Karen Kortz

Online Discussion Prompts for Introductory Geology part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
This set of 17 online discussion prompts are designed to encourage students to apply, explore, and reflect on course topics. Some are content-specific (e.g. investigate misconceptions about a certain topic or take ...

Geoscience education research project part of Undergraduate Research:2014 Workshop:Activities
Students complete a scientific research project including asking a question, developing methods, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and communicating results. The research question begins "What ...

VEPP: Determining the relationship between the summit and Pu'u 'O'o on Kilauea part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Volcano Exploration Project: Pu`u `O`o:Examples
This is an exercise that is in development and will not be fully tested until Fall 2010. Please check back regularly for updates and changes. Brief three-line description of the activity or assignment and its ...

Flood Curves Lecture Tutorial part of Teaching Methods:Lecture Tutorials:Examples
This Lecture Tutorial worksheet guides students through thinking about the effects humans have on infiltration, and how that effects the duration and severity of floods. It is designed to be used in groups after a brief lecture introducing surface and ground water flow into a stream.

Groundwater Consulting Lab part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Students are given a real-world scenario in this lab exercise in which they must determine the extent of groundwater contamination while staying within a budget. They progressively request more information and ...

Ocean Crust Ages Lecture Tutorial part of Teaching Methods:Lecture Tutorials:Examples
Students work on this Lecture Tutorial worksheet on ocean crust ages in groups during lecture. It directly confronts misconceptions students have about the patterns of ages of the ocean crust, and interpretations that can be made.

Earth's Surface Features Lecture Tutorial part of Teaching Methods:Lecture Tutorials:Examples
This Lecture Tutorial worksheet is designed for students to work on in groups after the students have learned about basic surface features and how they relate to planets in general. The tutorial is designed to help students look at these simple features and realize that they are not independent features, but instead are related to the planet as a whole.

Rock Types on Other Planets Lecture Tutorial part of Teaching Methods:Lecture Tutorials:Examples
The design of this short Lecture Tutorial worksheet allows students to make predictions of what rock types they would expect to find on other planets. After a brief lecture, students work in groups to answer the questions to help them understand the conditions of formation for the three rock types.

The Function of Stegosaurus Plates Lecture Tutorial part of Teaching Methods:Lecture Tutorials:Examples
After a short lecture, groups of students complete this Lecture Tutorial worksheet on the different hypotheses of the function of Stegosaurus plates. The worksheet is designed so students examine different lines of evidence, and they must choose the best interpretation(s).

Seafloor Ages Lecture Tutorial part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Students work on this Lecture Tutorial worksheet on seafloor ages in pairs during lecture. It directly confronts misconceptions students have about the age of the seafloor, and it guides students to more complex ...

Implementing the Geoscience Education Research Project as a Poster in Intro Courses part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2018:Program:Share-a-Thon:Share-a-Thon Presentations
Students complete a scientific research project including asking a question, developing methods, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and communicating results as described by Karen M. Kortz here: ...

ESS Scaffolded Inquiry Labs: Online and in-person labs with high inquiry and ease of use part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2026:Program:Poster Session:Tuesday Poster Session
ESS Scaffolded Inquiry Labs are a collection of scaffolded, inquiry-focused lab activities we are developing for earth and space science (ESS) courses. These labs leverage online data sets and can be used ...

Changes in interest and desire to major in geoscience during introductory geology courses part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2018:Program:Poster Sessions:Wednesday
Previous research has shown that students' positive experiences in introductory geology courses may play a role in recruiting majors. This study aims to describe how student interest and desire to major in the ...

A Joint 2YC-4YC Research Methods Course to Increase Transfers and Improve Success part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2017:Program:Oral Sessions:Thursday B
Faculty at the Community College of Rhode Island and the University of Rhode Island developed a geoscience research methods course targeted at students who have completed one introductory geology course. This ...

Essential terms for introductory students: Do textbooks provide the answer? part of Rendezvous 2015:Program:Abstracts
Geologic terms create a common language for communicating geoscience concepts, but introductory students can learn only a limited number of these terms. To determine if there is consistency in which terms are ...

Conducting Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in Your Courses part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2024:Program:Afternoon Mini-Workshops
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is the systematic study by instructors of the impact of their teaching on student learning and the sharing of results (e.g. through discussions, department meetings, ...

Karen Kortz: Using Measuring the Earth with GPS in Introduction to Geology at Community College of Rhode Island part of Measuring the Earth with GPS
This module was taught in an introductory geology class for non-science majors at a community college. The course includes a focus on how people affect Earth and how Earth affects people. The module was taught spaced out throughout the semester, taking up one 75-minute lecture and three two-hour labs.

Using Lecture Tutorials to Make Classes More Student-centered part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Roundtable Discussions
Lecture Tutorials are a method to increase student engagement in introductory geoscience courses. They are easy-to-implement worksheets focusing on misconceptions and difficult topics that students complete in ...

Undergraduate Research in Geoscience at Community College of Rhode Island part of SAGE 2YC:Engage 2YC Students in Research:Profiles
A content page profile from the SAGE 2YC project detailing an undergraduate geoscience research program at Community College of Rhode Island, highlighting institutional context, individual faculty-led projects, honors research, challenges like time and resources, and strategies for student engagement and success in two-year college settings.

Historical Geology Reconstruction Analogy part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:First Day of Class:Activities
Karen Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island Course: Introduction to Historical Geology 20 students Students remember what they have seen and done much better than they remember what you have told them. The ...

Designing Effective Lessons for your First Geoscience Course part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Morning Workshops:Lesson Design
Participants will begin with the big picture of establishing course goals for introductory science courses and then narrow the focus to determine learning outcomes for select individual lessons. Participants will ...

Geoscience Education Research part of Rendezvous 2015:Program:Poster Sessions
Related Monday Oral Session with discussion @ 4:00pm Related Tuesday Oral Session with discussion @ 4:00pm

Geoscience Education Research II part of Rendezvous 2015:Program:Oral Sessions
See Related Poster Session