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Incorporating Data into Undergraduate Courses

Preparing for an Academic Career in Geosciences Workshop: Summer 2014. Incorporating Data into Undergraduate Courses. Rachel O ’ Brien, Allegheny College. Data sets are flexible. Data and assignments can be tailored to reach a broad range of student groups K-12 Graduate

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Incorporating Data into Undergraduate Courses

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  1. Preparing for an Academic Career in Geosciences Workshop: Summer 2014 Incorporating Data into Undergraduate Courses • Rachel O’Brien, Allegheny College

  2. Data sets are flexible • Data and assignments can be tailored to reach a broad range of student groups K-12 Graduate courses • Can be used in one class/lab session or throughout an entire course

  3. Data sets are cost-effective • Majority of online sources are now free • Simple, low-cost field and lab work Data sets are concept-effective • Allow for compare/contrast work at a range of spatial & temporal scales • Single or multi-concept patterns

  4. Data sets are engaging • Allow students the opportunity to practice science and promote active learning Data sets are real • Require students to grapple with issues of complexity, uncertainty, and outliers

  5. Ocean Circulation Profiles Classic textbook Pacific high latitude Atlantic low latitude http://www.epic.noaa.gov/epic/ewb/

  6. Data sets are diverse in topic , scope, and format • Data from new research • Field work and/or lab work in your course • A genuine research experiment • Data from published literature • Journal articles, government documents, NGO reports • Recreate/rediscover research results and test hypotheses

  7. Data sets are diverse in topic , scope, and format • Online datasets • Site specific, regional, and global databases • “Mine” the site for data that can help you teach particular concepts and/or skills

  8. A great place to start http://serc.carleton.edu/usingdata/index.html

  9. Data sets are not stand alone resources • Design how you’ll use data • Identify clear student learning outcomes regarding content, concepts, and/or skills • What steps in the process are most important for your students to practice? (collection and reduction vs. analysis and reporting) • How will you address uncertainty, outliers, etc.?

  10. Data sets are not foolproof • Logistics • Work through all steps of the process ahead of time • Envision and create “Plan B” • Evaluation/assessment Did the use of data help student learning? How will you know?

  11. Earthquake Data USGS Earthquake Hazards Program & SCEC So. California Earthquake Center

  12. Hydrologic Data USGS Water Resources Division

  13. Satellite ImageryNASA Earth Observatory

  14. Sample Activity: Radiation Budget Learning Outcomes: 1. Construct global and local energy budget from observed longwave and solar radiation. 2. Relate results to spatial and temporal variations in Earth’s temperature. Time: Takes about 3 hours for students in teams, requires familiarity with GIS or MyWorld A complete description of this activity is available at SERC, called Earth’s Energy Budget by Dave Dempsey

  15. Sample Activity: Ice Core Analysis Learning Outcomes: 1. Graph profiles of ice core data using Excel 2. Relate changes in profile to past variations in CO2, temperature, and climate cycles Time: Takes about 4 hours A complete description of this activity, called Vostek Ice Core by Robert MacKay, is available at SERC

  16. Exploration activity • Choose a course you would like to teach • Identify student learning outcomes that result from working with the data • Determine the duration of time needed to complete the activity • Identify a website with datasets that could be used in the course –OR- identify new datasets that the students can generate –OR- find an existing activity you can use on the SERC website

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