ANALYZING GLACIAL TILL: AN INQUIRY-BASED PROJECT FOR HIGH SCHOOL EARTH SCIENCE STUDENTS

According to the National Research Council (NRC) by twelfth grade, high school students should have an understanding of the causes of ice ages, including details about the Milankovitch Cycles. High school seniors should also be aware of the notion that gradual changes in the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit, axial tilt, and precession of orbit are responsible for orbital forcing of Earth’s global climate. There are a variety of ways to teach students about climatic cycles by using real data, including but not limited to the study of ice cores, ocean sediment cores, and Quaternary glacial deposits. The fact that Quaternary glacial deposits, including glacial till, are widely distributed throughout much of the Midwest make it possible for high school earth science teachers to instruct students about how glacientic sediments help geologists to interpret climatic conditions during the Pleistocene. This poster presentation will outline an inquiry-based, glacial till project conducted with junior and senior high school earth science students at the Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) in Clayton, Ohio. Glacial till for the inquiry-based project was collected from Holes Creek Park, which is part of the Centerville-Washington Park District, Centerville, Ohio. The glacial till, inquiry-based project empowered earth science students to draw connections between the shape, genesis, and composition of till clasts and how the Pleistocene Ice Sheet moved through the Miami Valley in Southwestern Ohio.