Exemplary Teaching Activities
Beginning in 2011, On the Cutting Edge began a process to review the extensive collection of activities submitted by workshop participants and members of the geoscience community. With the transition of the On the Cutting Edge program into NAGT the review process is now being used to broadly review online teaching activities relevant to NAGT's community of Earth educators. Through this review processes activities are scored on 5 elements: scientific veracity; alignment of goals, activity, and assessment; pedagogical effectiveness; robustness; and completeness of the description. The activities that score very highly in these areas become part of the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection and are featured below.
You may also be interested in the full collection of teaching activities.
Results 1 - 9 of 9 matches
Unit 5: Circulation in the atmosphere - a map and cross section based jigsaw part of Earths Thermostat
Phil Resor, Wesleyan University; Allison Dunn, Worcester State University; Bob Mackay, Clark College
In this optional activity, students analyze maps of wind patterns from three levels in the atmosphere in order to infer global atmospheric circulation patterns and their role in balancing the radiation budget they ...
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Alaska Earthquake Hazard Inventory & Mitigation Planning part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Bonnie Magura (Portland Public Schools), CEETEP (Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program), and ANGLE Project
In this two-part activity, students/participants first: - Complete a Hazard Inventory for their city or area of interest in the event of a magnitude 7 or larger earthquake and tsunami. - Identify what critical structures and infrastructure will be affected. Then: - Write a summary statement assessing strengths and vulnerabilities of essential services or infrastructure. - Propose actions for mitigating vulnerabilities. - Create an Action Plan to address identified needs.
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Tsunami Vertical Evacuation Structures (TVES) part of EarthScope ANGLE:Educational Materials:Activities
Bonnie Magura (Portland Public Schools), Roger Groom (Mt Tabor Middle School), and CEETEP (Cascadia EarthScope Earthquake and Tsunami Education Program)
Students learn about tsunami vertical evacuation structures (TVES) as a viable solution for communities with high ground too far away for rapid evacuation. Students then apply basic design principles for TVES and make their own scale model that they think would fit will in their target community. Activity has great scope for both technical and creative design as well as practical application of math skills. Examples are from the Pacific Northwest, USA's most tsunami-vulnerable communities away from high ground, but it could be adapted to any region with similar vulnerability.
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Unit 3: Culmination of Module in Town Hall Meeting part of Major Storms and Community Resilience
Patricia Stapleton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lorraine Motola, Metropolitan College of New York; Lisa Doner, Plymouth State University
Over the course of one week, students will apply and evaluate concepts in the context of their local community, culminating in the formulation and evaluation of Hazard Mitigation Plan recommendations presented in ...
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Getting a Grip on Hydrogen Bonds part of Oceanography:Activities
Elizabeth Nagy, Pasadena City College
The purpose of this brief (~15 minutes) activity is for students to directly observe some of the unique properties of water that are the result of hydrogen bonds, such as capillary action, adhesion, cohesion, and ...
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Observing Salinity Patterns part of Oceanography:Activities
Stephanie Jaeger, Green River Community College
Part 1: Students measure the salinity of samples using a refractometer, and consider the units and density of these values. Part 2: Students apply concepts and reinforce what they've learned about salinity and ...
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Ocean Acidification part of Oceanography:Activities
Jennifer Bown, Clackamas Community College
Students choose shell fragments from different species of Molluscs and calculate percent lose after soaking in different ph solutions for different periods of time. They research ocean acidification and especially ...
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Are You Going to Eat That? part of EarthLabs for Educators:Fisheries
The lab activity described here was created by Erin Bardar and Sarah L Hill of TERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives Students begin this investigation with an introduction to the types of ...
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Grocery Store Survey of Aquaculture Products part of Oceanography:Activities
Susan Richardson, Florida Atlantic University
Students work in pairs to survey seafood items sold in local grocery stores or fish markets, recording whether items are farm-raised or wild caught, fresh, frozen or preserved, as well as country of origin. ...
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