, Website Contributor, Reviewer

Website Content Contributions

Course Modules (7)

Unit 3 Hazards at Divergent Plate Boundaries part of Living on the Edge
Students work in small groups to examine data and videos of earthquakes, submarine volcanic eruptions, and black smokers at submarine divergent plate boundaries, and then predict similar processes at subaerial ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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InTeGrate Developed This material was developed and reviewed through the InTeGrate curricular materials development process.
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Activities (3)

Monday Morning Meeting (II): Monitoring Mount St. Helens 2004 dome growth using authentic data part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
This jigsaw activity groups students first as volcano monitoring experts of either RSAM seismic data, earthquake locations, or GPS data, and then regroups students into interdisciplinary teams. The teams discuss ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Rivers and Streams part of Introductory Courses:Activities
This lab activity has students collect stream data in the field and calculate flow velocity, discharge and gradient. Additional activities include plotting clast size on a Hjulstrom Diagram, and unit conversions.

Prework for Rivers and Streams Lab (Intro Geology) part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
In order to give Introductory Geology (Physical Geology) undergraduate non-majors students experience and confidence in using basic algebra to calculate very simple stream flow properties, we use a prework assignment prior to the Rivers and Streams Lab. Prework is a worksheet assigned 2 weeks in advance, which asks students to calculate velocity and discharge as well as unit conversions and calculations of stream load. The questions are put into the context of activities they completed earlier in the semester during visits to the stream (on campus) so questions are relevant to their previous experiences. The prework timeframe gives students the opportunity to seek extra help from their instructor prior to the lab period in which they will make additional measurements, similar calcualations and interpretations of their data.

Courses (2)

General Geology part of Introductory Courses:Courses
General Geology at CSU Chico is an introduction to physical geology in which students learn about the origin of the earth, rocks and minerals, development of geologic landforms and processes. The lab component of ...

General Geology part of Quantitative Skills:Courses
This is the lab section of the introductory physical geology class. Lab activities are designed to be hands on activities for students to better understand broad topics discussed in the "lecture" section ...

Essay (1)

Essay on Introductory Courses I Teach part of Introductory Courses:Virtual Workshop 2014:Essay Collection
Rachel Teasdale, Geological and Environmental Sciences, California State University-Chico 1. How my introductory course(s) serve my students, department, and institution. The GEOS 101, General Geology course at ...

Conference Presentations (16)

Opportunities for Classroom Observation Protocols to Advance the GER Community Framework part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2024:Program:Poster Sessions:Friday Poster Session
Third-party observations using validated observation protocols (OPs) provide a reliable way of recording teacher and student behaviors across different classrooms and institutions. Observations can be used to ...

Other Contributions (19)

Rachel Teasdale: Using Monitoring Volcanoes and Communicating Risks in Volcanology at California State University-Chico part of Monitoring Volcanoes and Communicating Risks
Course topics are explored using in-class group work, lab-style activities and field observations and interpretations. Instructor curated readings (and point-earning Reading Logs) are offered to students before each class period to prepare them for class activities. The format of GETSI Monitoring Volcanoes and Communicating Risks (MVCR) module activities are a good example of course activities throughout the semester. Students I have used other InTeGrate modules in my large-enrollment introductory geology course, which I had in mind while writing the MVCR module but it was fun to see the volcanology students so engaged in learning data types and discussing the nuances of evolving eruption scenarios and the interpretations and implications of the data they examined.

Communities

Workshop Leader (9 workshops)

Workshop Participant (52 workshops)

Teaching Online Introductory Geoscience Labs
July 2020
EER 2020 Science Communication
July 2020
ITG 2019 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshop
April 2019

Webinar Participant (4 webinars)