RATES OF GEOLOGIC PROCESSES AS AN INTRODUCTION TO GEOSCIENCE

Over time, I modified an assignment originally created for an introductory Hydrogeology class for use in a Water Resources class, and then for an introductory freshman science seminar. The basic assignment was to give students access to a variety of resources in lab, such as textbooks and journals, and have them find ranges of velocities for glaciers, streams, mudslides, groundwater, seafloor spreading, hurricanes and tsunamis. Students use the resources to find ranges of movement or flow rates, convert them to common metric units, arrange the processes from slowest to fastest, make a chart to show their results, finally sharing and comparing their results with the class.

I find it to be a useful introductory assignment. Students get a preview of processes and topics we will cover in class and we also review topics such as significant figures and unit conversions. The assignment also lends itself to modification to accomplish additional goals of the introductory science seminar such as library research. Students work individually to find citations for rates of flow/movement for the processes listed on the assignment sheet and record the rate of movement and the citation for each. The students begin the assignment in the library computer classroom and finish it for homework before the next week's class. They bring their results to class the next week, then are paired up randomly. Two groups compare notes and share their results. In this group of four, they use the lab computers to compile their results and develop a chart ranking the processes from slowest to fastest.

The advantages of this assignment are many. Students develop an appreciation for the time it takes various geologic processes to occur. They learn more about future discussion topics and are introduced to research techniques and journals early in the semester. The group work helps students get to know each other more quickly and these early random groups are often the seeds of study groups. The assignment can be modified for students of various grade levels and class topics.