Scott White

What is Magnitude? Earthquake Magnitude By Analogy part of Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
Understanding magnitude scales by analogy to distance. Students use distance as a proxy for understanding how the logarithmic earthquake magnitude scale works. Very simple class or lab exercise for introductory ...

In-situ Density from Gravity by Nettleton part of Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
This activity develops students' understanding of gravity data corrections and density estimates by using a gravimeter to collect data and then interpret this data to find an estimate for the local bulk ...

The Role of Virtual Reality in Developing Spatial Visualization Skills in Geoscience Students part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2019:Program:Poster Sessions:Wednesday
Geoscience and its many subfields require students to utilize an immense amount of spatial visualization skills to identify and solve various problems and patterns within the field. Spatial visualization is the ...

Scott White: Using Planning for Failure: Landslide Analysis in GEOL 315: Surface and Near-Surface Processes at University of South Carolina-Columbia part of Planning for Failure: Landslide Analysis
Surface and Near-surface Processes is a majors level course for both the Geological Sciences and the Environmental Sciences majors. Students have diverse paths to reach this course, and while most are comfortable with computation and quantitative decision-making, some students do struggle to develop those skills. This course is taught as a traditional lecture and lab, with some elements of active learning during the lecture portion. This was a first attempt at introducing a sequence of labs that built on previous labs directly and a first attempt at introducing GIS into the curriculum for Geological majors. This presented a major step forward in curriculum design, a new challenge for the students, and some interesting times during the lab portion. This module provided students with the ability to immerse themselves in a subject that is has obvious societal relevance; this helped them engage with the material and rise to the challenges of learning mass wasting concepts while developing new software skills. The module also demonstrated to students how geosciences influence policy and decision-making, the importance of integrating social science and geoscience, and a what goes into building a more resilient community.