InTeGrate is Pleased to Announce the Publication of Three New Modules of Teaching Materials

Humans' Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources

Developed by Prajukti Bhattacharyya (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater), Joy Branlund (Southwestern Illinois College), and Leah Joseph (Ursinus College), this two- to three-week teaching module combines learning about rocks and minerals (and how these become the products students use), methods of mineral resource discovery and extraction, and the impact of mineral resource use. This module allows important geoscience concepts to be taught in the context of important and immediate societal issues while also asking students to confront human issues such as environmental justice, economics, personal choice, and politics that may arise due to obtaining, beneficiating, transporting, trading, using, and disposing of natural resources. Humans' Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources is a great fit for courses in environmental science, geology, meteorology, oceanography, and geological hazards.

A Growing Concern: Sustaining Soil Resources through Local Decision Making

Developed by Sarah Fortner (Wittenberg University), Martha Murphy (Santa Rosa Junior College), and Hannah Scherer (Virginia Tech), this two- to three-week teaching module addresses soil sustainability in the context of land management and climate change. Students gain an understanding of the nature and methods of geoscience through building observational skills, using charts to characterize soil samples, and working with geospatial data to understand how humans alter geologic rates of change. Geoscientific habits of mind will grow through working with authentic data and translating scaffolded knowledge into decision-making as students take on the role of agricultural "experts." The module culminates with a project centered on making sustainable soil management decisions under global climate change. A Growing Concern: Sustaining Soil Resources through Local Decision Making is a great fit for courses in intro geology, intro environmental science, intro soil science, and sustainability courses.

Map Your Hazards! - Assessing Hazards, Vulnerability and Risk

Developed by Brittany Brant (Boise State University), Pamela McMullin-Messier (Central Washington University), and Melissa Schlegel, (College of Western Idaho), this three-week teaching module provides students an interactive mechanism to engage in place-based exploration of natural hazards, social vulnerability, risk and the factors that shape their communities perception of natural hazards and risk. The module is interdisciplinary in nature as it allows students to integrate interdisciplinary geoscience and social science methodologies to understand societal impacts that result from natural hazards. Students will gain insight into how our knowledge and perspectives of the world shape how we interact with it, and how we promote and build resilient communities through understanding the relationship between human systems (built environment) and natural systems. Map Your Hazards! – Assessing Hazards, Vulnerability and Risk is a great fit for courses in environmental science, Earth science, natural hazards, social problems, global change, and environmental studies.

These three new modules join the previously published Climate of Change: Interactions and Feedbacks between Water, Air and Ice, Natural Hazards and Risks: Hurricanes, and Exploring Geoscience Methods modules. All of the InTeGrate developed teaching materials can be found on the InTeGrate website.