Virtual Field Trip to the Book Cliffs
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Collection
Resources in this top level collection a) must have scored Exemplary or Very Good in all five review categories, and must also rate as “Exemplary” in at least three of the five categories. The five categories included in the peer review process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
- Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
- Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page
For more information about the peer review process itself, please see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.
This page first made public: Jul 3, 2006
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Problem-based learning techniques have been applied to geological datasets collected and published about the Cretaceous Book Cliffs exposures in Utah.
undergraduate sedimentary geology
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
basic understanding of geologic principles: superposition, lateral continuity (Walther's Law), basic sedimentary rock identification
How the activity is situated in the course
Initially, I used this project as an introduction to the Fall semester course due to the heat, vegetation and wildlife in the South. When this class moves to the spring semester in 2008, I plan to shift this project's appearance to later during the semester.
Content/concepts goals for this activity
learn to graphically represent basic stratigraphic data
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
analysis of data > measured sections and thin-sections
hypothesis development > facies interpretations
Other skills goals for this activity
oral presentation skills, computer graphics experience, microscope experience
Description of the activity/assignment
In Exercise 1, students are given modified data published by Cole & Friberg, 1989, Stratigraphy and Sedimentation of the Book Cliffs, Utah. They follow instructions to construct a measured section. In Exercise 2, students work either with polarized microscopic photographs linked online to specific units in their measured section or directly with the thin-sections. Grain characteristics are measured and observed. In Exercise 3, facies units are determined on the basis of bedding, sedimentary structures, trace and macrofossil evidence. An interpreted facies overlay of their first graphically generated measured section. A table is also generated to support their facies determinations. In Exercise 4, correlations are made using an east-west transect of several stratigraphic sections. Shallowing-upward cycles and exposure and flooding surfaces are marked; lateral facies correlations are made.
Determining whether students have met the goals
The same 1-5 scaled rubric is used in all projects. Key elements of the rubric include demonstration of basic understanding of geologic principles illustrated, creating professional looking product that is turned in on time, and with correct spelling and grammar.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.
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