USING CURRENT RESEARCH DATA AND METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' QUANTITATIVE ABILITIES IN SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY COURSES

Undergraduate geoscience majors typically balk at exercises that emphasize quantitative analysis and that help to develop their quantitative skills. As a result, it is necessary to develop engaging teaching methods that strengthen these skills. Sedimentary geology offers a whole host of possibilities to meet this challenge in the classroom. We use a variety of methods--including easy-to-build tabletop flumes, simple exercises with dimensionless variables, and online visual datasets-- to assist students in developing a quantitative understanding of sedimentary processes. In this talk, we will provide three brief examples of exercises that have been successful in the sedimentary geology classroom. The first uses a desktop-scale physical model of a delta that allows students to vary rates of sediment supply and base level rise and fall; students experiment with multiple scenarios that help them develop a deeper understanding of the role of these rates in controlling the architecture of a sedimentary basin fill. The second is a simple exercise that acquaints students with the Shields parameter and helps them develop a deeper appreciation of the controls on sediment transport. The third is centered on the use of data and movies from flume and tank experiments that help students grasp fundamental concepts of sequence stratigraphy. In addition to their obvious connection to fundamental concepts in sedimentary geology, the goal of each of these examples is to improve students' "fluency" in thinking quantitatively about rates and magnitudes in physical processes. Documentation of each of the examples discussed in this talk is available at the two websites: serc.carleton.edu or www.nced.umn.edu.