a revision of historical geologyweb.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/faculty/harderv/harder2013.pdf ·...

A Revision of Historical Geology

Vicki Harder Mary Dowse

Department of Natural Sciences

Western New Mexico University

Current Approach

•  Geologic Principles

•  History of Earth

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The Problem

Students frequently don’t make the connection between the principles and history.

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Big Ideas & Understandings

1.  Science is based on evidence.

Western New Mexico University

Big Ideas & Understandings

1.  Science is based on evidence. 2.  Earth has a long history.

Western New Mexico University

Big Ideas & Understandings

1.  Science is based on evidence. 2.  Earth has a long history. 3.  Earth has changed through time.

Western New Mexico University

Big Ideas & Understandings

1.  Science is based on evidence. 2.  Earth has a long history. 3.  Earth has changed through time.

4.  The history of Earth is recorded in the sedimentary archives.

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Significant Events

1.  Formation of the Earth •  Solar  nebula  •  Differen.a.on  of  the  Earth  

•  Atmosphere  and  oceans  •  Meteorite  bombardment  

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Significant Events

2.  Appearance of Life •  Archean  environment  •  Nature  of  early  life  

•  Prokaryote  to  eukaryote  

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Significant Events

3.  Snowball Earth 4.  Oxygenation of the atmosphere 5.  Rodinia

6.  Cambrian explosion 7.  Trilobites and brachiopods

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Significant Events

8.  Leaving the water 9.  Formation of Pangea 10. Permian extinction

11. Dinosaurs, ammonites, and flowers 12. Cordilleran evolution

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Significant Events

13. K-Pg extinction 14. Evolution of mammals 15. Evolution of hominids

16. Pleistocene glaciation

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Science  is  based  on  evidence!  

Significant  Events  

Earth  has  a  long  history!  

Earth  has  changed!  History  is  

in  the  sediment  

How  do  we  know?  

Lots  has  happened!  

Poten.al  for    great  change  

Rocks  tell  a  story  

Evidence?

Observa.ons  

Revised Course Outline

•  Introduction to Class •  Introduction to HG

•  Reading the Rocks •  Precambrian: Archean

•  Life

•  Precambrian: Proteorzoic

•  Geologic Time •  Plate Tectonics

•  Paleozoic Era •  Mesozoic Era

•  Extinctions

•  Cenozoic Era

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Revised Course Outline

Introduction to Class NEW: Google Earth exercise, measure from where they work or live to the department. REVISED: Superposition exercise to cover the scientific method.

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Revised Course Outline

Introduction to Historical Geology NEW: Reference Letter

REVISED: Geologic time scale activities

Reading the Rocks: moved lithofacies exercise from Paleozoic.

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Revised Course Outline

Precambrian: Archean NEW: Meteorite impacts

NEW: Chaos

Life

NEW: Evolution lab

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Revised Course Outline

Precambrian: Proterozoic NEW: miniGEEBITT

NEW: Timeline (this was done for each era)

Plate Tectonics REVISED: Sea floor spreading activity converted to Google Earth exercise

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Revised Course Outline

Paleozoic Era NEW: Cayuga Lake Basin correlation of outcrops

NEW: Biostratigraphy

Extinctions NEW: Mass extinction—needs revision

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Revised Course Outline

Cenozoic Era NEW: Evolution of the Horse

NEW: Cenozoic climate analysis

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Conclusions

•  Student comprehension seemed to improve. •  There was an emphasis on evolution but no

complaints.

•  The activities were interesting to the students and instructor.

•  Won’t go back to the old method.

Western New Mexico University