Introduction to Earth Science

Sharon Browning
Baylor University

Summary

Intro to Earth Science - survey of geology, astronomy, meteorology, and oceanography. Students are introduced to the process of science through a series of hands-on lab experiments and demonstrations.


Course Size:
71-150

Course Format:
Students enroll in one course that includes both lecture and lab. The lecture is taught by the professor and the lab is taught by TAs.

Course Context:

This is an introductory course with no pre-requisites; it may serve as a prerequisite for geology majors. 90% of the students are taking the course to satisfy a lab science requirement.

Course Goals:

Students will be able to perform scientific experiments or observe demonstrations and synthesize results, including drawing conclusions about the underlying scientific principles.

Course Features:

Teaching the Process of Science

The laboratory is the main vehicle for teaching students about the process of science. Our experiments and demonstrations are designed to be hands-on, with limited interaction or instruction from the TA's.

Assessment:

Better assessment is still a goal for this course. Currently, I have a series of thought questions with each experiment to try and gauge the students' level of understanding and.

Syllabus:

Syllabus-Intro to Earth Science (Microsoft Word 35kB Jun26 09)

Teaching Materials:



References and Notes:

Introduction to Earth Science - Sharon Browning
As many of our labs have hands-on demos, some of which are built in-house, it was much easier to write the lab manual myself than to go with a commercial product.