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Create a Superhero
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Create a Superhero is a five-part lesson plan asking students to research a current global issue which impacts them, their family or their community. Based on their research they create a superhero to help solve the issue. The project follows an adapted inquiry model and uses the online tools of G Suite for Education.

Subject:
English Language Arts
U.S. History
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Author:
Joan Upell
Julie Erickson
Date Added:
06/06/2020
Exploring Rocks: Rock Identification and The Rock Cycle
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CC BY-NC-SA
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This activity is a class lab activity in which students will observe unknown rocks and learn about how they fit into the rock cycle.

Subject:
Geology
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson Plan
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Pedagogy in Action
Date Added:
01/20/2012
Finding the Missing Half T-Rex (a study of faults)
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CC BY-NC-SA
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In this structural geology activity, students are faced with a problem whose solution requires an understanding of faults. Using inductive reasoning and a set of wood blocks, students discover a general rule about faults and then apply that rule to the specific problem.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Ann Bykerk-Kauffman
Date Added:
09/22/2022
Floating Metal Pins - Discrepant Event/Guided Inquiry on Surface Tension
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CC BY-NC-SA
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This activity is a guided inquiry on surface tension where students design their own lab experiment based on a focus question, make predictions, collect data and compare the outcome with their predictions.

Subject:
Mathematics
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Assessment
Lesson Plan
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Pedagogy in Action
Date Added:
12/09/2011
Geoworld Plate Tectonics Lab
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CC BY-NC-SA
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Students analyze the geology and geophysics of a simple fabricated flat planet to analyze its tectonics, deepening their understanding of plate tectonics concepts and discovering for themselves some of the more counter-intuitive aspects of the theory of plate tectonics.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Ann Bykerk-Kauffman
Date Added:
09/16/2022
Guided Discovery and Scoring Rubric for Petrographic Analysis of a Thin Section
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A series of spread sheets have been set up to provide a framework of observations and questions as a "guided discovery" exercise to clearly demonstrate the observations that a master petrographer would make. The observation of a thin section is broken down into a series of manageable tasks: reconnaissance overview of the thin section at low power; followed by creation of a systematic inventory of the rock-forming minerals (stable mineral paragenesis), alteration phases, and accessory minerals; and finally, analysis of the textures of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.

Comprehensive lists of a) optical determinations, and b) textural features are provided as "cues" to the student to help focus attention on the full range of observations that could or should be made towards a comprehensive petrographic analysis of the thin section. These sheets are organized to include:

Consideration of the geologic context of the sample: What is the geologic setting where the rock was collected? What is the rock type (if known), or at least is it igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic? This type of contextual information will help guide you to interpret what minerals are likely to be present (or excluded) in the sample
Mineral Optics (identification of mineral phases in thin section.

Observations at low power in plane and cross polarized light.
Systematic characterization of the (stable) rock-forming minerals
Identification of a) secondary or replacement minerals, and b) important accessory minerals;

Description and Interpretation of Rock Textures

Igneous rocks
Clastic Sedimentary rocks
Non-clastic Sedimentary rocks (carbonates)
Metamorphic rocks

Applications; can these minerals/assemblages/textures be used to determine source area, physical conditions (thermobarometry), geo- or thermochronology, and other useful geologic information?

Initially, use of these spread sheets will appear to be prescriptive. However, given the complexity observed in Nature, no single set of questions can be universally applied to all types of samples. So, the steps and observations represented in these spread sheets provide a general framework--a place to start--and the lists of optical properties and textures are meant to be a reminder to students about the types of observations that should be made. Students can use these spread sheets as a guide to make decisions about what is important and useful for the overall interpretation.
Metacognitive components of the activity

Students derive an awareness of their own learning processes by considering "what" they are doing and "why" they are performing certain operations on the petrographic microscope.
Students monitor their own progress by considering a) what they expect to find based on geologic contexts, b) are their observations and interpretations consistent with what can (or cannot) occur in Nature, and
Adjust their learning strategies to accomodate new lines of evidence towards formulation of internally consistent (if not "correct") observations and interpretations of the thin section.

Metacognitive goals for this activity:
The first encounter with an unknown thin section can be both confusing and overwhelming: Where do I start? What should I look for? How should I proceed? How will I know if I'm doing the right thing, and making the right observations?....

The purpose of this exercise is to "unpack" the steps taken by a master petrographer, to describe "what" observations can be made, and explain "why" these steps should be taken, what the utility or significance of the observations is, and how these observations can be appropriately interpreted (often these observations are done instantaneously in the mind of the petrographer, but in this exercise we try to explicitly outline these steps). With practice and experience these steps will become second nature. The goal of this exercise is to help students master the art of petrography so that they can independently do petrographic analysis of any rock from any context.
Assessing students' metacognition
In the course of teaching petrography in my regular coursework, I find that I continually articulate to students (one at a time) what I am doing (and why), what I am seeing (and they may or may not be seeing the same thing), why certain relationships are to be expected or prohibited in Nature (by considering the larger geologic context). The development of these guided discovery activities is an attempt to clearly articulate to all students the steps that are routinely taken in the petrographic analysis of a thin section. The goal is to more efficiently and effectively get students past the "mechanical" stages of mineral identification and textural descriptions, and help them to begin to develop higher order thinking skills of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Geology
Life Science
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Dave Mogk
Date Added:
08/23/2020
Nitrogen Fixation and Legume Growth
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CC BY-NC
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This is a Guided Inquiry Microbiology lab where students can use different plants and bacteria to study mutualism. They observe different growth rates of plants and some root nodules on the roots, thereby demonstrating that the mutualistic relationship between bacteria and legumes benefits growth.

Subject:
Applied Science
Environmental Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Date Added:
03/06/2019
Petroleum Depletion by Inquiry
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CC BY-NC-SA
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This is a draft of an inquiry-based activity on peak oil. Students are asked to contribute in a whole class discussion their thoughts about petroleum use and its availability. They then work in groups to make sense of existing data on petroleum discoveries and consumption, and project future discoveries, future consumption, and the lifespan of the legacy of discovered oil. They then are asked to adjust future consumption so that oil reserves last until 2070.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Political Science
Social Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Andy Johnson
Date Added:
08/06/2022
Phases and Eclipses of the Moon
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CC BY-NC-SA
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Students use a light source, a polystyrene ball, and their bodies to model and explain the causes of eclipses and the phases of the moon, and then to determine the direction of the moon's revolution and the period of its rotation.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Life Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Ann Bykerk-Kauffman
Date Added:
09/16/2022
Relative Age-dating -- Discovery of Important Stratigraphic Principles
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CC BY-NC-SA
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When piecing together the geologic history of the Earth, geologists rely on several key relative age-dating principles that allow us to determine the relative ages of rocks and the timing of significant geologic events. In a typical Historical Geology class or textbook, instructors/authors briefly discuss the important early researchers in the geological sciences, and then give the name of the stratigraphic principle, useful for relative age-dating of rocks and events, that these 17th and 18th century scientists are credited with discovering. After the instructor/author defines these principles, students are usually shown several examples so they can see how the principle can be applied.

But why not start with the examples and let students discover these principles for themselves?

Students are split into small groups which each work to discover a different relative age-dating principle. The groups are shown photos and given handouts with drawings of rock outcrops illustrating the various principles. These handouts include worksheets for which they must answer a series of prompts that help lead them to the discovery of their relative age-dating principle. Groups must also invent a name for their principle, and select a spokesperson who will present the group's results to the rest of the class.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Business and Communication
Communication
Geology
Life Science
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Roger Steinberg
Date Added:
08/23/2020
Seismicity and Relative Risk
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CC BY-NC-SA
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This activity introduces students to using real-time data about earthquakes to make decisions.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Geoscience
Life Science
Mathematics
Measurement and Data
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Data Set
Lesson Plan
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Anne Egger
Date Added:
09/25/2022
Self-talk During Inquiry: Helping novice researchers productively shape metacognition
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CC BY-NC
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Experienced researchers “get” inquiry - that is, they have an ongoing internalized self-talk process that evaluates, draws connections, and creates next steps for the information-gathering process. But, they may not know that or how they do it.Along with the steps of inquiry, we need to help learners understand the metacognitive "self-talk" that guides their decisions which drive the inquiry. What researchers think is more important than what they do. So how can we help researchers recognize and utilize their metacognitive processes that guide their research? In order to prepare information-age learners, librarians need tools to teach the thinking that lies behind the inquiry.In this module, librarian candidates will learn to make the internalized reflective process overt. Candidates will create metacognitive awareness of the reflection process that accompanies inquiry. They will demonstrate understanding by creating concrete reflection scaffolding tool for emerging researchers.The skills and understandings gained from this module will help school librarians build instruction in support of CCSS.ELA-Literacy. CCRA.R.7, 9, 10.

Subject:
Education
Material Type:
Module
Author:
Ann Spencer
Date Added:
08/17/2017
Using Satellite Data and Google Earth to Explore the Shape of Ocean Basins and Bathymetry of the Sea Floor
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CC BY-NC-SA
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This activity is for an introductory oceanography course. It is designed to allow students to use various tools (satellite images, Google Earth) to explore the shape of the sea floor and ocean basins in order to gain a better understanding of both the processes that form ocean basins, as well as how the shape of ocean basins influences physical and biological processes.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Subject:
Biology
Geology
Geoscience
Life Science
Mathematics
Measurement and Data
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Data Set
Lesson Plan
Provider:
Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:
Teach the Earth
Author:
Molly Palmer
Date Added:
12/11/2019