Not in My Backyard: Locating a Site for a New Landfill

The goals of this activity are to engage students with a real problem that encourages cooperation and higher-order thinking. After completing the activity, students will:

• be able to apply knowledge and concepts in the areas of mineralogy, igneous rocks and processes, physical volcanology, sedimentary rocks and processes, seismology, volcanic hazards, and plate tectonics
• be skilled in use of concept maps, the optical microscope, analyzing maps, teamwork, scientific report writing, and oral presentation
• understand how to use, analyze, and synthesize evidence, how to make judgments and draw conclusions, and the importance of alternative explanations and viewpoints.

This activity is designed for use in an introductory earth science course. It can be conducted after coverage of minerals and rocks (as a way of applying that material), or in lieu of it (as a way of learning it by the PBL model). This activity can be conducted in a variety of ways. It can be done entirely as an in-class activity, during lab, or almost entirely as an out-of-class activity. Depending on how much analytical and in-class work is incorporated into the project, it can take from 3-6 class periods to complete.

This activity can be conducted in a variety of ways. It can be done as an in-class activity, during lab, or almost entirely as an out-of-class activity. Depending on how much analytical work is incorporated into the project, it can take from 3-6 class periods to complete.

1. We typically conduct a field trip through the county prior to starting the project, but the timing of the field trip is largely dictated by the weather in Minnesota.
2. The project really begins when students receive an outline of the problem and a request for a new landfill site in Pine County, Minnesota.
3. Students then work in small groups to clarify the questions and problem at hand.
4. Students collect evidence from analysis of a variety of maps. They also familiarize themselves with the DNR regulations for landfills, as well as cultural, geographic, political, population, and transportation information about the county.
5. Once several potential areas of interest have been identified, students examine well logs from the county well index.
6. Based on the evidence, students build a case and recommend three potential sites that are prioritized
7. Each group prepares a map and poster of their work
8. Each group also gives a short presentation to the class

Student Handout of Landfill Assignment (Acrobat (PDF) 34kB Aug5 09)
Student Handout of Poster Rubric (Acrobat (PDF) 36kB Aug5 09)
Student Handout of Presentation Rubric (Acrobat (PDF) 60kB Aug5 09)

The activity is designed as a problem-based learning (PBL) activity. As such, it is designed to support the content and skill objectives of the course, while at the same time promote engagement and student critical thinking. In this approach, students are confronted with a murky, real-world problem. Initially they must figure out what questions are being asked, and from where/how relevant evidence might be gathered to address the problem. As they gather more evidence, the questions they seek to answer are continually refined. When needed, the instructor can intervene to clarify concepts, methods, or questions about the project. The different artifacts provide different kinds of evidence that come from different perspectives and are sometimes in conflict. The purpose of this design is to provide students with opportunities to weigh evidence, analyze, evaluate, and make judgments about the appropriate use of evidence.

To help get students started with the project, a good activity is to have them identify as many relevant geologic terms and concepts from the available artifacts. They can then begin constructing a concept map that shows the relations among these terms to identify gaps where they need more information or understanding.

Although designed independently, this activity (Wirth, 2004) is similar to one published by Swanson et al. (2006). Both activities are designed around areas with existing county geologic atlases. Although beneficial to choose a nearby area so that it can be visited on class field trips, this is not essential.

The primary challenge to this project is group work. It helps to have formal structures in place to help keep the groups on-track and fully functioning. To do this I use frequent self-reflection and self-assessment activities about the functioning of the groups and each individual's contributions to them.

Boerboom, T.J. (project manager), 2001, Geologic atlas of Pine County, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey County Atlas Series C-13, Part A, 6 plates, scale 1:100,000. Retrieved on 29 July 2009 from: http://www.geo.umn.edu/mgs/county_atlas/countyatlas.htm

Boerboom, T.J. (project manager), 2002, Contributions to the Geology of Pine County, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey Report of Investigations 60, 91 p. Retrieved on 29 July 2009 from: ftp://mgssun6.mngs.umn.edu/pub3/ri-60

Duch, B.J., Groh, S.E., and Allen, D.E., (editors), 2001, The Power Of Problem-Based Learning. Stylus Publishing, Sterling, VA, 274 p.

Swanson, S.K., Bahr, J.M., and Wilcox, J.D., 2006, A solid waste landfill siting exercise for an introductory environmental geology course: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, no. 4, p. 458-463.

Wirth, Karl R., 2004, Using Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to teach introductory earth science: Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, Denver, Colorado, Abstracts with Programs, v. 36, no. 5, p. 277.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources – Pine County Geologic Atlas
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/programs/gw_section/mapping/platesum/pinecga.html