Explains attending a public meeting as an assignment in order to understand how environmental policy is made at local levels of government. (YDS)

Recommends the use of Hollywood products to teach about geological phenomena and lists some recent blockbuster hits that include some features of geology. (YDS)

Identifies new skills that are required for geoscience students to prepare more effectively for careers in the oil industry and help geoscience departments upgrade their curricula. Presents data gathered from 29 oil companies based in Britain surveying 382,000 employees, and assesses more than 40 geological and geographical skills. (Author/YDS)

Describes a capstone course specifically designed for Environmental Geoscience majors that is a project-based course stressing small-group identification, analysis, and solution of real-world geo-environmental problems on a local scale. Prepares students for the immediate demands of post-college employment as well as developing lifelong learning…

Investigates the comparative efficiency of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and traditional teaching methods on 10th grade students' learning of earth science in Taiwan. Involves a total of 151 students enrolled in four earth science classes and conducts a pretest/posttest control group experiment. (Contains 26 references.) (Author/YDS)

Examines combined departments of geology and geography, a structure present at numerous 4-year institutions, using a survey of department chairs and heads. Explores the reasons behind the combined departments; advantages, challenges, and disadvantages of the structure; and steps taken by chairs to promote the success of their multidisciplinary…

Adapts three high-interest activities using biogenic and physical traces in the re-creation of past events that were created to help develop student understanding of the process of science without sacrificing substantive geoscience content. Presents adaptations of human footprints, dinosaur tracks, and sliding rock trails investigations. (Contains…

Points out the opportunities provided in teaching with information technologies. Explains instructional design by teaching the course entirely on the Internet. Describes characteristics of effective education and the role of the instructor in an on-line course. (Author/YDS)

Discusses climate change during the Little Ice Age as experienced during several historical events, including the settlement and demise of the Norse Greenland colonies, the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and both the Battle of Trenton and Washington's encampment at Valley Forge during the American Revolution. Associated artistic and literary…

Describes how one geology teacher relies on written and oral assignments both as learning tools and as a means to motivate students and assess their work. Frequent written and oral assignments dramatically improve the levels of engagement and learning. Presents some advantages of written and oral assignments and includes examples. (PVD)

Assessment provides feedback to teachers so that instruction can be modified. It also provides feedback to students during and after the course. Discusses approaches to assessment in geology courses that relate assessment to instruction. Three student assignments are described: (1) Personal Question Sheets; (2) a report on Personal/Social Issues…

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of multiple-choice tests, steps in developing good questions, and common pitfalls. Argues that carefully constructed multiple-choice questions can assess a wide variety of skills including higher-order thinking skills. Suggests that creating a good multiple-choice test starts with a description of the…

Asserts that assessment requires measuring of results, evaluation of the processes that lead to results, and a commitment to promote change for the better. Describes several formative tools that have been used in both laboratory and lecture geology classes, shows how they complement the fairly universal summative evaluation, and demonstrates how…

Teaching portfolios can be used to document, improve, and evaluate teaching. Teaching portfolios typically include material from the instructor, material from others, and the products of good teaching. Describes teaching portfolios and different ways in which they can be used. Discusses portfolios in the context of peer review of teaching and…

The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsors a range of programs to fund innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Focuses on NSF's expectations for project evaluation beginning with a definition of evaluation and a discussion of why evaluation is needed. Also describes planning, formative, and summative evaluation stages and concludes…