A set of brief worksheets designed to be completed by students working alone or in groups, Lecture Tutorials in Introductory Geoscience engage students in the learning process and make abstract concepts real. Through the use of effective questioning, step-by-step learning, and a progression of simple-to-complex visuals, Lecture Tutorials help students construct correct scientific ideas about often-difficult topics, while dispelling common misconceptions. Research based on extensive classroom use shows that Lecture Tutorials increase student learning more than just a lecture alone.
Get actively involved in the practical application of earth science concepts as you learn to navigate common pitfalls and misconceptions related to content from any introductory earth science course with Lecture Tutorials in Earth Science.
Developed by three experts to coincide with geology lab kits, this laboratory manual provides a clear and cohesive introduction to the field of geology. Introductory Geology is designed to ease new students into the often complex topics of physical geology and the study of our planet and its makeup. This text introduces readers to the various uses of the scientific method in geological terms. Readers will encounter a comprehensive yet straightforward style and flow as they journey through this text. They will understand the various spheres of geology and begin to master geological outcomes which derive from a growing knowledge of the tools and subjects which this text covers in great detail.
This Physical Geology textbook uses cutting edge research to guide the creation of carefully structured pages that cover topics commonly taught in introductory physical geology courses. The book is focused around images and emphasizes the key concepts Research (e.g. Mayer, 2003) indicates that students learn more deeply: - when extraneous material is excluded rather than included, - from words and pictures than from words alone, - when printed words are placed near rather than far from corresponding pictures, and - when words are presented in conversational rather than formal style. Most traditional geoscience textbooks do not address this research. Although geoscience textbooks are image-rich, the text is often separate from figures, generally with a note in the text referring the student to look at the image. Research indicates that many students just glance at the images or ignore them altogether, resulting in a less productive learning experience than intended by the authors. Also, most textbooks, even "essentials" versions, tend to have more information than an introductory student can learn in a semester, and the students, therefore, have a difficult time distilling the key concepts from the details. Images play an integral role in the textbook. There are no long blocks of text to read, but, instead, most information is presented incorporated in or around figures. Students therefore examine the images, integrating text and figures, which results in a deeper learning experience. Concepts are represented in multiple ways (photographs, written descriptions, detailed drawings, sketches, graphs, analogies, etc.) to maximize student learning. Because research indicates that students have a difficult time pulling out the key points from images, many of the images in this book are simple, without too many realistic-but-distracting details. Many of the photographs are accompanied by a simplified sketch of the same area illustrating the important geological features shown. The process of comparing two images presenting the same information in different ways (e.g. a photograph and a sketch) directs students to observe the important features and requires students to integrate those two images, strengthening their learning. Simple language is used when writing, and non-essential vocabulary words are omitted, so students will not focus on memorizing definitions without understanding the concepts. The book has a more conversational style than many current textbooks. This textbook presents the key concepts in geoscience without additional distracting details. As a result, this book is shorter than other books currently on the market. The concise nature of the book encourages students to read it. Because it emphasizes the key concepts, students have a better understanding of the fundamentals and will come to class more prepared. Therefore, instructors will be able to cover additional information in class, because the fundamentals are already understood by the students. The themes in the book are plate tectonics, water cycle, rock cycle and how geology and people affect each other. These are concepts that are key in understanding geoology and learning why it is relevant in today's society. These three themes are emphasized, and individual topics are related back to the overarching themes.
This textbook introduces the use of Python programming for exploring and modelling data in the field of Earth Sciences. It drives the reader from his very first steps with Python, like setting up the environment and starting writing the first lines of codes, to proficient use in visualizing, analyzing, and modelling data in the field of Earth Science. Each chapter contains explicative examples of code, and each script is commented in detail. The book is minded for very beginners in Python programming, and it can be used in teaching courses at master or PhD levels. Also, Early careers and experienced researchers who would like to start learning Python programming for the solution of geological problems will benefit the reading of the book.
The National Science Foundation funded a synthesis study on the status, contributions, and future direction of discipline-based education research (DBER) in physics, biological sciences, geosciences, and chemistry. DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. It describes the discipline-specific difficulties learners face and the specialized intellectual and instructional resources that can facilitate student understanding. Discipline-Based Education Research is based on a 30-month study built on two workshops held in 2008 to explore evidence on promising practices in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This book asks questions that are essential to advancing DBER and broadening its impact on undergraduate science teaching and learning. The book provides empirical research on undergraduate teaching and learning in the sciences, explores the extent to which this research currently influences undergraduate instruction, and identifies the intellectual and material resources required to further develop DBER. Discipline-Based Education Research provides guidance for future DBER research. In addition, the findings and recommendations of this report may invite, if not assist, post-secondary institutions to increase interest and research activity in DBER and improve its quality and usefulness across all natural science disciples, as well as guide instruction and assessment across natural science courses to improve student learning. The book brings greater focus to issues of student attrition in the natural sciences that are related to the quality of instruction. Discipline-Based Education Research will be of interest to educators, policy makers, researchers, scholars, decision makers in universities, government agencies, curriculum developers, research sponsors, and education advocacy groups.
Advances in Geophysics, Volume 61 - Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences, the latest release in this highly-respected publication in the field of geophysics, contains new chapters on a variety of topics, including a historical review on the development of machine learning, machine learning to investigate fault rupture on various scales, a review on machine learning techniques to describe fractured media, signal augmentation to improve the generalization of deep neural networks, deep generator priors for Bayesian seismic inversion, as well as a review on homogenization for seismology, and more. - Provides high-level reviews of the latest innovations in geophysics - Written by recognized experts in the field - Presents an essential publication for researchers in all fields of geophysics
