Using Data in a General Ed Oceanography Class

Dr. William Prothero

UCSB

http://oceanography.geol.ucsb.edu

Context Large general education oceanography

course 100-300 students each quarter All majors: Physics <--> Dance Majority are first year

Goals:

Science process Engagement Relevance Basic knowledge

Elements of science process

Challenges: Browser software Choosing a problem Observations vs

interpretations Scientific writing Using/obtaining

background knowledge

Scaffolding for success

Weekly online HW problems

Thought problems (online)

Multiple choice quizzes (online)

Lecture Textbook

Gaining background knowledge

Support for investigations Groups in lab

section Mini-studies Short presentations Group projects Multiple writing

assignments In lecture activities

Example in-lecture activity

Observe Describe

Pair/share In writing

Interpret Explain Models

diagrams

Student FeedbackHigh: A B C D E Low

Lecture 17, 10, 27, 18, 27Labs 42, 28, 21, 8, 1

Kyoto Conf 26, 31, 23, 14, 6Thought questions 14, 22, 27, 27, 11Questions of the Day 9, 25, 27, 23, 16Weekly quizzes 18, 33, 25, 15, 9Weekly homeworks 19, 28, 27, 15, 11Writing assignments 31, 37, 19, 6, 6Course was difficult 16, 22, 37, 14, 11

Interesting and relevant 20, 42, 23, 9, 6

Worked hard 40, 24, 22, 9, 5

Learned a lot 28, 30, 14, 17, 11

Resources http://oceanography.geol.ucsb.edu

Our Dynamic Planet CD (ODP) Marine Virtual Explorer Global Ocean Data Viewer ODP Teacher’s manual Mini-studies In-lecture activities

The End Materials available at:

http://oceanography.geol.ucsb.edu