This is a problem-based learning (PBL) group jigsaw activity. The scenario is:
Students are employees of a unit of the United Nations responsible for coordinating disaster relief after a major disaster (the 2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami) occurs. The agency needs to understand the situation in each country so that it can coordinate the work of various governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in the affected area.

Students are divided into Expert Groups (related to academic specialties such as Economics, Medicine, Political Science, Earth Science, etc.) and spend several days researching their topics. Students are then reassigned to one of seven or eight Country Groups, based on the countries most affected by the disaster. Each country group needs someone representing each expert group. In the scenario, these groups correspond to task forces that must determine what the situation is in each country and try to assess the current need for international assistance.

Students research their country, using internet resources, especially the CIA World Factbook and ReliefWeb, the information coordination website of the United Nations. At a large-group roundtable discussion, each group presents what it has found about its assigned country. As a final product, each student writes an individual report summarizing findings and making recommendations for disaster assistance.

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Students are employees of a unit of the United Nations responsible for coordinating disaster relief after a major disaster (the 2004 Asian Earthquake and Tsunami) occurs. The agency needs to understand the situation in each country so that it can coordinate the work of various governments and NGO (nongovernmental organizations) working in the affected area.

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This jigsaw style exercise challenges new geomorphology students to collect topographic data and analyze its accuracy and precision.

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Mined phosphorus is considered essential for agriculture, especially with the need to feed the ever growing population. However, there are consequences of phosphate mining and use, including pollution at mine sites and fertilizer processing plants, heavy metal accumulation in soil where fertilizers are used, national security issues intertwined with Morocco's dominance of the world supply, and eutrophication that comes with alteration of the phosphorus cycle. Students will consider these issues, their own roles in the problem, and possible solutions in this jigsaw activity.

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This activity asks students to investigate different aspects of gold mining and think critically about the perceived and real needs for this mineral resource as well as the impacts (both positive and negative) that both gold mining and recycling can have. It integrates concepts and terminology from earlier in the course into real-world situations and personal decision making.
This exercise is set up as a small-group jigsaw activity.

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In this jigsaw-method activity on subduction zone volcanism, students apply lessons learned from four historic eruptions to the volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier in the Pacific Northwest.

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This is a laboratory based assignment that is for Introductory level geoscience classes (Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Earth Science) that brings an authentic research experience to your students. In the assignment, students are asked to process and interpret screenwash from the 2004 Aurora Mastodont Project, and to contribute authentic research results to the ongoing post-dig analyses. Students then contribute their results to a database to compare theirs to their colleagues around the country. This is an ongoing and free exercise available by requesting samples of screenwash (details below). This is one of several exercises that I ask my Earth Science students to complete as an introduction to the nature of science and the geosciences, that I call GSI (GeoScience Investigations) which was presented as a poster during the 2013 GSA in Denver.

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This article highlights the five essential components of cooperative learning, provides a quick overview of the research behind the strategy, describes three of the most common types, and offers ideas on how to get started using cooperative learning at the elementary level.

In Jigsaw format, groups of 3 students divide up and each collects topographic data for a small landform using a different technique (tape and level; handheld GPS; Total Station). When they re-group they compare data quantity and quality using spreadsheets and a mapping program. They write a group report comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the three methods.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills
Addresses student misconceptions

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This activity will help students to explore characteristics of microbes that live in the deep sea. This activity can be conducted as a jigsaw or research project, and can be used with face-to-face, remote, and hybrid students.

Provenance: Beverly Owens, Cleveland Early College High School
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

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Students prepare for this activity by working with a unidirectional flume with a sand bed. We adjust water depth, flow velocity, and channel slope to achieve a range of bed states, in an effort for them to understand the controls on bedforms. This portion of the activity could be done in lecture or via another exercise that makes use of digital video of actual experiments. The activity itself is a jigsaw: students form groups of three, each group responsible for plotting depth vs. velocity plots of bedform state for a single sand grain size range (0.10-0.14 mm, 0.5-0.64 mm, and 1.3-1.8 mm). These data are provided to them as Excel files and the data were directly 'stolen' from the original depth vs. velocity plots in Middleton and Southard (1984), Mechanics of Sediment Movement, SEPM Short Course Number 3. Datathief software (available free on the web) was used to steal the data. The data are arranged in columns: depth, velocity, and bedform type. Students must plot each of the different bedform types with a different symbol, then they have to define field boundaries. It is critical that they have never seen the original plots in their textbook. The goal is for them to derive them on their own, not to regurgitate what is in their textbook or elsewhere. After they complete their plots for each grain size range, the groups re-arrange themselves into groups of three with one representative from each of the grain size groups. They then must try to evaluate the effects of changing grain size on bedform state. Finally, after completing the exercise, the bedform analysis is linked to the cross stratification that is produced under conditions of high sediment fallout rates and the given bed state. The activity gives students practice working with realistic datasets, exposure to the role of physical modeling in sedimentary geology, and a chance to plot and interpret real data. Furthermore, it really solidifies the link between cross stratification and its dynamic interpretation from the rock record.

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The exercise is built around 4 global data maps: 1) Earthquake location and depth, 2) Location of recent volcanic activity, 3) Seafloor Age, and 4) Topography and Bathymetry
The exercise is based on the "jigsaw" concept, mixing the students to work in different groups during the exercise. DPB includes opportunities for all students to make oral presentations to their fellow students. The exercise is done over about 3 hours. I usually do it in 50 minute periods on three separate days, but it can also be done in a three hour lab period.
Although the data used in DPB are state-of-the-art, the exercise does not depend on student access to computers. Unlike many others, this exercise is based on observation and classification, rather than learning computer data manipulation skills.
The students enjoy DPB and many report it as the best activity of their semester! I hope that you will find it useful in your classroom!

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DATA: Sea Floor Age, Volcano and Earthquake Distributions. TOOL: My World GIS. SUMMARY: Identify relationships among sea-floor age, earthquakes, and volcanoes to understand how they support the theory of plate tectonics.

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Students work in a jigsaw format, they start in an expert group analyzing one particular aspect of the earthquake that occurred (e.g., tsunami, geologic maps, damage assessment). After analyzing the data/information provided, students get into their new groups, which are a "consulting team" to make recommendations to key governmental officials about the earthquake they studied and implications for future development. These are presented in a poster session style event, which then leads to individual papers that are written about the same topic, which are peer reviewed and revised. Students are asked to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses in the process and to consider changes for future opportunities, as well as connect the curriculum to the overall process of science.

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In this in-class exercise, students compare several lines of evidence that support the ideas of continental drift and plate tectonics. Before the class meeting, each student is given a preparation assignment in which he/she studies one "continental drift" and one "ocean floor data" map. In class, students divide into teams of 3, with each team member having prepared different specialties. They discuss their respective maps and look for spatial patterns among the data.

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How do soils develop over time? Perhaps the best place to learn is a across a chrosequence of deposits that span a wide range in age (and appearance). If we can identify parent material and measure its chemical composition, it can be used as a benchmark for comparison with the chemical composition of soils that were formed from it. This enables us to quantify the degree of chemical depletion. In general we expect older soils to be more depleted, all else equal. But older soils might also be subject to greater physical erosion, in addition to chemical weathering. This complicates the assessment of soil development because the eroded material is no longer present.

Students are presented with two alternate hypotheses about the soils/deposits they visit:
a) the material has been weathering w/ little physical erosion since it was deposited
b) the material has been weathering and eroding since it was deposited
These hypotheses are developed in lectures before the activity and are based on principles of conservation of mass.

During their site visit, students coarsely characterize topography (@2 -- 5 m scale) for several "representative" cross sections. If time is limited this step could be done remotely (e.g., with topo maps and Google earth).

Students assess and discuss evidence for erosional (and depositional) processes since the deposits were created. They look for broad topographic signatures and measure (for example) the spatial density and material volume of tree throw and animal burrowing mounds, if present.

Students also assess and discuss evidence for in-situ weathering (e.g., development of rinds, soil texture, and mineral alteration). The idea is to train their eyes to observe and key in on any site-to-site differences.

Students dig (and discover!) at select sites. They sample soils at regular intervals from pits (with discussion of merits of different sampling approaches e.g., random vs. stratified random). Students discuss relationships in excavated pits.

A jigsaw approach would be an effective way to tackle the large number of field tasks outlined here.

Back in the lab, using literature values, students estimate weathering rates for each deposit. They compare their estimates with back-of-the-envelop estimates for physical erosion rates (based on tree throw/animal burrowing density) and literature values of diffusivity (which can be coupled with curvature measurements).

The instructor promotes discussion of the implications of differences in residence time on weathering rate estimates.

Students analyze samples by XRF; depending on the course's time constraints students are provided with geochemical data from previous year's field effort or other existing data (in this case Taylor and Blum, 1995).

Students are asked to prepare a final report focusing on the following questions: Are soils products of erosion and weathering, or are they being formed in place by weathering alone? Under what circumstances can we expect erosion to dominate over weathering and visa versa? Students first prepare figures and then use them to develop an an outline (reviewed by the instructor) for their report. Students prepare a draft and engage in peer review (one review each). Students revise their reports, based on the peer review comments, and submit their final report.
Designed for a geomorphology course

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1. Day 1: End of class Mini lecture (15 minutes) on:
a. what greenstone belts are (where in the world, rock assemblages, structures)
b. vertical vs. horizontal tectonic models (old arguments and current details).
c. Superior Province (one example) introduction

2. Homework and Jigsaw Activity: Looking at "typical" structures within greenstone belts.
This assignment asks students to compare papers with folding models vs. thrusting models. One set of papers that provides a good contrast focuses on the Beardmore-Geraldton greenstone belt in the Superior Province, Canada. Students will also use a paper with Lithoprobe seismic data across the Superior Province.

a. Folding model: Kehlenbeck, M. M. 1986. Folds and folding in the Beardmore-Geraldton fold belt. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (CJES) 23, 158-171.
b. Thrusting model: Devaney, J. R. & Williams, H. R. 1989. Evolution of an Archean subprovince boundary: a sedimentological and structural study of part of the Wabigoon-Quetico boundary in northern Ontario. CJES 26 1013-1026.
c. Percival, J. A. et al. 2006. Tectonic evolution of the western Superior Province from NATMAP and Lithoprobe studies. CJES 43(7): 1085-1117.

Divide the class into 3 "expert" groups and assign one paper to each group. Students need to create an outline of the major structures (faults, folds, both) described and the evidence provided for the structural interpretation. Students should bring two copies of their outline to class.

3. Day 2
Turn in one copy of outline (to be assessed for grade) and meet with the group to create a composite, master outline (30 minutes). Students break up into small groups (one from each "expert" group), discover very different structural style interpretations, and try to determine WHY there are the discrepancies (lack of data, preconceived notions influencing interpretations, etc). The goal of the new group is to prepare each student to write a short paper. Each student is assigned to write a 1-page paper exploring reasons why there are discrepancies between the models. Students are also encouraged to speculate on what other evidence or future research might help resolve the apparent conflict. Students begin paper in class and finish outside of class.

4. Day 3
Students hand in paper (to be graded). Mini lecture/ discussion on key related questions.
a. Does either model (folding or faulting) support or negate either vertical or horizontal tectonic models?
b. Are there any modern analogues to greenstone belts? If so, what are the differences or limitations to the comparisons (lithological and structural)?

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In this exercise, students use both polyhedral model kits designed by the University of Wisconsin at Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Institute for Chemical Education and computer visualization in Jmol to explore the structures of a variety of phyllosilicate minerals, and relate those structures to physical properties. Students work in small groups to build either a sequence of dioctahedral or trioctahedral minerals and answer a series of questions about structure, arrangement, coordination and bonding. The small dioctahedral and trioctahedral groups combine to compare structures and discuss additional questions about these and other minerals.

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Students will be introduced to the Expressed powers of Congress through a jigsaw activity.

In the first part of this activity, students think about their personal carbon emissions and driving habits. They reflect on what might be done to reduce our carbon emissions, as individuals and as a society as a whole. In the second part of the activity, students calculate how much sea level would rise if a range of ice melting scenarios occur. They then examine topographic maps of local coastlines to see how different regions would be affected under the range of scenarios.

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