Course Description:

The goal of the introductory geology course is to provide K-12 educators with a variety of experiences that will enhance their teaching of earth, life and/or physical science. We will investigate an active beach, salt marsh, diverse glacial features, various levels of an ancient caldera, and vestiges of volcanic seafloor erupted early in the development of the Appalachian mountain system. Learn how geologists function as forensic scientists in order to decipher the geologic record of climatic, sea-level and tectonic changes. Significant time will be devoted to the practical application of these experiences in the classroom.

"How does our planet work?" and "How can we find out?" are timely questions for a world subjected to increasing human population pressure and an uncertain future. Through exploration of geologically active sites and the rich geologic record of the Mount Desert Island region, participants will strengthen their understanding of earth materials; the water, rock, and carbon cycles; and the structure, energetics, and evolution of the earth system (in accordance with the National Science Education Standards [NSES]). Several introductory modeling exercises will illustrate how geologic data are used to test theory in order to anticipate the future behavior of the earth system.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
The overall goal of the earth sciences is to understand the past, present, and future behavior of the earth system, and of K-12 science education to nurture in students a spirit of inquiry and abilities therein. Course objectives are to:

Acquire basic skills of geologic mapping and interpretation needed to reveal how the earth system has behaved through time. Geologists construct and interpret maps in order to decipher as much of the total history of an area as possible. This history consists of various interwoven threads such as changing climate, sea level, land level and position, and biota. The general strategy is to first define map units, then determine their spatial extent, age relationships, environmental conditions at various times in the past, and, finally, decipher the geologic history or evolution of the area. Particular steps include assessing the locations and dimensions of each map unit, quantifying compositions and textures of their materials, measuring internal structures, determining "contact relationships" with adjacent units, establishing relative and absolute ages, and interpreting the environments of formation and source regions.

Build a basic quantitative understanding of the causes of changes in the earth system. Quantitative models, based on conservation of matter, energy, and momentum, constitute the only means of predicting future changes in the earth system and thus are fundamentally important in deciding policy. Participants will learn how to construct and manipulate several introductory computer models, which will complement the field experiences and should be highly appropriate for pre-college science and mathematics classes.

Apply what you have learned to create a product useful to you and your students. Participants will develop plans for student investigations, ideally of field sites accessible from their classrooms. Examples of lesson plans and units of instruction will be provided (e.g., a highly successful two-month structured investigation by 9 th graders at Bangor High School, Maine in which students deciphered the geology adjacent to their school).

Assessment will be based on:
Summaries of field investigations (50%)
A portfolio of the results of the modeling exercises (10%)
Plans for a student investigation of a field site near your school (40%)
TEXTS (optional)
Note: While these are optional (due to time constraints during a predominantly field-based course), each of these inexpensive texts is a great investment and complements some facet of the course.

Gilman, R.A., Chapman, C.A., Lowell, T.V., and Borns, H.W. The Geology of Mount Desert Island: A Visitorís Guide to the Geology of Acadia National Park. Maine Geological Survey, 1988. Available from local bookstore in Bar Harbor or http://www.state.me.us/doc/nrimc/pubedinf/pubs/acadia.htm $8.40.

Officer, Charles and Jake Page , 1993. Tales of the Earth: Paroxysms and Perturbations of the Blue Planet. Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195090489, 226 p., $14.95. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195090489/ref=ed_oe_p/002-1526790-5732027

Sussman, Art, 2000. Guide to Planet Earth For Earthlings Ages 12 to 120. WestEd, 730 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107, 1-800-639-4099, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., http://www.chelseagreen.com/Nature/DrArt.html , 122 p. $14.95.

INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Reusch is an Associate Professor of Geology at the University of Maine at Farmington. He was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education, has participated in Antarctic research, Ocean Drilling Project Leg 183 to the southern Indian Ocean, and has taught 9th grade earth science. He shares his position at UMF with Dr. Julia Daly, also an Associate Professor of Geology.  Dr. Daly is actively monitoring ongoing climate change in the mountains of western Maine, has worked extensively on salt marches to reconstruct sea level histories, and contributes significantly to the coastal geology aspects of this course.

MATERIALS:
Clothing for warm weather and for wet and cold weather.
Appropriate footwear for fieldwork in a variety of settings (e.g., old sneakers).
Field equipment such as clipboard, notebook, pencils, colored pencils, ruler,
compass, and hand lens.
Camera.

If possible, please bring copies of your local topographic, geologic and/or soils maps. Bedrock and surficial geologic maps of your area may be available through your state geological survey. These will help me to suggest ideas for field investigations near your school.

If you feel so inclined, bring copies of activities that you feel are worth sharing with others.

 

COURSE SYLLABUS

Day/Time Place Topics

WEEK 1

Monday - Cadillac Mountain and southeastern Mount Desert Island
Course overview and expectations. The present as key to the past (introduction to geologic mapping; analysis of map units)

Tuesday - Sand Beach; Beehive
The past as key to the future.  Dynamics of an active sand beach (beach profiling; mass and energy budgets).

Wednesday - Thomas Harbor salt marsh.
Records of relative sea level change (coring; Walther's Law; dating of geologic materials).

Thursday - Cherryfield; Schoodic Point
Records of the last deglaciation (topographic profiles; grid mapping).

Friday - Eastern Mount Desert Island.
Backyard/schoolyard geology: how to get a yard out of an inch (or better yet, a meter out of a centimeter)

WEEK 2

Monday - Great Cranberry Island.
Evidence for a caldera (geologic materials: compositions and textures.

Tuesday - Western Mount Desert Island.
In the magma chamber. Geologic structures and contact relationships.  Classroom demo: plate tectonics in a pan.

Wednesday - Eastern Penobscot Bay.
Island arcs, black smokers, a slice of ancient seafloor, and the continental margin of Gondwanaland

Thursday - Frenchman Bay (kayak).
More backyard geology and prep time.

Friday - COA campus; Echo Lake/Acadia Mountain.
The future as key to the present; Wrap up (time line).  Presentation of projects and peer feedback.

 

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