Geo morphology Road Trip

Exploration Activity 2: Geomorphology Road Trip

What: produce a presentation (10-20 slides) from the perspective of an instructor leading a field trip or road trip for future GEOG 205 students. Choose three different locations – they can be anywhere in North America – that demonstrate three different landscapes that we have covered or will cover in the course. For example, you could choose to visit a location to study fluvial processes, coastal processes, and tectonic processes. I want you to be creative with this, but also make sure that you keep the course learning objectives in mind by addressing the specific deliverables (below). You can make your presentation in any way – .pdf, .ppt, or hosted online – as long as you can produce high-quality visuals and I can access it without issue (i.e. I have to be able to open the document, visit the link, etc.). You can also choose to include a voice or video narration, though this is not necessary and is not expected as part of your grade.

In the course of your presentation, you should cite at least two pieces of relevant academic literature (journal manuscripts). Feel free to cite news sources, books, or relevant appropriate websites in addition to these two academic citations. Go here for more info on what is peer-reviewed academic literature and how to access it.

When: due Sunday November 29, 11:59 PM EST on LEARN.

EA 2 Description:

A road trip is a classic North American “long-distance journey”, often for recreational reasons such as sightseeing. In many geomorphology and geology courses, field trips to different landscapes are an integral part of the course experience – some courses even require a “field camp” where skills learned in the classroom are applied to real life and students are able to make direct observations of landscape forming processes.

In lieu of field camp or field trips in the this course, I thought it might be interesting to allow you to create your own virtual “geomorphology road trip”. The good news is we do not have to limit ourselves to anywhere nearby! This assignment is designed to make you think about how observations of landscape form and process allow students to gain skills fundamental to the principles of geomorphology.

What to include in your presentation

• Provide a brief introduction to your presentation that explains learning objectives for “students” who are attending the field trip.
  • Consider: why would you have your “students” visit this site? What skills, knowledge, or experience do you want them to leave with?
• Provide the location of each of your three sites on the road trip (think about the best way to do this – maps are very helpful!)
• For each field site, explain what landform your “students” will be viewing (including pictures is very helpful!)
• For each field site, explain what process your “students” will be viewing (explain the driving forces, resisting forces, geomorphic setting, and anything else you think is important for understanding that process).
• For each field site, dedicate at least one slide of your presentation to explaining an activity you would have your “students” do to get hands-on experience studying geomorphology.
  • Make sure to fully explain and justify these activities!
• Provide a conclusion that summarizes what your “students” are supposed to learn at each field site, and why these skills are relevant for geomorphology.

EA 2 Deliverables:

• 10-20 slide presentation, in any useable form (powerpoint is probably easiest, but I want you to be creative – if you want to do something very unique, please let me know or ask me ahead of time if it is appropriate!)
• Make sure your three field sites are each from different weeks – in other words, do not visit three sites to discuss fluvial processes!
• Make sure to at least answer/address the points under “what to include in your presentation”, but also try to make an interesting, visually-pleasing presentation.
• Remember to include images, maps, even videos – but also to make sure you address learning objectives for your “students”.
• Remember to include at least two academic references, and include proper citations (slide can be at the end, and can – or not – be included in your slide count – whatever you prefer).

Grading:

I understand that this exercise is not necessarily “straightforward”. In order to allow for some creativity, I cannot have a very detailed, rigorously defined rubric or distributed marks. I will grade this based on the following:

40% content – have you included everything you needed to? Is the content appropriate and well thought-out? For example, did you create a meaningful activity at each field site?

40% style – is your presentation interesting and pleasant to look at? Did you include maps and images? Is it too long and hard to read, or too short and confusing?

20% overall – Did you include references? Does the assignment flow logically and is it well organized?