Download Activities and Labs for Lower Division Earth Science

Activities and Labs for Lower Division
Earth Science Students Using The IRIS
Earthquake Browser (IEB)
Chris Ebey
SUNY Jefferson
June 24, 2015
Introduction
• BS math, MS geology, PhD biology
• Starting 3rd year teaching at SUNY
Jefferson
• Currently teach geology courses and
one biology course
• Will begin teaching online courses in
the fall
• Intend to develop “flex” courses
Background on Student Population
• SUNY Jefferson is a community college in upstate New York
• Town in a rural area with a military base
• 52% are full-time, 48% are part-time
• 67% of students are 24 or under; 33% are age 25 and above. Median
age is around 27.
• On average, 28% are married and 32% have young children
• 40% are military or military-related
Challenges and Opportunities
• Student population has a diverse background and therefore a diverse
range of skills and experience
• Include a mix of science and non-science majors
• None of the current GEO courses have a math prerequisite above pre-algebra
• Science majors generally are taking pre-calculus or calculus concurrently
• Non-science majors may be taking basic algebra
• Many students have outside obligations that lead to absences
• Includes parents of small children and active duty soldiers
Objectives for Online Activity
• Designed for non-major courses (GEO 102 and GEO 110)
• Students will:
• Discriminate among divergent, convergent or transform plate
boundary based on features
• Hypothesize some of the ways particular islands form and
recognize that not all islands form the same way
• Diagram mechanisms of mountain and volcano formation
Before Online Activity
• Students will have completed book notes and homework
section (included)
• They will know:
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•
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The three major types of plate boundaries
How island arcs and volcanic arcs form
The causes of hotspots
The drivers of plate motion
Assessment
• Students will be assessed on:
• Ability to interpret features such as volcanoes, mountains
and mid-ocean ridges
• Predict the types of plate boundaries and earthquakes that
are found in an imaginary location
Future Activities and Labs
• GEO 102 (Planet Earth) Online Activity
• GEO 131 (Physical Geology) Earthquake lab
• Preview