Investigating contaminant transport and environmental justice issues in a local watershed through service learning projects with Sierra Club
Jennifer Houghton, Rhodes College
Students will be applying hydrogeology concepts and methods in the lab and the field and conducting interviews as part of a coherent characterization of water quality issues and potential risks in local low-income, ...

Understanding the Carbon Cycle: A Jigsaw Approach
David Hastings, Eckerd College
In this "jigsaw" exercise, each student is assigned one of five geochemical processes in the carbon cycle to research, fully understand, and then explain to others in groups of five. At the end of class ...

Energy and the Poor - Black Carbon in Developing Nations
Anne Hall, Emory University
In this activity, students will explore impacts of the use of wood, dung and charcoal in developing countries for fuel, producing black carbon. In-class discussion will generate a list of several broad topics, ...

Evaluating the Effects of Local Energy Resource Development
Devin Castendyk, SUNY College at Oneonta
This is a semester-long, jigsaw project for a class of 20 to 25 students that has students work in teams to explore the effects of energy resource development on local water resources, economics and society.

Animal Rights and Welfare
Claudia Khourey-Bowers, Kent State University-Stark Campus
The relationship of animals and humans has been the subject of differing philosophical views for thousands of years. The controversy continues today in many aspects of contemporary life. Some people believe that a ...

Introduction to Volcanology
Erouscilla Joseph, University of the West Indies
The course will introduce students to Plate tectonics and volcanoes; including the processes that takes place at active volcanoes (eruptive mechanisms, effusive and explosive volcanism); methods and instrumentation ...

Resource Usage Project and Journal
Gina Szablewski, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Students keep track of one resource (water, electricity, gas, etc.) they use for a 7-day period. They summarize their usage patterns, give opinions, and get some self-realization about their habits.

Simulation of international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
David Hastings, Eckerd College
In order to convey how the international community is responding to climate change, students engage in a simulation of the international negotiation process. Participants learn first hand the interests of different ...

Petroleum Depletion by Inquiry
Andy Johnson, Black Hills State University
This is a draft of a guided inquiry activity to help students become aware of the problem of petroleum depletion or peak oil. Students use existing data to make projections of future discoveries and consumption. It ...

The Tragedy of the Commons Homework
Andy Johnson, Black Hills State University
This is actually a homework assignment that we talk about in class. But when we talk about it I discover how my students are thinking. So it also serves as a formative assessment that I use to find out whether ...