This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection
This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the 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 activity has benefited from input from faculty educators beyond the author through a review and suggestion process. This review took place as a part of a faculty professional development workshop where groups of faculty reviewed each others' activities and offered feedback and ideas for improvements. To learn more about the process On the Cutting Edge uses for activity review, see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.
This page first made public: May 12, 2009
- determine changes in sediment accumulation rate,
- evaluate the completeness of different sections and environments, and
- infer the reliability of various types of datums when correlating sections.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
NOTE: ANY type of datum may be used in graphic correlation, not just those used here.
How the activity is situated in the course
Content/concepts goals for this activity
►make a simple plot of two different sections
►infer what the plot tells one about changes in sediment accumulation rate and missing section (e.g., unconformities, condensed sections, and smaller-scale changes in accumulation rate) and the suitability of sections for correlation or paleoenvironmental/paleobiological interpretation (e.g., phylogeny, speciation)
►infer which datums in a particular section are most reliable for correlation
►understand how non-traditional datums can be used to provide greater temporal (time) resolution between standard biostratigraphic datums.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
Other skills goals for this activity
Description of the activity/assignment
They are then asked to plot datums from different cores (and settings) and evaluate the stratigraphic completeness of the cores based on the behavior of the datums.
After plotting the datums, they are asked a number of questions about stratigraphic completeness, reliability of datums, etc.
Determining whether students have met the goals
Download teaching materials and tips
- Activity Description/Assignment:graphic Correlation Exercise (Microsoft Word 1.4MB Aug2 09)
- Instructors Notes:
- Solution Set:
- .doc (Microsoft Word 1.4MB Aug2 09)