Boise State University: Using the TIDeS module in GEOS 104: Geoscience and Society
Karen Viskupic, Boise State University
Why I Revised My Course
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Provenance: Karen Viskupic, Boise State University
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About the Course
GEOS 104: Geoscience and Society
Level: This course satisfies a "natural science with lab" general education requirement. The majority of students who enroll in the course are elementary education or special education majors, but the course is open to students from all majors.
Size: 30 students
Format: Two 75-minute lecture sessions and one 2-hour lab per week
This course is an introduction to geoscience with a focus on the societal relevance of understanding Earth processes, history, and how humans interact with the Earth system. The goal of the course is to give students the opportunity to explore how the Earth system operates, the ways in which the scientific process allows us to understand the Earth system, and the many ways in which humans both depend upon, impact, and are impacted by, the planet.
GEOS 104 Geoscience and Society syllabus Fall 2023 (Acrobat (PDF) 225kB Sep9 24)
The biggest change to my course when using TIDeS materials was the use of the science and engineering practices as a framework to have students name and reflect on how they were practicing science, and the methods that geoscientists use to investigate Earth processes.
Increasing students' understanding of the practice of science, I think, helps them to develop more trust in the scientific community, and that is one of the most important things a student can take away from an introductory general education science course.
"I really enjoyed how much collaboration time we got with our peers. It really helped my learning."
My Experience Teaching with TIDeS Materials
My course was mostly TIDeS activities supplemented with activities I have used in the past. I didn't always use an entire TIDeS unit; sometimes I used only a few activities from each unit.
A Unit-by-Unit Breakdown of How I Taught this Module
Unit 1
- I used Unit 1 in its entirety, using Unit 1.3 Asking Questions as the lab activity during the first week of the class.
Unit 2
- I used Unit 2 in its entirety. Unit 2.1 Recognizing Plate Boundaries we started during a 75-minute lecture period and completed it during a 2-hour lab period. The Unit 2.2 Plate Motions Day 2 activity on GPS and plate motions was also used as a lab activity. The Unit 2.3 Day 2-3 activity predicting future plate configurations was started during a class period and then incorporated into a final assessment for the class unit on plate tectonics and earthquakes, which also incorporated elements of Unit 2.2 optional Day 1.5 Earthquake Magnitude and Frequency. The Day 1.5 activity was completed during a class period and they were asked to investigate a second location during the final unit assessment.
Plate tectonics assessment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 502kB Sep9 24)
Unit 3
- I used a different version Unit 3.3 on rock and mineral identification as a lab activity. We focused on making observations to distinguish igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, using rock samples of common rock types they might see in the region (granite, basalt, limestone, sandstone), and also "special" rock samples associated with resources (a conglomerate with copper, banded iron formation, peat, bauxite) or particular settings (blueschist, eclogite)
rocks and minerals lab (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 23kB Sep9 24)
Unit 4
- I did not use Unit 4.1 or 4.2.
I used Unit 4.3 Identifying Patterns as a lab activity, using weather data from Boise, ID.
I used Unit 4.4 on severe weather during a lecture class period.
I used the fire weather forecasting activity in Unit 4.5 during a lecture class period and added temperature and snowpack data from Idaho to ask students to make predictions about fire weather and wildfire risk in the future.
wildfire forecasting with added Idaho data (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 498kB Sep9 24)
Unit 5
- I implemented Unit 5.1 as described.
I used Unit 5.2 Activities A and B on discharge during a lecture class period and Activities C and D on flood recurrence and floodplain maps during a lab period.
I did not use Units 5.3, 5.4 or 5.5
combined Unit 5.2 Activities C and D (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 4.6MB Sep9 24)
Unit 6
Assessments
The TIDeS assessments allowed me to move away from high-stakes exams and instead make assessments more similar to the learning activities we did in class. Students had agency to investigate places or processes that interested them. I liked having a framework for reflection and found students' responses to reflective questions about their use of SEP and/or what they learned or struggled with to be especially helpful.
Outcomes
I wanted the future teachers in my course to connect the science and engineering practices that they learn about in education courses to their own practice of science and learning about the work of geoscientists in a geoscience course.
I think this vision was achieved.
I also wanted to incorporate more reflection, more student choice in what they were investigation, and I wanted to get rid of exams. All of these goals were met.
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