New directions in Wilson Cycle concepts: Supercontinent and Tectonic Rock Cycles (original) (raw)
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2013
The rock cycle is a key component of geoscience education at all levels. In this paper, we report on a new guided inquiry curricular module, Sleuthing Through the Rock Cycle, which has a blended online/offline constructivist design with comprehensive teaching notes and has been successful in pilot use in Rhode Island middle and high school classrooms over the past 3 y. The module consists of two overarching activities: (1) SherRock Holmes and the Case of the Mystery Rock Samples, and (2) Cracking the Case of the Changing Rocks. The module encourages hands-on activities, peer collaboration, and real-time teacher review of embedded textual and reflection components. Overall, Rhode Island teachers report that the module is an outstanding teaching tool and that the associated professional development is empowering
Geosciences
Well-crafted and scientifically accurate videos and animations can be effective ways to teach dynamic Earth processes such as continental rifting, both in live course offerings as well as in online settings. However, a quick search of the internet reveals too few high-quality videos/animations describing deep Earth processes. We have modified a hybrid 10.5 min video/animation about continental rifting and the formation of new oceans and passive continental margins created for an upper-division geology audience, retailoring it for a lower-division geology audience. A key challenge in successfully modifying such resources is aligning the cognitive load that the video/animation imposes on students, in part related to the technical geoscientific jargon used in explaining such phenomena, with that which they encounter on these topics in their textbooks and classrooms. We used expert feedback obtained at a 2019 GeoPRISMS (Geodynamic Processes at Rifting and Subducting Margins) workshop in...