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.
Subject: Geoscience Show all
- Ground Water 20 matches
- Snowpack and Snow Melt 4 matches
- Surface Water 18 matches
Geoscience > Hydrology
10 matches General/OtherTheme: Teach the Earth Show all
- Google Earth 7 matches
- NGSS 18 matches
- Online Teaching 2 matches
- Teaching in the Field 13 matches
Teach the Earth > Enhancing your Teaching
Grade Level
Online Readiness
Results 1 - 10 of 34 matches
Unit 2: Monitoring surface and groundwater supply in central and western US part of Eyes on the Hydrosphere: Tracking Water Resources
Jonathan Harvey (Fort Lewis College) and Becca Walker (Mt San Antonio College)
In Unit 2, students learn how the techniques for water budgeting (covered in Unit 1) can be used to monitor both groundwater (High Plains Aquifer) and surface water (western mountain watershed) systems. Students ...
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Unit 1: Climate Change and Sea Level: Who Are the Stakeholders? part of Understanding Our Changing Climate
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Susan Kaspari, Central Washington University
How are rising sea levels already influencing different regions? This unit offers case study examples for a coastal developing country (Bangladesh), a major coastal urban area (southern California), and an island ...
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Unit 4: Groundwater, GPS, and Water Resources part of Measuring the Earth with GPS
Karen M. Kortz (Community College of Rhode Island)
Jessica J. Smay (San Jose City College)
GPS data can measure ground elevation change in response to the changing amount of groundwater in valleys and snow cover in mountains. In this module, students will learn how to read GPS data to interpret how the ...
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Unit 1: Exploring the Reservoirs and Pathways and Methods to Measure the Hydrologic Cycle part of Eyes on the Hydrosphere: Tracking Water Resources
Jon Harvey (Fort Lewis College) and Becca Walker (Mt. San Antonio College)
How does water move throughout the Earth system? How do scientists measure the amount of water that moves through these pathways? This unit provides an alternative way for students to learn the major components of ...
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Unit 1: Introduction to the hydrologic cycle and stakeholder analysis part of Measuring Water Resources
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Eric Small, University of Colorado at Boulder
This unit introduces the hydrological cycle to provide context for the module as a whole. It particularly focuses on those portions of the hydrological cycle that take place on land and that form the basis for ...
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Unit 4: Water budget assessment of a California drought part of Measuring Water Resources
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Eric Small, University of Colorado at Boulder
The California Drought of 2012–2016 had significant social and economic consequences. This final unit focuses on this drought as a case study for measuring the hydrologic system so that we can better understand ...
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Unit 2: Characterizing groundwater storage with well and GRACE data part of Measuring Water Resources
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Eric Small, University of Colorado at Boulder
This unit provides students with experience analyzing traditional (depth to water table measured in a well) and geodetic: GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) data for monitoring changes in groundwater ...
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Unit 3: Monitoring groundwater storage with GPS vertical position part of Measuring Water Resources
Bruce Douglas, Indiana University-Bloomington; Eric Small, University of Colorado at Boulder
This unit shows how GPS records of surface elevation can be used to monitor groundwater changes. Students calculate secular trends in the GPS time series and then use the original and detrended records to identify ...
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Capstone Project: Urban Water Portfolio part of Water Science and Society
Students will use the skills and knowledge they have developed throughout the course to develop a water portfolio for the future for a given water-critical city. They will need to estimate the city's water ...
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Unit 2: Water Footprints part of Water, Agriculture, Sustainability
Robert Turner, University of Washington-Bothell Campus
Unit 2 opens a window into water accounting and reveals intensive water use that few people think about. How much water goes into common commodities? Have you considered how much water it takes to support our ...
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Learn more about this review process.