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The Preparing Teachers to Teach Earth Science project website has not been significantly updated since 2007. We are preserving the web pages here because they still contain useful and ideas and content. But be aware that it may have out of date information.
For more recent resources related to Earth science teacher preparation, check out the collection at Teach the Earth.
Initial Publication Date: April 9, 2007

Earth & Space Systems - Field Examination

Return to Earth & Space Systems: Role in the Program.

This course concludes with an integrative assessment in the form of a practical field examination. Students are taken to a previously undisclosed location demonstrating geologic features characteristic of the field trips conducted earlier in the semester. The pre-service teachers are asked targeted questions testing their ability to:
  • Identify Earth Materials
  • Indicate Methods of Formation
  • Suggest Methods of Subsequent Alteration
  • Indicate Approximate Age & Environment in which Materials Formed
  • Suggest Source Areas for Glacial Materials
  • Determine the Relative Sequence of Events Visible at the Site
  • Create Stratigraphic Reconstructions at Different Time Periods
  • Correctly Identify the True Cause of Misleading Observations Relating to a Geologic Test (False Positive for Acid Test on Sandstone caused by Secondary Stream Deposit of Calcite)
  • Identify Geologic Processes Acting Today
  • Predict Future Evolution of the Site

The examination provides students a quality summary of the geologic concepts they should master and strive to impart to their students as appropriate to their respective grade levels.