teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
From the ESTA Chair
Designate
Getting Fieldwork off
the Ground
The Earth Science
Education Unit – Any
Quarry Guide
How Can we Use Our
Local Quarry?
Using South Elmsall
Quarry (SSSI) as an
Example of How we Can
Use a Local Quarry
Into the Mind of a
Geology Chief
Examiner!
Reconstructing the
Oceans of the late
Miocene: How the
Shell Chemistry of
Fossils Reveals
Ancient Patterns of
Ocean Circulation
Attitude Toward
Learning Science
of Students in
Introductory
Geology Courses
Recommended
“Rocky” Reads
News & Reviews
Magazine of the EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004 ● ISSN 0957-8005
www.esta-uk.org
Teaching Earth Sciences: Guide for Authors
The Editor welcomes articles of any length and nature and on any topic related to
Earth science education from cradle to grave. Please inspect back copies of TES,
from Issue 26(3) onwards, to become familiar with the magazine house-style.
Three paper copies of major articles are requested. Please use double line spacing and A4 paper and please use SI units throughout, except where this is inappropriate (in which case please include a conversion table). The first paragraph of each
major article should not have a subheading but should either introduce the reader
to the context of the article or should provide an overview to stimulate interest. This
is not an abstract in the formal sense. Subsequent paragraphs should be grouped
under sub-headings.
To Advertise in
teaching
EARTH
SCIENCES
Text
Please also supply the full text on disk or as an email attachment: Microsoft Word
is the most convenient, but any widely-used wordprocessor is acceptable.
Figures, tables and photographs must be referenced in the text, but sent as
separate jpeg or tiff files (see below).
References
Please use the following examples as models
(1) Articles
Mayer, V. (1995) Using the Earth system for integrating the science curriculum.
Science Education, 79(4), pp. 375-391.
(2) Books
McPhee, J. (1986 ) Rising from the Plains. New York: Fraux, Giroux & Strauss.
Telephone
Ian Ray
0161 486 0326
(3) Chapters in books
Duschl, R.A. & Smith, M.J. (2001) Earth Science. In Jere Brophy (ed), SubjectSpecific Instructional Methods and Activities, Advances in Research on Teaching. Volume 8,
pp. 269-290. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
Figures
Prepared artwork must be of high quality and submitted on paper and disk. Handdrawn and hand-labelled diagrams are not normally acceptable, although in some
circumstances this is appropriate. Each figure must be submitted as a separate file.
(not embedded in a Word file) Each figure must have a caption.
Photographs
Please submit colour or black-and-white photographs as originals. They are also
welcomed in digital form on disk or as email attachments: .jpeg format is to be preferred. Please use one file for each photograph, to be at 300dpi. Each photograph
must have a caption.
WHERE IS PEST?
Copyright
There are no copyright restrictions on original material published in Teaching Earth
Sciences if it is required for use in the classroom or lecture room. Copyright material reproduced in TES by permission of other publications rests with the original
publisher. Permission must be sought from the Editor to reproduce original material from Teaching Earth Sciences in other publications and appropriate acknowledgement must be given.
All articles submitted should be original unless indicted otherwise and should
contain the author’s full name, title and address (and email address where relevant).
They should be sent to the Editor,
Cally Oldershaw
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07796 942361
PEST is printed as the
centre 4 pages in
Teaching Earth Sciences.
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
teaching
CONTENTS
EARTH
SCIENCES
Teaching Earth Sciences is published quarterly by
the Earth Science Teachers’ Association. ESTA
aims to encourage and support the teaching of
Earth sciences, whether as a single subject or as
part of science or geography courses.
Full membership is £25.00; student and retired
membership £12.50.
Registered Charity No. 1005331
Editor
Cally Oldershaw
Tel: 07796 942361
Email: [email protected]
Advertising
Ian Ray
5 Gathill Close
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle
Cheshire SK8 6SJ
Tel: 0161 486 0326
Email: [email protected]
Reviews Editor
Dr. Denis Bates
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of Wales
Aberystwyth
Dyfed SY23 3DB
Tel: 01970 617667
Email: [email protected]
4
Opportunities and Benefits
5
From the ESTA Chair Designate
5
Getting Fieldwork off the Ground
Andy Britnell and Martin Whiteley
7
The Earth Science Education Unit –
Any Quarry Guide
How Can we Use Our Local Quarry?
Chris King
16
18
Using South Elmsall Quarry (SSSI) as an
Example of How we Can Use a Local Quarry
Peter Kennett
20
Into the Mind of a Geology Chief Examiner!
Cathie Brooks and Pete Loader
25
Reconstructing the Oceans of the Late Miocene:
How the Shell Chemistry of Fossils Reveals
Ancient Patterns of Ocean Circulation
Alan Haywood and Mark Williams
28
Council Officers
Chairman
Geraint Owen
Department of Geography
University of Swansea
Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP
Email: [email protected]
Attitude Toward Learning Science of Students
in Introductory Geology Courses
Joan Y. Jach and Cinzia Cervato
32
Recommended “Rocky” Reads
Pete Loader
Chair Designate
Martin Whiteley
Tel: 01234 354859
Email: [email protected]
34
News and Views
36
Who Were They? The Lives of Geologists
37
Useful Websites
39
ESTA Diary
38
Reviews
Secretary
Susan Beale
Low Row, Hesket Newmarket,
Wigton, Cumbria CA7 8JU
Email: [email protected]
Membership Secretary
Owain Thomas
PO Box 10, Narberth
Pembrokeshire SA67 7YE
Email: [email protected]
Treasurer
Maggie Williams
Email: [email protected]
Visit our website at www.esta-uk.org
Contributions to future issues of Teaching Earth
Sciences will be welcomed and should be
addressed to the Editor.
Opinions and comments in this issue are the
personal views of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the views of the Association.
Designed by Character Design
Highridge, Wrigglebrook Lane, Kingsthorne
Hereford HR2 8AW
Front cover
Canyon de Chelley, Arizona, with thick
sets of aeolian cross-bedding dune.
3
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Opportunities and Benefits
with the opportunities to experience that excitement –
here are plenty of well-paid jobs out there for
and they are never too young. Although most of the
Earth scientists, so why do so few pupils follow
curriculum based Earth Science is taught at primary
that career route? Industries complain that they
school as part of KS2 (Key Stage 2) in years 3 and 4 (7
are not getting the graduates, universities complain that
to 8 year olds). There are more informal ways of introthey are not getting the students – but what are they
ducing children to geology – collecting dinosaur toys,
doing about it? To have graduates, students must be
collecting pebbles, pointing out landscapes and giving
encouraged to go to university. To encourage school
that extra bit of information to encourage the youngpupils to study Earth sciences at university they must
sters. In secondary school KS3 and KS4 (up to GCSEs),
first be aware of the opportunities and their benefits –
Earth Science is generally taught within the science
in terms of employment, career prospects and the relecurriculum; for example weathering is taught as part of
vance of the Earth sciences now and in the future.
the chemistry component.
Earth science is not a dead subject – it is active and
A book, a fossil or a gemstone received as a present,
should be seen to be thriving, it is at the centre of every
a television programme or a film might spark the interindustry, every move forward, every new invention. In
est. Field trips, days out to go fossil collecting, finding
the built environment, minerals, mining and quarrying
out more about a local quarry or mine, or a visit to the
underpin the construction industries and the infraschool by an “expert” from the local university or local
structure of our society (including roads, rails, schools,
employer, a family member or friend – these are the
hospitals). The landscapes and resources of our natural
first hand experiences that can serve to be that trigger –
environment, rivers, mountains, deserts and forests are
and set youngsters on the route to being the Earth sciessential to our way of life on Earth.
entists of the future.
So why don’t all school leavers’ choose to become
Research shows a decline in the number of geology
Earth scientists? Many are not aware that it is an
teachers and a reduction in the
option, they don’t see it as a profamount of geology being taught in
itable career path, or don’t recogschools. Geology departments in
nise its relevance to society or to
universities are closing, fewer gradtheir lives. They may perceive it as a
“The thrill of finding your
“just another science” and “a diffifirst fossil, or picking up that uates are entering the profession.
The obvious corollary is that there
cult subject”. These attitudes need
to be challenged and the assump- first pebble, digging that first will be fewer professional geologists, a smaller pool from which
tions addressed. Once children
hole or building the
employers can recruit.
reach secondary school they have
sandcastle or first bridge –
An ideal time therefore to be
often already made choices, formed
these are the events that can encouraging pupils to think about a
opinions of likes and dislikes of
be the spark that excites
future in Earth science. Whatever
subjects and careers – often because
age, whether they aim to be the
of individual preferences for examthe next generation”
Head of a multinational industry,
ple whether they like the teacher or
earn a million and retire before the
whether the teacher is able to make
age of forty, travel the world hunting
the subject interesting and exciting.
for dinosaur fossils, dig tunnels or build bridges, or
How many times do you hear comments such as “I
work in the mining and quarrying industry and maybe
hate maths” or “I hate science”, “[teacher’s name] is so
drive the biggest diggers and dumper trucks in the
boring” or alternatively “geology is great” or
world – tell them about the opportunities, show them
“[teacher’s name] is a wicked (great) teacher” or “she’s
the benefits and get them interested!
well good” etc.
The Earth Science Education Forum (England and
I would expect that all of you can pinpoint a particWales), which includes ESTA, ESEU and others, will
ular teacher that inspired you or an event that lit that
address some of these issues at their first annual conferspark of enthusiasm and got you interested – “turned
ence this October. They will be looking at Earth science
you on to geology”. The same can probably be said of
education initiatives and resources and sharing best
many subjects – but the thrill of finding your first fospractice. They aim to initiate improved communication
sil, or picking up that first pebble, digging that first
and collaboration to enable the best use of present
hole or building the sandcastle or first bridge – these
resources, discuss policy and strategy needs, and
are the events that can be the spark that excites the
address the needs of both education and industry for
next generation.
the future.
As teachers or as Earth scientists/geologists/scienEd
tists/parents/grandparents we can help provide children
T
www.esta-uk.org
4
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
From the ESTA Chair Designate Improving our lot ...
Over the last several months ESTA Council has been looking at ways in which we might modernise and improve our governance,
make better use of our funds and inject some vitality into the Association. We’ve concluded that having up to 14 Council members is rather unwieldy and suggest that a slimmed-down Directorate comprising 7 or 8 officers, each with well-defined responsibilities, will be more effective. In tandem we are increasingly using Email for conducting routine business, with the intention of
reducing the number and expense of day-long meetings that we have traditionally held throughout the year.
Recognising that our funds and manpower are limited, we have initiated a more rigorous process for determining which projects can be undertaken to augment our core activity of providing teacher support through in-service training, publishing Teaching Earth Sciences and organising an annual conference. We are also looking at ways in which to engage the membership more
fully and the early signs are quite encouraging. Several initiatives are currently underway, co-ordinated by an officer, but involving those members with a particular interest or expertise in that field. Examples include the revision of teaching resources for free,
web-based access, a workshop for secondary teachers and an overhaul of the membership database and procedures.
In order to more accurately reflect ESTA’s aims and structure we will be proposing some modifications to the Association Rules
at an EGM to be held immediately before the usual AGM on the Conference weekend. So that you can deliberate in advance of
the meeting, details of the proposals are posted on the website and for those of you attending the Conference, details will be
included in your Conference pack. Rest assured that the spirit and charitable status of the Association remains unchanged and the
modifications simply provide a more realistic description of our activities and a better service to our members.
Martin Whiteley, Chair Designate
Getting Fieldwork off the Ground
ANDY BRITNELL AND MARTIN WHITELEY
Several years ago ESTA produced guidelines for the safe conduct of Earth science fieldwork. Since
then, there has been a significant increase in legislation relating to out-of-school visits in general
and we believe that it may be helpful to provide current information for teachers who organise,
supervise and undertake fieldwork.
Introduction
Whilst no-one would deny that there are risks involved
in working outside the classroom, the benefits, particularly for Earth science, invariably outweigh the constraints. It is also encouraging to see that the
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the
Teacher Training Agency increasingly recognise the
value of out-of-school learning as a core part of schoolage education.
Successful fieldwork begins with thorough planning, so don’t underestimate the amount of time and
effort required to organise even the simplest visit. The
necessary requirements for pupils to walk safely
around your local shopping centre in order to examine
building stones are clearly different from those
involving a trip to Snowdonia, but the formal planning process is identical.
Your starting point
Check your existing school policy for health and safety
requirements and draw upon the experiences of colleagues who have conducted fieldtrips recently. You
may also have a nominated Educational Visits Co-ordinator on staff who will be conversant with these matters. In the absence of in-house guidance, your Local
Education Authority (LEA) or governing body should
be the first source of advice.
We also strongly recommend that you look at the
guidelines contained within the lengthy but very comprehensive document entitled Health and Safety of Pupils
on Educational Visits (HASPEV). Produced by the DfES
in 1988, it sets out the principles of good practice and
contains useful model forms and checklists to ease the
burden of organisation. This document, and several
updating supplements, can be downloaded from TeacherNet, the education website for teachers and school
managers (see address in information box).
Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational
Visits www.teachernet.gov.uk/visits
It is our experience that many teachers are unaware of
their responsibilities under health and safety law, and it
is certainly worth looking here for the latest advice on
specific topics such as minibus safety, disability discrimination and insurance.
The planning process
Your school policy, LEA requirements or HASPEV will
guide you through the planning process. Details and
emphasis may vary, but the following topics should
always be addressed:
5
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Fig 1
PHOTOS BY MARTIN WHITELEY
A recumbent
fold near Hope’s
Nose, Torquay,
south Devon.
Responsibilities
● for approving the fieldwork
● for leading or assisting in the field
● for pupils and parents (including costs
if appropriate)
Planning fieldwork
● visit the area in advance (even if it’s familiar)
● complete a risk assessment
● determine appropriate supervision ratios
● organise First Aid provision (personnel and kit)
● prepare contingency plans and emergency procedures
Preparing pupils
● provide information and state expectations
● encourage participation in the planning process
● provide equal opportunities wherever possible
Communicating with parents
● provide information in writing (plus briefing meeting?)
● gain parental and medical consent
● establish contact procedures
Transport and Insurance
● comply with current legislation (see HASPEV)
● organise appropriate transport
(with adequate supervision)
● ensure that adequate insurance arrangements are
in place
Why do it?
When you’re faced with the burden of organising fieldwork it is easy to overlook the benefits of learning outside the classroom, of observing the environment at
first hand and asking the question ‘why’? Fieldwork
provides the essential ground truth for Earth science
and it has the capacity to motivate, inspire and challenge
pupils at any level. That’s why we do it... the bonus is
that it’s usually good fun!
Fieldwork that is being undertaken near open water, in
a mountainous area, at a residential centre or abroad
will be subject to further considerations. Consult
HASPEV for further sources of advice.
Fig 2
Tight, upright
folds in the Upper
Carboniferous
sediments
north of Bude,
north Devon.
Andy Britnell
Slapton Ley Field Centre, Slapton, Kingsbridge, Devon
TQ7 2QP
E-mail: [email protected]
PHOTOS BY MARTIN WHITELEY
www.esta-uk.org
During Fieldwork
The group leader in charge of pupils undertaking fieldwork has a duty of care to make sure that they are safe
and healthy. This responsibility begins during the planning process but is heightened during the event, particularly if pupils are working under remote supervision.
The leader should not hesitate to change plans if safety
is jeopardised, an obvious example being deteriorating
weather conditions in a remote location.
Whilst the group leader has overall responsibility, it
may be appropriate to delegate supervisory roles to
other adults. Such an action will have been factored
into the risk assessment process and it is essential that
each supervisor knows which pupils they are responsible for, understands the expected standards of behaviour and has a comprehensive plan. This includes not
only work topics, but precautionary matters such as
having appropriate access to First Aid, the ability to
contact the group leader and a clear understanding of
emergency procedures.
Appropriate clothing for fieldwork will usually
include warm base layers, a waterproof outer layer and
stout boots. Bear in mind that the onset of hypothermia
can be very rapid, particularly following injury, so
adults may carry extra gear such as spare clothes, gloves,
hat, bivi bag or emergency shelter.
Factors that demand particular attention during
Earth science fieldwork include site-specific hazards
associated with cliffs, quarries, rocky foreshores, mine
workings, gorges or steep ground. Here the risk of trips,
slips and falls are increased. Safety helmets conforming
to BS5240 should be worn when there is a possibility of
falling objects, but it is equally important to stress that
wearing a helmet doesn’t provide invincibility! Safety
goggles/glasses should be worn for protection when
using acid or hammers and pupils must be told not to
hammer or collect specimens indiscriminately.
6
Martin Whiteley
Barrisdale Limited, 16 Amberley Gardens, Bedford
MK40 3BT
E-mail: [email protected]
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
The Earth Science Education Unit
Any Quarry Guide
to good questions to ask, and answer at a quarry, cliff or rock face
CHRIS KING
You want to take your pupils/students on a field visit to a local rock exposure, but are not sure
what to do with them when you get there. This is a guide to the sorts of scientific questions you
might ask to encourage the pupils to investigate the rocks. Some will be appropriate for your
site, some won’t. Some require pupils/ students to touch and examine a rock face closely,
others can be answered from a safer distance.
● These questions could be applied to many rock
faces such as found in abandoned quarries, cliffs,
cuttings, etc. They are usually not appropriate for
working quarries, which provide a different sort
of experience.
● Consult a fieldwork safety guide before you go –
and follow the recommendations
● Follow the school/college/LEA guidelines on
fieldwork
● Visit the site beforehand to check out the
possibilities/dangers
● Ask permissions
● Prepare the pupils/students before you go
● Ensure the pupils/students have proper clothing
and footwear, including safety helmets if necessary
● Follow up the fieldwork when you get back to base
● The pupils/students are your sole responsibility,
take every care for their safety and education
● Running safe and educational fieldwork involves
much more than just the key points above –
consult widely to achieve best practice
During a field visit, you will probably want to get the
most out of a rock exposure to teach or reinforce elements of the National Curriculum or to broaden the
thinking of the pupils/students to consider how the
Earth impacts on their lives. Each suggested series of
questions focuses on one element of possible investigation, with the objectives and a suitable site suggested and (a) final question(s) inviting a summary of the
findings or further reflection.
Contains questions to promote investigation on:
1. Weathering
2. Erosion
3. Soil
4. Rock group
5. Grains
6. Sedimentary structures
7. Fossils
8. Crystals
9. Tilted rocks
10. Folds
11. Faults
12. Metamorphism
13. Sequencing
14. Tectonic plates
15. Landscape
16. Quarry economics
17. Quarry potential
18. Recording
Focus 1
Weathering
Objective(s)
● To introduce physical, chemical and biological aspects of weathering and their manifestations in the field
● To provide opportunities to emphasise that weathering occurs in situ (in place) and movement of solid
material away is not involved (although liquids can be/are removed)
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where there are clean or recently broken rock surfaces that can be compared with more weathered
surfaces
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Are some rock surfaces more crumbly than others of a similar type?
● More exposed surfaces may have looser grains that protected ones
● What might have caused the rock surface to crumble?
● In permeable rocks, freeze-thaw (physical) and chemical effects are
most likely to loosen grains
● Are some rock surfaces discoloured when compared with others
● Natural discolouration is due to chemical attack
● Are plants/lichens found on some surfaces?
● These are causing biological weathering with biochemical attack on
the rocks and roots prising apart grains and cracks
● What is the name of the processes that loosens and discolours rock
faces without removing grains?
● Weathering
● Are the rocks lightly, moderately or heavily weathered?
● Asks pupils to give a feel for the scale of the weathering
7
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Focus 2
Erosion
Objective(s)
● To highlight erosion by gravity and/or water
● To provide opportunities to emphasise that erosion involves the removal of solid material
Suitable site in the quarry
An area of loose rock beneath a rock face, preferably with water-formed gullies leading away
Possible questions
Possible answers
● How did the pile of rock fragments build up at the bottom of the
rock face?
● Broke off and fell – caused by gravity (or gravitational pull on the
mass of the loosened rock fragment)
● How else are fragments being carried away from the rock face?
● How can you tell?
● Water carries fragments down gullies. You may see water-worn gullies
and small fans of sandy/muddy sediment. (‘Pupil power’ may be
causing erosion too).
● What is the name of the process that removes fragments from rock
faces?
● Erosion
● Are the erosive processes here acting slowly, at moderate rates or
quickly?
● Encourages pupils to think about rates and timescales
Focus 3
Soil
Objective(s)
● To consider how soil develops from the parent rock
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where a clear soil profile has developed at the top of a rock face, and can be seen in cross section
Possible questions
Possible answers
● How many different soil layers can you see?
● Often three, an organic (dark) upper layer, a mixed middle layer and a
rocky lower layer
● How does rock become changed into topsoil?
● The rock becomes broken up into fragments, more and more organic
activity takes place until topsoil forms
● Is this a rich or poor soil? (Generally, the greater the number of
species, the richer the soil.)
● Soils on top of rock faces are generally thin and poor
Focus 4
Rock Group
Objective(s)
● To distinguish between sedimentary and igneous rocks (for simplicity, metamorphic rocks are ignored in
this exercise)
● To consider the main lines of evidence that can be used to tell the difference
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where the rock characteristics, either in the rock face itself or in debris at the foot of the face, are
clear and obvious
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Can layers be clearly seen in these rocks? (Most sedimentary rocks
are clearly layered; most igneous rocks are not.)
● Layering is clear (= sedimentary bedding) or no layering can be seen
(= igneous). Don’t confuse parallel cracking with layering (= joints) –
in sedimentary bedding, beds often differ in grain size, colour, etc.
● Does a drop of water sink in or run off the surface? (Most sedimentary
rocks have gaps between the grains so that water sinks in. Most
igneous rocks have interlocking grains making them waterproof. )
● Permeable = sedimentary (unless the rock is very well cemented or
has undergone metamorphism). Impermeable = igneous (unless the
rock is well weathered).
● Can you scrape grains off the surface? (Grains can be scraped off the
surface of most sedimentary rocks, but are much harder to remove
from most igneous rocks.)
● The interlocking nature of igneous crystals make them much harder
to remove
● Does one drop of dilute acid react with the rock? (Some sedimentary
rocks react with acid, but igneous rocks don’t.)
● Limestones react with acid; some sandstones have lime cement that
reacts. Metamorphosed limestones (= marble) also react with acid.
No igneous rocks in the UK react with acid.
● Can you spot any fossils? (Sedimentary rocks can contain fossils,
igneous rock never do.)
● Fossils can be found in some sedimentary rocks as well as in some
low-grade metamorphic rocks
● Is this rock an igneous or sedimentary rock? How do you know?
● Encourages pupils to assemble all the evidence to answer
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8
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Focus 5
Grains
Objective(s)
● To consider how grain size evidence in sedimentary rocks can be used to indicate the energy level of the
environment during deposition
● Using evidence from grain shape and sorting to give clues to the ancient transportation regime
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where grains can clearly be seen and preferably where there is some variety of grain size/shape.
A handlens may be helpful for finer-grained rocks
Possible questions
Possible answers
● How big is the largest grain you can see?
● (Estimate the length in mm or cm)
● Boulder, pebble, sand or mud-size
● When the sedimentary grains were being laid down, how might they
have been moved here – by wind, water, ice or gravity?
● Most sediments are water-lain and can contain grains up to pebble
size (cm across). Wind-lain deposits contain only sand-grade
sediment. Gravitational fall deposits (eg. screes) or ice deposits can
contain large boulders.
● Was this deposit laid down in low, medium or high energy
conditions? (Large grains take more energy to move and deposit
them than smaller grains.)
● In water-lain deposits, large particles are laid down by high energy
flash floods or storms at sea; sands and muds are lower energy
deposits.
● Does the rock have several sizes of grains or just one size? (The
further grains are carried, the more they tend to be sorted out into
coarse, medium and fine sizes.)
● Mixed sediment (pebbles, sand and mud together) is probably nearsource and was dumped in a storm. Separated sediment (pebbles,
sand or mud) has been sorted out during longer transportation (long
river transport or much movement in the sea).
● Have these grains travelled far? (Grains with sharp corners have not
moved far but rounded pebbles will have travelled a long way; also,
the further they have travelled, the more different sorts there are
likely to be)
● As grains are transported they abrade one another (attrition)
becoming rounded as corners are removed.
● The greater the transportation distance (or movement in the sea) the
more different rock types are likely to be incorporated.
● What does the grain evidence tell you about this sedimentary deposit?
● Invites a summary of the evidence
Focus 6
Sedimentary structures
Objective(s)
● To use sedimentary structures to bring an ancient environment ‘to life’
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where sedimentary structures likely to be familiar to pupils/students are clearly visible, examples
might include bedding (sedimentary layering), cross bedding (sloping beds in an otherwise flat-lying
deposit), asymmetrical (current) ripples or symmetrical (wave) ripple marks, mud cracks, footprints, largescale dune cross bedding
Possible questions
Possible answers
● If you were standing here when this sediment was being deposited,
what would it have been like?
● The structures listed above form on land (dune cross bedding), in
drying water deposits (mud cracks, footprints), in wave-dominated
areas (wave ripples) or where there were water currents – usually
shallow water (current ripples). Bedding forms in water-lain deposits
at most depths, from lakes to deep seas.
● Would you have been on land or in water?
● If in water, how deep? Would you have needed a snorkel, scuba gear
or a submarine?
● Could you have stood up? Would the current have been too strong or
the sediment too sloppy?
● What would you have been able to see, hear, taste, smell?
● Stretches the imagination – helps to visualise what it actually might
have been like at the time. Invites comparison with modern
environments.
● What is the altitude here (eg. from a map)?
● How has the altitude changed since the sediment was deposited?
● It may have changed by metres, hundreds of metres, or kilometres
9
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Focus 7
Fossils
Objective(s)
Fossil preservation depends on:
● The characteristics of the organism
● What happened straight after death
● What happened after burial
● Fossils can provide useful evidence of several different sorts
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where fossils are clearly visible, the more variety, the better
Possible questions
Possible answers
● What happened to these animals/plants just after they died?
● Were they buried where they were or moved around, sorted out and
broken up?
● Organisms can be buried just where they lived (a ‘life assemblage’)
but are more likely to have been swept away to form a ‘death
assemblage’. They could be deposited in a quiet area where they are
likely to be well preserved, they could accumulate in a bank of
broken material, or they could be something in between.
● As they were being buried, what might they lave looked like,
smelled like?
● Focuses on the fact that these were living things that were preserved
● After they were buried, how did they change?
● In nearly all fossils, the soft organic parts have decayed leaving only
the hard parts behind. These are preserved either as they were (with
little chemical change) or chemically altered. Sometimes percolating
fluids dissolve the organism leaving a mould and may later fill it with
minerals, forming a cast.
● The pressures of low-grade metamorphism can deform fossils without
destroying them
● Why are some types of organism much more commonly fossilised
than others?
● It depends on the organism (size, numbers, presence of hard parts,
etc.)
● ...and the environment in which it lived/died (mud-burrowers are
more likely to be preserved than mountain goats)
● What can fossils tell us about a deposit?
● That there was life around at the time
● Type of life and type of environment (wet/dry; hot/cool;
shallow/deep; salt/fresh, etc.)
● The relative age of the deposit
● How evolution was progressing at the time
Focus 8
Crystals
Objective(s)
● To use crystal size to distinguish between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where the crystals in an igneous rock can be seen clearly (using a handlens)
Possible questions
Possible answers
● How big is the largest crystal you can see? (Estimate the length in
mm or cm)
● Coarse (cm size), medium (mm size) or fine (crystals difficult to see)
● Did the melt (magma) that formed this rock cool quickly or slowly?
(Slow cooling = large crystals, faster cooling = smaller crystals)
● Coarse = slow cooling, eg. over hundreds of thousands or millions of
years; fine = fast cooling in lavas over days or weeks
● Did the melt (magma) become solid at the surface (fine-grained) or
beneath the surface (coarser)?
● Coarse-grained (intrusive) rocks formed well beneath the surface (eg.
at km depth) when the insulating rocks above resulted in slow
cooling. Fine-grained (extrusive) rocks were usually lavas, chilled at
the surface.
● Does the rock have crystals of different sizes?
● How might this have happened?
● Some magmas have two stage cooling. After starting to crystallise at
depth producing larger crystals, they rise and cool more quickly
forming a fine crystal groundmass.
● Others have large crystals at the centre, but ‘chilled margins’ of finer
crystals against the cooler surrounding rock.
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Focus 9
Tilted rocks
Objective(s)
● To use evidence of local deformation to appreciate wider scale tectonic events
Suitable site in the quarry
A place where once horizontal (usually sedimentary) rocks are now tilted (dipping)
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Were these sediments laid down flat?
● Yes – the majority of sediments were. Exceptions include cross
bedding and bedded scree deposits.
● What is their angle now?
● Estimate the dip – the angle of slope measured from the horizontal.
● What might have caused a change in angle on this scale?
● Dipping rocks are evidence of regional deformation – which can
normally only be caused by the collision of tectonic plates. This
produced fold mountains in central areas and broad folds with tilted
rocks on the margins.
● Which came first, the deposition of the sediments or the tilting?
● Sediments must have been deposited before tilting. Encourages
pupils to begin sequencing events.
Focus 10
Folds
Objective(s)
● To show that folds are the result of compression by large scale equal and opposite forces
● To indicate the scale of forces necessary to fold rocks – that can only be related to plate movement
Suitable site in the quarry
A site where sedimentary rocks are folded into simple folds, preferably several of them
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Were these sediments laid down flat?
● Yes – the majority of sediments were.
● Why are they no longer flat?
● They were squashed/compressed
● From which directions did the forces come that caused the rocks to
crumple like this?
● Equal and opposite forces are likely to have acted horizontally at
right angles to the axis of the fold
● What might have caused this scale of crumpling?
● Folded rocks are evidence of regional deformation – which can only
be caused by the collision of tectonic plates. Folds are produced on a
range of scales, from fold mountains to cliff faces and smaller.
● How could hard rocks have been bent and folded in this way?
● The rocks may have been more plastic (less brittle) at the time, and
would certainly have been more deeply buried and so warmer – but
this is evidence of the enormous pressures and high temperatures
involved in plate collisions
Focus 11
Faults
Objective(s)
● To highlight the differences between faults and other types of fractures
● To link faulting to regional stress patterns
Suitable site in the quarry
A site where rocks are clearly faulted, preferably where beds can be matched up on either side of the fault
Possible questions
Possible answers
● How can you tell that this fracture is a fault? (Faults are fractures
where the rocks on either side have moved)
● Layers or rocks do not match up across the fault.
● What types of forces might have caused this fault, squeezing, pullapart or sliding forces? (Faults can be caused when rocks are
squeezed, or pulled apart or rocks slide past one another. Faults
caused by squeezing usually slope downwards at less than 60˚,
steeper faults are usually caused by pull-apart forces. Sliding faults
are usually vertical.)
● Compressional forces (squeezing) cause reverse faults where one
slice of rocks has been thrust over another
● Tensional (pull apart) forces cause steep faults (called normal faults)
where one block slides down, adjacent to the other
● Shear (sliding past) forces usually produce vertical tear faults
● If a rock sequence can be matched up across a fault, the type of fault
is confirmed
● How can some rocks be both faulted and folded?
● At relatively high temperatures and pressures, rock tend to behave
plastically and bend, whilst at lower temperatures they have brittle
behaviour and fracture
● What might have caused the squeezing, pull apart or sliding forces
that fault rocks?
● Most faulting is related to the movement of tectonic plates, although
there may be local causes as well
● Plate collision causes reverse faults (and often folding too)
● Plate divergence produces normal faults as blocks fracture and slide
up or down relative to one another
● Plate sliding at conservative margins (like the San Andreas fault)
causes tear faulting
11
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Focus 12
Metamorphism
Objective(s)
● To illustrate how metamorphic rocks formed from pre-existing rocks
● To show what differences the metamorphism causes
Suitable site in the quarry
An exposure of metamorphic rocks, preferably containing evidence of their former origin
Possible questions
Possible answers
● How can you tell that this is a metamorphic rock?
● Having recrystallised under great heat and/or pressure, metamorphic
rocks are usually hard and impermeable
● Pressure-formed metamorphic rocks that were formed on a regional
scale have crystal alignments that cause the cleavage in slates, the
layering effects in schists and the banding in gneisses
● What clues show what sort of rock this was before metamorphism?
● Sedimentary rocks may retain original bedding or cross bedding
traces
● Marble reacts with dilute acid, like the limestone it formed from
● Low-grade metamorphic rocks (slates and some marbles) may retain
fossils which may have been distorted (squashed)
● What are the differences between this metamorphic rock and the rock ● Harder and less permeable
it probably formed from?
● Original traces may be distorted/destroyed
● How might these differences have been caused?
● In the roots of mountains during plate collision and fold mountain
formation (forming pressure-formed metamorphic rocks on a
regional scale)
● Baking adjacent to a hot igneous intrusion
Focus 13
Sequencing
Objective(s)
● To use geological ‘relative dating’ methods to work out the sequence of geological events at a site
Suitable site in the quarry
A site where several geological events have left clear signs
Possible questions
Possible answers
● In a layered sequence, which of the layers was formed first?
Which last?
● The last (youngest layers) are on top (unless major geological
upheavals have overturned the whole sequence – very unusual). This
is the ‘Principle of Superposition of Strata’
● Where a feature cuts across another feature, which came first, the
feature that cuts through or the feature that is cut?
● The feature that is cut is always older than the feature (such as a
fracture, fault, dyke or erosion surface) that cuts across it. This is the
‘Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships)
● If a rock A contains pebbles of another rock B, which came first, rock
A or rock B?
● The pebbles of B must be older than rock A that contains them. This
is the ‘Law of Included Fragments’
● If a rock is tilted, folded or metamorphosed, which came first, the
rock or the tilting/folding/metamorphism?
● The rock must have been formed before the tilting, folding or
metamorphism happened.
● What is the sequence of geological events at this site using
these methods?
● Most geological histories begin with the deposition of the oldest rock
and end with the erosion that exposed the rock you can see today.
Focus 14
Tectonic plates
Objective(s)
● To consider the geological evidence from the quarry in a plate tectonic context
Suitable site in the quarry
Any site with reasonable exposures
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Are there clues that suggest that this place had a very different
climate in the past?
● Coral fossils – colonial corals are only found today in tropical and sub
tropical seas.
● Limestone – thick limestone deposits only form today in tropical and
sub tropical seas.
● Coal – thick organic deposits that form coal accumulate today in
equatorial conditions
● Red sediments – these form today in tropical and subtropical
conditions
● What might have caused the change in climate between then
and now?
● This place is on a moving plate that was much further south in
the past.
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12
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
● Are there clues showing that this place was near a plate margin in
the past?
● Evidence of a compressional plate margin, with fold mountains and
metamorphism and the plate being carried down into the mantle
(subducted) producing intrusive and extrusive rocks includes:
folding, tilting, reverse faulting, regional metamorphic rocks, intrusive
and extrusive igneous rocks.
● Any normal and tear faulting is difficult to tie in to a plate margin
model in the UK – they are likely to be due to more local effects.
● Are there clues that show whether or not this area is near a plate
margin now?
● Absence of clues is evidence. There are no earthquakes, volcanoes,
or new mountain chains characteristic of a plate margin in the UK because the nearest compressional (convergent) margin is around
1500 km away in the Mediterranean and the nearest tensional
(divergent) margin is around 1500 km away in the mid-Atlantic.
● Although minor but usually non-damaging earthquakes do occur in
the UK, they also occur within all plates as they adjust to the forces
at the plate margins.
Focus 15
Landscape
Objective(s)
● To provide a feel for how rock resistance, structure and use affect landscape
Suitable site in the quarry
A viewpoint from where higher and lower land, hills and valleys or headlands and bays can be seen
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Which landform is formed of the most resistant (hardest) rocks?
● Which is made of the least resistant (softest) rocks?
● In general, high land, hills and headlands are made of resistant
rocks, whilst lower land, valleys and bays have been eroded in less
resistant rocks
● How might ridges form?
● Tilted rocks of alternating resistant and less-resistant sequences
often produce ridges
● How might flat-topped plateaus form?
● Most plateaus are caused by flat-lying resistant rocks
● When you walk downhill are you normally walking from softer
towards harder rocks or visa versa?
● The latter
● How can the human use of rocks affect landscape?
● Quarries, walls, buildings, dams/reservoirs, bridges and cuttings,
graveyards, monuments and statues
Focus 16
Quarry economics
Objective(s)
● To give a feel for the commercial value of materials from the Earth – and their importance to us
● To develop arithmetical and estimation skills
Suitable site in the quarry
A quarry!
Possible questions
Possible answers
● What are the dimensions of this quarry (length, breadth and height)
● Estimate length and breadth by pacing.
● Estimate height on the basis that an average teacher (if there is such
a thing!) is around 1 2/3 metres high
● What is the volume of the quarry
● (Volume (m3) = length (m) x width (m) x height (m))
● Calculators may be useful, if the pupils/students can cope with the
numbers of noughts.
● What is the economic value of the rocks in this quarry at today’s
prices?
● (Value (£) = volume (m3) x price (£m-3))
● As guides:
● Normal building stone (eg. sandstone or limestone) £40 £m-3
● High quality crushed rock aggregate for road surfaces, railway
ballast – (eg. basalt, metaquartzite) = £2 £m-3
● Lower quality crushed rock aggregate for adding to cement to make
concrete – (eg. limestone, Triassic sand) = £1 £m-3
[Note:
● High quality stone blocks for building/repairing imposing buildings –
cut to size (eg. high quality sandstone or limestone) = £2,000 £m-3
● Thin slabs of high quality stone for kitchen worktops – cut and
finished (eg. granite) = £8,000 £m-3]
● Pupils/students will need more help with the numbers of noughts,
and the enormous value of the quarry products in bulk.
13
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
● Which nearby cities/towns would be most likely to want to buy these
quarry products?
● Transport costs for bulk materials like quarry products are huge –
which is why they are mainly available only to local markets unless
they are of high value
● What might they be used to build in the nearby city/town?
● There may be local initiatives requiring bulk materials, such a
restructuring a town centre or building a runway.
● Do you think the quarry might re-open?
● In 99% of cases – no. Existing quarries tend to continue and gaining
planning permission for new quarries is a very difficult process –
especially near urban areas.
Focus 17
Quarry potential
Objective(s)
● To show that abandoned quarries can have a range of different uses, some more appropriate than others.
● To develop decision-making skills
Suitable site in the quarry
An abandoned quarry
Possible questions
Possible answers
● Could this quarry be used to dispose of high level nuclear waste
material? If so, why? If not, why not?
● Quarries would not be used to dispose of high level nuclear waste.
They are too shallow and most are too near urban centres.
● Could this quarry be used to dispose of household waste material? If
so, why? If not, why not?
● If the rock is permeable or cracked, waste fluids or gases could
escape and damage water supplies or buildings. It could be lined,
but this is very expensive. There may be problems with transport,
blowing rubbish or scavenging birds. But places to dispose of the
huge volumes of waste we produce have to be found.
● Could this quarry be used to dispose of demolition rubble? If so,
why? If not, why not?
● Most quarries could safely be filled with rubble and then landscaped
to match the surrounding countryside. They would need monitoring
to ensure that dangerous chemicals or gases did not leak.
● Could this quarry be used as a water reservoir? If so, why? If not,
why not?
● It is unlikely to be large enough, and permeable rocks would leak.
● Could this quarry be used as a nature reserve? If so, why? If not,
why not?
● Quarries can be made safe and be made to blend in with the
landscape, but this can be expensive. They do contain a range of
habitats for plants and animals.
● Could this quarry be used as part of a golf course? If so, why? If not,
why not?
● Most golfers would be unwilling to climb down into, and back out of a
quarry, although it could provide a number of interesting golf course
hazards.
● Could this quarry be used as part of an orienteering course? If so,
why? If not, why not?
● There is probably only one access point and the rock walls would be
dangerous, so probably not.
● Could this quarry be used as a Regionally Important Geological and
Geomorphological Site (RIGS) for its scientific or educational interest
or its beauty. If so, why? If not, why not?
●
●
●
●
●
● Could this quarry be re-opened to supply building material? If so,
why? If not, why not?
● Since the quarry is now closed, there are probably cheaper or more
accessible alternatives elsewhere, so re-opening is unlikely.
● Which of these options would be the best one? Might different
groups of people have different points of view?
● Different groups would have different opinions, but the pupil/student
can justify his/her own views
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14
It clearly has educational value, because we are here.
It also has scientific value because...
It is beautiful/not beautiful because...
I think there are better/not better quarries elsewhere.
It would need to be made safe by...
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Focus 18
Recording
Objective(s)
● To consider how a scientist (geologist) would go about making effective records of a site
Suitable site in the quarry
Any site with some geological variety
Possible questions
Possible answers
● If this site were to be filled in or destroyed, in what ways could the
geological information be recorded for future use?
● Specimens of all the different rock types could be collected
● Each of the rocks present could be described in detail
● A continuous record of the layers could be made, from bottom to top
● Measurements could be made of rock thicknesses, angles
and directions
● Drawings could be made of all the key features
● Key features and areas could be photographed
● Maps or aerial photographs could be made
● An exact survey of the area could be carried out
● Which of these ways would be best? Why?
● The answer will depend on the rock type, features and situation.
Sedimentary sequences could be logged (a continuous record made,
from the bottom to the top). For all rocks, detailed rock descriptions,
measurements and drawings/ photos of key features could be made.
(Since to a professional geologist, the shape of the quarry is
irrelevant, he/she would focus on other features)
Leeson House
Field Studies Centre
Swanage, Dorset
Leeson House Field Studies Centre near Swanage, Dorset is within easy walking
distance of the Jurassic Coast, England’s only natural World Heritage site.
This 60-bed Field Studies Centre is based in a Grade II listed house set in 3 hectares of
ecologically managed grounds. The Centre has a national reputation for excellence and
offers extremely competitive rates. All courses are tailored to the needs of the group
and can cater for all ages in Earth Sciences as well as many other subjects.
For further information please call us.
Telephone 01929 422126
www.dorsetcc.gov.uk/outdoored
15
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
How Can we Use our Local Quarry?
CHRIS KING
The plea – ‘How can we use our local quarry?’ was the plea from the science and geography staff
at Ercall Wood Technology College on the outskirts of Telford in Shropshire, and below the Wrekin.
(The Wrekin is a Precambrian/Cambrian inlier in south Shropshire that forms a high point which
can be seen for miles around and has generated its own ‘well known phrase or saying’. ‘Allaround-the-Wrekin’ is often used by locals to describe a long-winded route, as in ‘He went allaround-the Wrekin to get here’). The Ercall Wood High School staff were keen to plan a day for
their Year 8 (12 - 13 year old) pupils based on the quarry a few hundred metres away up the hill,
but since none of the staff had any geological background or experience of using a quarry for its
educational value, they asked for help.
The Response – As the Earth Science Education Unit had encountered similar questions
previously, this seemed like an excellent opportunity to prepare a guide that should be of use in
developing the educational potential of most quarries and other rock exposures. The result is
ESEU’s ‘Any quarry guide’. The way that it might best be applied to Ercall Quarry, as in the
recommendation to the staff at Ercall Wood Technology College, is shown in Box 1.
Box 1.
Recommendations
on the use of
Ercall Quarry
Ercall Quarry Recommendations
● You will need to get the key to the gate and permission to use the quarry beyond the gate from the owners
● Pupils shouldn’t approach any vertical surfaces, but the rock surfaces sloping away from them are as safe as quarry
faces can be and, having checked for danger, I would have little hesitation in using those faces with pupils myself.
● Since the sign at the entrance requires that safety helmets be worn – they should be by both staff and pupils.
It would probably be best to divide the pupils into three groups and ask them to circulate around the stations listed
below. The only part of the quarry visited is the part straight ahead of the gate, including a rock bench on the left hand
(north west) side that you get on to at the northern corner of the quarry and come down from near the gate.
You will need a couple of specimens of the pink igneous rock up the footpath from station E - hopefully one of the
teachers will go up and collect these - up a steepish but safe path, if you take care.
Suitable routes would be
Group 1 - A, B, C, D, E, F
Group 2 - B, C, D, E, F, A
Group 3 - C, A, B, D, E, F
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16
Station
Description
Activity
Approx. timings
Station A
Floor of quarry around 20m beyond the gate
Focus 16 – quarry economics
Focus 17 – quarry potential
20 minutes
Station B
Northern corner of the quarry, where the
vertical face can be seen from a safe distance
and the sloping rock face on the left can be felt
and observed very closely (it contains quite
large pebbles).
Focus 4 – rock group
Focus 5 – grains
20 minutes
Station C
About 10 metres south west along the rock
Focus 1 – weathering
terrace from Station B, where a small fan of
Focus 2 – erosion
scree (loose material) has accumulated at the
foot of the sloping rock face and there are small
gullies flowing away from it
20 minutes
Station D
Station D - further along the rock bench from
Station C - at the sloping rock face with
symmetrical ripples
Focus 6 – sedimentary structures
15 minutes
Station E
From Station D - move to the end of the rock
bench where you can look up into the adjacent
quarry containing the pink rock
Specimens of the pink rock should
be on the ground
Re-run Focus 4 – rock group
Focus 8 – crystals
20 minutes
Station F
At the gate
Focus 9 – tilted rocks
15 minutes
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
The guide:
was easy/
gave good/poor
gave me more/less
showed me that a quarry has
difficult to use
insight to the locations
confidence to teach ES
more/less teaching potential
fieldwork
than I thought
27 biologists
1.7
1.6
1.8
1.4
9 chemists
1.7
1.6
1.7
1.9
8 geologists
1.5
1.6
1.9
2.3
6 physicists
1.7
1.3
2.2
1.8
Overall – 50 PGCE students
1.7
1.5
1.8
1.7
‘Any quarry’ test
sure can be used to provide a very valuable educational
experience for pupils, providing the potential of the
An opportunity to test and refine the ‘Any quarry guide’
quarry is realised. It has also shown that a questioning
came on a recent field visit with Keele trainee teachers
approach can be effective in engaging students in some
(Postgraduate Certificate in Education - PGCE stuof the scientific questions posed by a rock sequence and
dents) to the Llandudno area of North Wales. The fifty
that this approach can build their confidence in interscience trainees (mixed biologists, chemists, Earth scipreting geological evidence.
entists and physicists) were divided into groups of 12 Some of the written feedback from the PGCE stu15 and each group spent around four hours testing the
dents was very positive ‘The best parts were: ‘Rock
‘Any Quarry Guide’ in two different quarries, one
identification, weathering, eroon the flank of Delganwy Mounsion... Everything!’ My suggestain and one on the Great Orme
tions for improvement are:
near Llandudno. In their evaluaa
questioning
approach
can
be
‘Sorry, I really enjoyed it and
tion, students were asked to
learnt a lot – I don’t know what
‘score’ the use of the guide on a 1
effective in engaging students in
to write!!’ ‘Would give a non(high) to 5 (low) scale and their
some of the scientific questions
Earth scientist a good idea of
responses are given in Box 2.
posed
by
a
rock
sequence
and
that
how to teach’ whilst others, in
These results indicate that the
colder weather were not so sure,
most students found the guide
this approach can build their
for example, ‘Provide warm
easy to use and that it gave good
confidence in interpreting
gloves for everyone so they can
insight to the two quarry locageological
evidence
write up in the cold weather!!’
tions. The guide gave them more
The overall data does seem to
confidence in teaching in a quarindicate that an ‘any quarry
ry environment and helped them
guide’ can provide valuable insights, at least in the quarto realise that a quarry had more teaching potential then
ries tested. Thus Earth Science Education Unit facilitathey had originally thought. Interestingly, there were
tors are likely to be promoting the guide to science
differences in the responses from the different subject
teachers in the future in the hope that they too will be
specialists. Not surprisingly, the eight geologists found
able to realise the potential of the quarry or rock face up
the guide easier to use than the others and it also didn’t
the road from their school.
increase their view of the potential of a quarry as much
as it did for the others. The 27 biologists were the ones
Acknowledgements
who felt the guide ‘opened their eyes’ to the educational potential most, but the nine chemists didn’t share this
I am very grateful to the staff of Ercall Wood Technoloexperience. The six physicists felt the guide gave them
gy College for allowing me to try out these ideas on
particularly good insight into the quarry locations but
them and to the 2003/4 Keele Science PGCE students
their confidence in using the guide was lower than the
for ‘road testing’ the guide in North Wales.
others. However, all these differences were fairly minor
and the overall response was a very positive one.
Chris King
Department of Education,
Conclusion
Keele University
Keele, ST5 5BG,
The experience of preparing and testing the ‘Any quarEmail: [email protected]
ry guide’ has shown that a quarry or other rock expo-
17
Box 2
Summary of ‘Any
Quarry Guide’
evaluation mean
data from PGCE
students
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Using South Elmsall Quarry (SSSI) as an
Example of How we Can Use a Local Quarry
(GRID REF: SE 484117)
PETER KENNETT
We shall try to use this quarry to show the kind of work that can be done in almost any similar
exposure (*): also to try to find out the “story” of this particular site.
PLEASE DO NOT READ THE DISPLAY BOARD UNTIL LATER!
Figure 2 (Right)
South Elmsall
Quarry,
stromatolite
“reefs” –
general view
Figure 1
South Elmsall
Quarry, display
board – note air
rifle holes!
General view
1. *Is this the whole quarry, or was there more of it
once? If so, what has it been used for?
2. *Are the rocks the same throughout all the quarry
faces?
3. *Do the rocks appear to be of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary origin?
4. *Which way are the layers inclined (dipping)? How
could we measure the dip from the horizontal and
its direction? Why might this information be useful?
5. * Whereabouts in the face are:
a) the youngest rocks;
b) the oldest rocks? How can you tell?
6. * Do any features cut through the layers?
Which came first, the layers or these features?
How do you know?
Has there been any slippage along these features
(i.e. a fault). How can you tell?
7. *Before we go any further, does the face look safe to
work under?
Group work
8. Group A – study the north face of the quarry and
draw a scaled sketch of it (2D). Look particularly
for changes as you look up the face, and as you look
along it.
Try to determine the rock type (hint – apply a drop
of dilute HCl).
9. Group B - study the east face of the quarry and
draw a scaled sketch of it (2D). Look particularly
for changes as you look up the face, and as you look
along it.
Try to determine the rock type (hint - apply a drop
of dilute HCl).
10. Get together and compare notes. What are the
main differences between the two faces and why?
11. Now we’ll try to repeat observations which are
recorded on the display board.
● The rock is dolomite (limestone which is rich in magnesium carbonate)
● ...twiggy marine animals called bryozoans... (look for
whitish encrustations a few cm across).
● The layers were built up mainly of small, almost spherical limestone grains called ooliths (a few mm across).
● Some of the grains stuck together as they were formed and
some grew into larger balls called pisoliths, or pea-stones.
● Fossil shells are abundant in some of these beds.
12. How do they know that?
Suggest what evidence enabled the author to state:
● In time, these colonies (of organisms) became ‘patch
reefs’ (i.e. local mound-shaped features on the sea
bed, lying very near to sea level. The organisms
are called stromatolites, and have modern equivalents in Shark Bay, W. Australia).
● The rock was formed about 255 m.yr ago... in the
Permian Period.
● At this time, the area basked in the tropics...
● ...and was submerged beneath a ...sea.
● This sea... lay in a desert region.
Economics
● Suggest what the extracted stone might have been
used for.
● Can you estimate how much has been taken out,
from just this visible part of the old quarry?
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18
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
(Assume a relative density of 2.7, i.e. 2.7 tonnes per
cubic metre of rock, or call it 3 for easy sums!).
● There is an old colliery site (Frickley) lying 2.5 km
south west of here, and another at Askern, 8km to
the north east. Can you explain their presence,
given that coal forms from land vegetation, and we
have been looking at marine sediments? Which of
these collieries is likely to be the deeper?
Reflection
You have used the following geological principles in
trying to work out the “story” of South Elmsall-bythe-sea. They have horrible names, but the ideas are
simple.
Try to allocate each principle to your earlier work.
Were any of the principles broken?:
● “The present is the key to the past” (Uniformitarianism)
● “The topmost beds are younger than those
beneath” (Superposition) How could we prove that
they are the right way up?
● “Beds are normally deposited in horizontal sheets”
(Original horizontality)
● “Beds normally continue in a lateral direction”
(Lateral continuity)
● “A rock or structure must be younger than any rock
or structure which it cuts across” (Cross-cutting
relationships)
Figure 3
South Elmsall
Quarry, close up of
stromatolite
“reefs” – lens cap
for scale = 50mm
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19
www.esta-uk.org
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Into the Mind of a Geology Chief Examiner!
CATHIE BROOKS AND PETE LOADER
As part of the 2004 A level Geology INSET, the WJEC examining team discussed with teachers the
process and rationale behind setting examination questions. This paper is based on those
discussions. The controls on setting examination papers are outlined, followed by an analysis of
a 2003 AS geology question. The paper concludes by asking for a wider debate on the setting of
geology examination questions.
What are the constraints on the WJEC Geology Chief Examiner?
When setting an examination paper the examiner has to address all the following issues. Setting
a question can be as difficult as answering it!
Content
Is it in the specification? Can the Key Idea being assessed be easily identified?
Are the data provided used for response or stimulus rather than
recall? Are there a variety of data formats - diagrams, graphs,
photographs, maps, cross-sections, field sketches/notes, newspaper articles, specialist figures in the set of papers?
Are the data topical and relevant and as real as possible?
This requirement is necessary for many reasons:
it is one of the Aims of WJEC A Geology;
it is of greater interest to the students and thus aids their
performance in the exam;
it provides resources for hard pressed geology teachers
working on their own;
it provides relevance and thus strengthens the argument for the inclusion of Geology within the ‘mainstream’ curriculum
ent for each paper. Indeed, each question can have different Assessment Objectives, e.g., the objectives are
different in data response questions which assess application, and essay questions which assess knowledge,
understanding and synthesis. The stated Assessment
Objectives for the paper must be achieved from the
accumulated assessment of each question.
Standard
Are the different standards of AS and A2 reflected in the questions?
This is achieved not only through the type and level of
complexity of content, and the nature of the data given,
but by the style of the questions and their mark
schemes.
Assessment Objectives
Are the Assessment Objectives met for each paper?
Assessment Objectives are the same for all A Level Sciences.
AO1 – Knowledge with Understanding
AO2 – Application of knowledge, understanding, and
analysis and evaluation
AO3 – Experiment and Investigation
AO4 – Synthesis of knowledge, understanding and
skills
The proportion of these varies slightly with different
examinations. For WJEC A Geology the proportions
are:
AO1 – 31.5%
AO2 – 31.0%
AO3 – 17.5%
AO4 – 20.0%
Within one A Level, Assessment Objectives are differwww.esta-uk.org
20
Figure 1 : Examining constraints
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
What is the difference between AS and A2?
Structure
Does the question allow discrimination? Does the question have
an incline of difficulty?
The most successful question structure is that shown
below.
Figure 2 :
Graph to show the incline in difficulty within each question.
(a) introduces a topic, often asking for a description /
interpretation of the data given. The sub-questions get
progressively harder. To keep the attention, and perhaps
give a second chance to those who may have an initial
problem, a second, related topic (b) may be introduced,
perhaps through some supplementary data. Again the
initial sub-question in (b) should be more accessible to
give a boost to those who may be struggling. A third
section (c), especially in the synoptic A2 paper, may be
used to explore the interrelationships between the first
two topics using not only the data given but incorporating K & U acquired through the course. This structure
also helps students follow the threads of the question
more easily. A series of unstructured sub-questions –
(a), (b), (c), (d), etc, does not indicate links or sudden
switches to other topics.
Are there any sub-questions that depend on a previous question
being answered correctly?
This could incur a double penalty for students who get
the first part wrong.
Is the length of each sub-question varied?
Too many short questions take a long time to read, and,
more importantly, they do not allow discrimination in a
paper. If a question is worth 2 marks most students
know something but few give a perfect answer so the
tendency is for everyone to get 1 mark.
Mark Scheme
Does the mark scheme give marks for individual words?
This should be avoided for all but the shortest of questions. Students will not always think in the same way or
along the same lines as the examiner. If the question is
assessing solely knowledge, the concepts to be credited
should be listed. If there is to be credit for understanding, marks should be reserved for the level of argument.
Marking holistically is an important part of data
response short answers as well as essays.
Command words
Are the command words – describe, describe fully, explain,
give one [two] reason[s], discuss, evaluate, assess – used
in a clear way? Are the command words located at the start of
the question, to focus the mind of the student? Is the number of
examples, or reasons, to be given, obvious to the student?
Command words often indicate the AO to be tested.
Changing the command word alters the whole thrust
of the question and changes the required answer. For
example, description of the location of earthquakes
and explanation of the location of earthquakes require
two very different answers.
Question language
Is the language used in the question unambiguous? Is the language at the reading age of the students?
Geology has much specialist language. Only key words
appropriate to the geological vocabulary of the given
standard are allowable.
Do the instructions guide the student through the question?
Does the guidance make the question too verbose? Does the
introduction to the question set the scene but avoid repeating
information provided in the following data?
Repetition of data as text in the question discourages
students from analysing the data themselves.
Do any sub-questions give credit for answers that may gain
marks through a high level of chance? e.g., which site, A or B?
In such cases credit should be given for the argument
rather than the decision.
Are examination questions in the form of a command?
Commands preclude yes/no answers which do not gain
marks.
Are students clear as to whether the answer is to be gained from
data provided or from recall?
Much valuable examination time may be lost looking
for data that are not there. Alternatively a false impression may be given of not needing to revise if the use of
recalled K & U is not overtly requested in a question.
Layout
Will the question fit easily on a double page spread?
This will enable students to see all the available data
when completing the question. It also reduces the
chances of the last part of the question being missed.
Is there a consistent amount of space allocated for answers of the
same mark value?
WJEC practice is to keep to the ruling of approximately 1.5 lines per 1 mark [except for one word answers].
This also helps to give an immediate and familiar
impression of how much writing, and thus depth of
answer, is required by the sub-question. It also aids
comparability between papers.
21
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Figure 3:
Tsunamis question
and mark scheme
– (GL3 – May
2003, Q2)
How successful was the Chief Examiner in his
examination?
In 2003 the WJEC Geology Chief Examiner asked the
former Subject Officer to mark one of his questions not to see whether his answers got full marks (!) but to
see how well he had designed the question. The AS
Tsunamis question below was analysed using the above
criteria. This is an AS Geology question from GL3
module, Geology and the Human Environment. The
GL3 paper has two data response questions and a choice
of one of three extended prose questions.
MARK SCHEME
(a)
(i)
21 - 23hrs (1)
(ii)
9750/15 (1)
= 650 km/hr (1)
(iii)
Too close to epicentre/no time for
warning (1)
(b)
(i)
Wavelength
wavelength decreases (1)
Amplitude
Velocity
(ii)
(c)
A-
B-
C-
D-
www.esta-uk.org
22
amplitude increases (1)
slows (1)
Question 2
[1]
[2]
[1]
[3]
Small amplitude (1)
large wavelength (1)
Indistinguishable form waves/swell (1)
[2]
Evacuation road/Access for relief work (1)
Barrier (1)
Above projected height of flood (1)
Associated with channel for flood water (1)
Barrier to inland flooding (1)
Absorb energy of wave (1)
Above projected height of flood (1)
Associated with channel for flood water (1)
Waves pass through piles/easily drains (1)
Least resistance to force of water (1)
Strength of Orientation (1)
Above projected wave height (1)
Trees - dissipate wave energy (1)
as they are flexible (1)
No development to destroy (1)
Provide run-up for waves to dissipate energy (1)
Credit alternatives/quality of discussion/argument
(Max 2 each)
[4]
Total 13 marks
Summer 2004 – Issue 46
A Sense of Time
Using Time Lines to Explain Geological Time
Published by the Earth Science Teachers’ Association
Registered Charity No. 1005331
Introduction
For children to understand the world around them they need to have some appreciation of the
relationships of events in time.
In the school this is usually addressed as part of the history curriculum. Knowledge Skills and
understanding; chronological understanding. KS1 1a Children should be taught to place events
and changes into chronological order. KS2 1a.Children should be taught to place events, people
and changes into correct periods of time. It is also very relevant within Science and Geography.
For anyone to grasp the immensity of geological time is difficult. For Primary age children whose
practical experience, at most, is eleven years, it is even harder.
One way in which time can be visually represented is the Time Line. Time lines are anything that
can be used to represent the passage of time as a distance.
Time lines come in two forms:i) Lines that are purely events laid out in chronological sequence. ii) Lines that show the relative
size of the time periods. Both have their values and their disadvantages.
i) Events and stages need to be remembered and looked at in sequence. The line can be kept
to a required size. Important areas can be emphasised in sufficient detail.
ii) Time periods are to scale and the immensity of geological time can be seen. One problem is,
for a permanent display showing the more recent events in reasonable detail, the total
length of the line would be too great.
Geological Time
Background information
Geological time is big, very big, and is measured in millions of years. It has been referred to as
“Deep Time” as a comparison to the enormous numbers involved in “Deep Space”. This probably
only helps astronomers or Star Trek fans to grasp the immensities of both.
Geological time is divided into eons, these into eras and these are further divided into periods. In
the USA some of the names are different and some timelines show different time periods.
The starting time of each geological period varies from one publication to another and dates are,
of course only approximate. Drawn below is a rough averaged table, rounded to the nearest 10
million years.
Summer 2004 – Issue 46 ● A Sense of Time
As you can see below, if the whole time was fitted from top to bottom of an A4 sheet of paper on a
23cm line, all the periods after the Precambrian would be fitted into the last 3cm.
Geological Time Line
Geological Period Millions of years before present* Events or characteristic life forms.
Quaternary
2
Ice age. First humans
Tertiary
65
Mammals evolve
Cretaceous
140
Dinosaur extinction KT extinction event. 50% of
all species
Jurassic
200
Ammonites, First birds appear
Triassic
230
Earliest dinosaurs
Permian
280
First reptiles Carboniferous
350
coal forming forests
Devonian
400
Land plants, insects and vertebrates
Silurian
440
Trilobites
Ordovician
500
Trilobites
Cambrian
570
Oldest fish. Oldest trilobites.
Precambrian
4600
Oldest bacteria fossils 3,200 mybp*
Mass extinction. 60% of all life
Using the spiral timeline on page 4, add these creatures in their correct time period. Add others of
your own if you wish. Suspend it from the ceiling or take it home.
Archaeopteryx
Early bird
(Jurassic)
Very early
jellyfish
(Cambrian)
Trilobite
(Ordovician)
Ammonite
( Jurassic)
Triceratops
(Cretaceous)
Summer 2004 – Issue 46 ● A Sense of Time
Examples of Timeline displays
Spiral cut from card.
This can be hung from the ceiling with small pictures of events and creatures attached in
appropriate places. Using the spiral allows you to fit a very long timeline into a much
smaller space.
Painted in school corridor.
If you have the services of a professional artist or art student it is possible to paint a
timeline mural with creatures and fossils to illustrate the line. Most of the line will be
devoid of interest if it includes the Precambrian. A similar timeline could be painted on a
playground or outer school wall. If you have access to a very long roll of paper you can
use it for the children to paint their own timeline.
Vertical in stairwell
A more meaningful timeline would be vertical as it mimics, to some extent, rock
stratification. You will need a deep stairwell to paint on or high ceiling to hang it from. If it
was not to scale then a spare wall could be used to show the time periods as rock layers
with fossils.
24-hour countdown clock
1hr equals about 200 million years. I minute equals about 3.5 million years. Events are set
as times of the day. With dinosaurs appearing at about ten thirty in the evening and
mankind appearing at less than one minute to midnight.
String with knots
For this you need a long ball of string. It is an exercise best done in the playground. Get a
child to walk away holding the one end and place the knots at appropriate points. Have a
child stand at each knot. This illustrates the immensity of geological time in comparison to
the short span of life on Earth.
Toilet roll
This works in the same way but needs a long corridor or a dry day, as, despite the
commercials, many toilet rolls are not strong when wet.
A line on A4 paper
A 200 million years to the cm the line would be 23 cm, if drawn to scale. This fits nicely
along the longer side of an A4 sheet of paper.
Summer 2004 – Issue 46 ● A Sense of Time
Early fish
(Silurian)
Coal forming tree
(Carboniferous)
4
3
9
10
5
11
12
8
6
7
2
1
Drawn in chronological sequence but not to scale
KEY
Coral
(Ordovician)
1. Precambrian
2. Cambrian
3. Ordovician
4. Silurian
5. Devonian
6. Carboniferous
7. Permian
8. Triassic
9. Jurassic
10. Cretaceous
11. Tertiary
12. Quaternary
Early man
(Quaternary)
COPYRIGHT
There is no copyright on original material published in
Teaching Primary Earth Science. If it is required for
teaching in the classroom. Copyright material reproduced
by permission of other publications rest with the original
publishers. To reproduce original material from P.E.S.T. in
other Publications, permission must be sought from ESTA
Committee via: Peter York, at the address right.
This issue was devised and written by Stuart Taylor and
Andrea Grealey and edited by members of the Primary Team.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO: TEACHING PRIMARY EARTH SCIENCE
send £5.00 made payable to ESTA.
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346 Middlewood Road North,
Oughtibridge, Sheffield S35 0HF
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
QUESTION ANALYSIS GL3 2003 Q2 – TSUNAMIS
Content
This is firmly in the specification - Key Idea 1 b, K&U
Data are interesting, from a real situation, at the correct level, and topical. Up to 13 marks are derived from the data so the Figures
are well used.
Assessment Objectives
The aim for the two data response questions is for 10 marks assessing K&U and 15 marks for A.
Application
Knowledge/Understanding
(a)(i) Interpretation of Fig 2a
1
(a)(ii) Application of skills
2
(a)(iii)
1
(b)(i) Interpretation of 2b
3
(b)(ii)
2
(c) data stimulus rather than data interpretation
2
2
The AOs closely reflect the requirements.
Standard
The standard is correctly targeted between GCSE & A level.
No sub-question requires synthesis.
Structure
Clear structure, each sub-question relates to a different data base
Incline of difficulty apparent and fits the model well
(a)(i)
simple fact to be read from the data
(a)(ii)
manipulation of data information
(a)(iii)
bringing in own K&U
(b)(i)
simple extraction of facts lowers demand from (a)(iii) as does the structure of the Q – completing a table makes this
a more accessible Q since the characteristics required are given
(b)(ii)
more difficult including K&U
(c)
explanation required taking the candidate higher up the incline of difficulty
All sub-questions effectively worth 1 mark except the last which is worth 2 + 2. This pattern could reduce discrimination.
Mark scheme
(a)(iii)
needs both statements rather than either/or for a meaningful answer.
(b)(i)
Can the answer of slower velocity be derived from the Figure?
(c)
Where is the channel for flood water? [Ans for A and B]
A good mark scheme that credits understanding in answers rather than individual words that might not be correctly used.
Command words
Clear use of command words: state, calculate, explain, give two reasons.
23
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Language
Short, sharp sentences effectively used. No long involved sentence construction. There is little gratuitous use of geological terminology. Language levels are correct. The stem of the Q clearly sets the context of the data, rather than giving information repeated
in the Figures. All the questions are in the form of commands.
(a)(i)
‘a’ tsunami could mean any tsunami, presumably the question is asking about the tsunami originating in Chile, shown
in Figure 2a?
All sections start with the candidate being referred to a specific Figure. This infers that the answers to this section should come
from the Figure. However, the last parts of (a), (b), and all (c) also require knowledge from students’ recall. There should be greater
clarity to indicate the source of the answer.
Layout
The two figures for (a) & (b) at the start of the question help set the context for the candidate.
The Q is above the normal two page spread but the data for (c) on the appropriate page helps both to minimise the chance of this
section being missed and avoid having to turn the page constantly to answer the sub-question.
A label for Chile on Figure 2a would have helped with orientation for the first sub-question.
One too many lines are given for each part of (c). This results from a tendency to fill the page, but can mislead candidates on the
time they spend on specific questions. The alteration in the number of lines is however, minor in this situation. Conversely, there
is not a lot of space to show working in (a)(ii) which may mean students forget and forfeit a mark.
How well do you think the Chief Examiner did in his examination?
There is opportunity for teachers to comment on examination papers at the end of each examination period. Responses from teachers
have steadily reduced with only two or three letters about the papers currently being received. Does this mean that everyone else is
happy, but too busy to make comment, as our INSET programme would suggest?
We want geology assessment to improve and develop. Constructive feedback from teachers is one important way by which this can
be achieved. If you have ideas as to how geology assessment could be improved, please contact Pete Loader ([email protected]).
We would welcome new ideas.
If you have specific comments about a past WJEC examination don’t hesitate to contact the Geology Officer at WJEC, 245,
Western Ave., Cardiff, CF5 2 YX.
Cathie Brooks, Former Assistant Secretary,
Welsh Joint Education Committee,
Pete Loader, Chief Examiner,
Welsh Joint Education Committee, (WJEC)
Email: [email protected]
www.esta-uk.org
24
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Reconstructing the Oceans of the Late Miocene:
How the Shell chemistry of Fossils Reveals
Ancient Patterns of Ocean Circulation
ALAN HAYWOOD AND MARK WILLIAMS
In geological terms 6 million years is a blink of the eye. Yet in the past 6 million years alone, which
represents the period of the late Miocene to the present, the rise of the Tibetan Plateau in Asia,
the closure of the Isthmus of Panama between South and North America which joined the two
continents together, and volume fluctuations in the ice sheets in the polar regions have all
significantly affected Earth’s climate and biota.
Investigating the evolution of past environments and
climates is an essential component of predicting future
change. A programme of investigation at the British
Antarctic Survey is reconstructing Earth’s global environment in the geological past. It focuses on several
geological time slices as a means of identifying the key
controls for past climate change; the late Miocene is one
of these time slices. As part of this programme numerical models (General Circulation Models: GCMs) running on high performance supercomputers are used to
simulate past climates and environments. These models require a range of data derived from sedimentology,
palaeontology and geochemistry to run. In this article
we show how geochemical evidence from the fossil
shells of tiny planktonic foraminifera can be used to
reconstruct late Miocene ocean temperatures and
demonstrate the distinct differences between present
global oceanography and that of 6 Million years ago.
The late Miocene world
The late Miocene world was a time of geographic and
oceanographic change. It was during this time that the
Isthmus of Panama first began to develop, culminating
in North America and South America being joined, and
separating the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The Mediterranean Sea also became isolated at this
time, either because of local tectonic controls, a lowering of global sea level, or through a combination of
both. This resulted in extensive drying-out (desiccation) of the Mediterranean Basin and deposition of
evaporites. The late Miocene was also an interval of
global cooling and ice buildup at the poles, part of a
long-term trend of cooling that began some 30 million
years earlier. Towards the end of this period a major
expansion of the Antarctic ice-sheet occurred, associated with moderate to severe cooling of the ocean surface
at mid to high latitudes. The late Miocene also saw the
onset or intensification of the Indian Monsoon, linked
to uplift of the Tibetan Plateau above a critical altitude.
These major changes in geography and climate impacted on the Earth’s biota. For example, there was an interchange of animals between North America and South
America across the Isthmus of Panama by 2.7 million
years ago. Cooler conditions in Africa led to a reduction
of forest and expansion of Savanna environments during the late Miocene, and this may have provided some
of the impetus for the early evolution of our hominid
ancestors. In the oceans, the calcareous shells of surface
dwelling planktonic foraminifera recorded the properties of the surface waters in which they lived. The
chemical record preserved in their shells provides
much information about the way in which the world’s
oceans interacted with changes in geography and climate 6 million years ago.
Planktonic foraminifera and ocean temperatures
Oceanic circulation transports an enormous amount of
heat around our planet, but the pattern of circulation
has not always been the same. For example, the present
system of ocean circulation may have been established
as recently as the late Miocene (about 6 million years
ago). One method of assessing past ocean circulation
patterns is to use the chemical information preserved in
the calcareous shells of planktonic foraminifera. This
record is a proxy for the chemical and physical properties of the ocean water in which the organisms lived.
Foraminifera are sub-microscopic organisms that are
sometimes referred to as ‘armoured amoeba’ (see Figures
1, 2). These single-celled organisms belong to the Kingdom Protista, which includes other self-motile organisms such as dinoflagellates. Foraminifera produce a shell
that may be composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or
silica cement. The shells of
foraminifera come in myriad forms
that are typically less than 1mm
long, though some larger species are
several centimetres long – pretty
impressive for an organism composed of a single cell. Foraminifer
shells are often fossilized and it is a
foraminifera-bearing limestone that
forms some of the blocks of the
world’s most amazing buildings, the
pyramids at Gizeh.
25
Figure 1.
The planktonic
foraminifera
Neogloboquadrina
pachyderma. This
species occupies
the surface waters
of the world’s
oceans at high
latitudes. Its shell
chemistry can be
used to estimate
sea surface
temperature for
the Southern
Ocean in the late
Miocene. The
specimen has a
diameter of about
270(m.
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Figure 2.
The planktonic
foraminifera
Globigerina
bulloides. This is
widely regarded as
one of the best
species for
calculating past
temperature of the
sea surface. It
tends to be
associated with
zones of oceanic
upwelling where
cool nutrient-rich
deep waters rise
to the surface. The
specimen has a
maximum
diameter of about
450(m.
Foraminifera occupy environments
from river estuaries to the open sea.
Some foraminifera live on the sea
bottom, but many species have
adapted to live within the water column of the world’s oceans at various depths. It is these planktonic
foraminifera, producing CaCO 3
shells, which are particularly useful
for assessing the physical and chemical properties of the surface waters
of the world’s oceans. Recorded in the shell of a
foraminifer is a chemical record of the ambient water
temperature in which it lived. One of the key components of this record is the ratio of the stable isotopes of
oxygen, the heavier isotope 18O and the lighter isotope
16O. During periods of cooler global climate the lighter
isotope is preferentially locked-up in polar ice. As a
result, enriched (18O in the foraminifer shell is a signal
of cooler temperature.
Miocene oceans
The surface temperatures of the oceans of the late
Miocene, about 6 million years ago, show several differences from those of the modern ocean. Although
overall global climate was probably cooler, in parts of
the North Atlantic sea surface temperatures were actually several °C warmer (Figure 3). This may reflect
enhanced Gulf Stream flow from the Gulf of Mexico
during the late Miocene, driven by the development of
the Isthmus of Panama, which prevented the flow of
North Atlantic water into the Pacific basin, and thus
created the modern pattern of North Atlantic circulation (Figure 4). An enhanced Gulf Stream would have
produced warmer conditions in the North Atlantic. It
may have contributed to the well-documented period
of early Pliocene warmth, about 5 to 3 million years
ago, by preventing extension of the north polar ice
sheet. In contrast, sea surface temperatures in the South
Atlantic appear to have been much cooler 6 million
years ago, probably because of cooling global climate
linked with expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet, but
also because of enhanced transfer of heat away from the
tropics towards the North Atlantic by the Gulf Stream.
In the Indian Ocean, sea surface temperatures were
also much cooler. Whilst a cooling global climate would
have contributed to this, surface waters may also have
been affected by increased winds and upwelling of
deeper cooler oceanic waters driven by an enhanced
Asian Monsoon. The latter may have been caused by
uplift of the Tibetan Plateau above a critical altitude.
The Tibetan Plateau is the engine that drives the modern Asian Monsoon. During summer it generates a
high-altitude region of low pressure as the plateau
heats. Warm air rising from the plateau pulls in moist air
from the Indian Ocean. The opposite effect occurs in
winter, with cool continental air spilling off the plateau
and forming a barrier to rain-bearing clouds encroaching over the subcontinent.
Supporting evidence for cooler temperatures in the
tropics is evident in the reconstructed latitudinal narrowing of the coral reef belt in the late Miocene, as the
environments in which these organisms usually thrived
was reduced. Most coral reefs need temperatures of
24°C or above; below this temperature, between 24 to
20°C coral reefs exhibit stressed growth, and indeed, off
the east coast of Australia, coral growth and coral diversity was much reduced during the latest Miocene.
Implications for global climate change
The chemical data from the shells of late Miocene
planktonic foraminifera indicate that changes in the
geography and climate of the Earth interacted significantly with ocean currents and sea surface temperatures. For example, the initial development of the
Isthmus of Panama contributed to an enhanced Gulf
Stream by presenting a barrier to the flow of Atlantic
water into the Pacific Ocean. In the North Atlantic, it is
the Gulf Stream and its lateral extension the North
Figure 3.
Sea surface temperature estimates from foraminifer shells for
the late Miocene of the Atlantic Ocean compared with the
modern temperature gradient (bold line). Whilst temperatures
in the South Atlantic are estimated to be consistently cooler for
the late Miocene, some locations in the North Atlantic appear to
have been warmer, probably representing enhanced Gulf Stream
flow. The primary oxygen isotope data for the foraminifera is
mostly from Ocean Drilling Program and Deep Sea Drilling
Program records. The numbers refer to ODP/DSDP drilling sites.
Ancient sea surface temperatures are reconstructed from the
chemical signatures of the foraminifer shells and by estimating
the past chemical characteristics of the oceans (Haywood and
Williams dataset). Modern sea water surface properties can be
acquired from Schmidt, G.A., Bigg, G.R. and Rohling, E.J., Global
seawater oxygen-18 database, 1999, at:
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/o18data
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26
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Figure 4.
Flow of oceanic waters in the Atlantic.
Warm, saline surface waters from the Gulf
of Mexico travel northwards, were they
cool and mix with Arctic Ocean waters
before sinking. Cool, North Atlantic Deep
Water travels back towards the equator.
Reconstruction based on a figure of
modern Atlantic thermohaline circulation
by Dr Steve Hovan of Indiana University,
Pennsylvania, USA.
Atlantic Drift, that brings warm saline waters from the
tropics to the Northwest coast of Europe, and this
warm water helps to keep the climate mild. The northern North Atlantic and Northwest Europe have annual
temperatures that are about 9°C above the average for
their latitude.
The Gulf Stream is a warm surface ocean current
originating in the Gulf of Mexico, where, at only 80
kilometres wide it travels at 5 kilometres per hour
(kph), carrying water at about 25°C. Its lateral continuation, the North Atlantic Drift, widens to several hundred kilometres, and slows to less than 2 kph, dividing
into several sub-currents. As they travel northwards,
the warm waters of the Gulf Stream lose moisture
through evaporation, making the sea particularly saline.
In the North Atlantic, this saline water becomes cold
enough to sink, mixing with cold water from the Arctic
Ocean. This forms a deep ocean current called the
North Atlantic Deep Water which acts as a pulling
mechanism on the Gulf Stream, maintaining the direction and intensity of the current. This thermohaline
circulation is driven by density contrasts in different
water masses based on salinity and temperature.
Some GCM’s simulate a rapid break down of the
thermohaline circulation when marine water density in
the North Atlantic Ocean is lowered by adding fresh
water, for example through melting of the polar ice
sheet. Increased rainfall and warming over the North
Atlantic are both expected as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions, so it is possible that global warming could produce a slowdown of the Gulf Stream and
much cooler temperatures in Northwest Europe.
However, the situation is much more complex and only
a gradual weakening of the Gulf Stream is predicted by
some models. Nevertheless, the late Miocene data suggest that the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation
has fluctuated in the past and could have a considerable
impact on regional climate.
Further Reading
A good general textbook on the oceans and climate is:
Bigg, G.R. (1996) The Oceans and Climate. University Press, Cambridge,
266 pp.
For more information about foraminifera see:
Wilkinson, I.P. (2001) Fossils under the microscope. Teaching Earth Sciences,
27, pp. 78-84.
For more detailed reading on the uplift of the Himalayas, closure of
the Isthmus of Panama, and changes in global climate over the past
65 million years see:
Dettman, D.L., M.J. Kohn, J. Quade, F.J. Ryerson, T.P. Ojha and S.
Hamidullah. (2001) Seasonal stable isotope evidence for a strong Asian
monsoon throughout the past 10.7 m.y. Geology, 29, pp. 31-34.
Haug, G.H. and R. Tiedemann (1998) Effect of the Isthmus of Panama on
Atlantic Ocean thermohaline circulation. Nature, 393, pp. 673-676.
Zachos, J.C., M. Pagani, L. Sloan, E. Thomas and K. Billups. (2001) Trends,
rhythms, and aberrations in global climate 65 Ma to present. Science, 292, pp.
686-693.
For more information about climate change visit the website of the British
Antarctic Survey at: www.antarctica.ac.uk
Alan Haywood and Mark Williams
British Antarctic Survey
Geological Sciences Division
High Cross, Madingley Road
Cambridge CB3 0ET
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr Alistair Crame (British Antarctic Survey) for commenting on
an earlier version of this manuscript, Dr Steve Hovan (Indiana University
of Pennsylvania) for the reconstruction of thermohaline circulation used in
Figure 4, and Dr Ian Wilkinson and Grenville Turner (British Geological
Survey) for the images of the foraminifera used in Figures 1 and 2.
27
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Attitude Toward Learning Science of
Students in Introductory Geology Courses
JOAN Y. JACH AND CINZIA CERVATO
Research into attitudes in science focuses largely on determining if certain instruction methods
affect student attitude and there is a broad range of opinions as to what attitude means and how
to study it. We have analyzed the attitude of students enrolled into two introductory geology
classes with the goal to test if demographic factors and success in the class play a significant role
in determining students attitude towards science and learning science. A pre-test and a post-test
Likert-type attitude questionnaire were administered to two introductory Geology classes at Iowa
State University during the Autumn semester 2002. Results were analyzed for statistically
significant relationships between attitude, gender, major and final grade. The results show that
male students, science, math and technology majors, and students who successfully passed the
class have a better attitude towards learning science.
Introduction
Attitude toward a science course is a conglomerate of
many components including self-image, peer influence, parental influence, and classroom environment.
Attitudes are developed over the course of a person’s
life and tend to change with cognitive states.
This study is intended to demonstrate that attitude
assessment can be a valuable tool in the science classroom especially when there is an established style of
instruction and a desire for improvement. The most
convenient way of assessing attitude change is the
pre/post test method where a survey is given at the
beginning of the instruction segment and at the end of
the segment.
There is a difference between the terms “scientific
attitude” and “attitude toward science”, which can translate into a difference in the researcher’s goals. Gardner
(1975) describes attitudes towards science as ‘interest in science’, ‘attitudes towards scientists’, ‘attitudes toward
social responsibility in science’ and scientific attitudes as
‘open-mindedness’, ‘honesty’, and ‘skepticism’. This
study focuses on attitude toward science or the “views
and images young people develop about science as a
result of the influences and experiences in a variety of
different situations” (Gardner, 1975; Ramsden, 1998).
Positive change in student attitude can mean positive
gains in understanding and science literacy, thus research
on attitude assessment and improvement mostly concerns the attitude toward science.
Methods: Attitude assessment in Geology 100,
Iowa State University
Libarkin’s (2001) research was used as a model for this
study done at Iowa State University during the Autumn
semester in 2002. Student attitudes were assessed using
a Likert-type scale attitude survey at the start of the
course and again at the end of the course with the goal
of examining any attitude change over the semester.
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The courses assessed for this study were two sections of
a three-credit introductory geology class with no lab or
small-group discussions with a teaching assistant outside the classroom (commonly referred to in the US as
‘recitation’) and a total enrollment of about 460 students, taught by the same instructor (Cervato).
Student makeup
Typically, students enroll in introductory science courses to meet a science requirement set by the college or
university. In the course researched for this study about
three-quarters of the students raised their hands when
asked on the first day of class who was taking this class
to meet a science requirement and about 80% of the 460
students enrolled in the two sections were non- science-math-technology (SMT) majors. The final letter
grade (A-D are passing grades, F is the failing grade),
gender, and year in school were also recorded for each
student and used to determine if there were factors outside of the specific treatment that could affect a student’s attitude. Specifically, gender is one of the most
studied variables in attitude toward learning science and
it has been shown in many studies that male students
tend to have a more positive attitude toward science
than female students (Jovanovic and Dreves, 1998;
McEneaney and Radeloff, 2000).
The final grade obtained by the students was factored
in the analysis to test the hypothesis that it may affect the
student attitude at the end of the course. The survey was
given a few days before the final exam, but students could
keep track of their performance since the grading scale
and exam, quiz, and homework scores are accessible to
them through the course’s WebCT page.
The attitude survey
The attitude survey consisted of a pre-test (26 questions) and a post-test (31 questions). The post-test
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
included five additional questions on peer and familial
influences (Table 1). The ability of a student to cope
with the different demands of post-secondary science
classes may factor into their attitude toward science,
and this ability to cope may have developed in high
school. For this reason, a question was added on the
post-test asking how many science classes the respondent took during high school.
The 26 questions of the survey were divided into
three groups based on what they specifically addressed:
Attitude toward Learning Science (ALS – 7 questions),
Attitude toward Science (AS – 5 questions), and Conception of Science (CS – 14 questions). Dividing attitude into distinctive scales can give a researcher the
ability to specifically determine how attitudes are
formed and how they change. Sources for the survey
items are given in Libarkin (2001).
Content validity of the original survey (Libarkin,
2001) was established by asking faculty to comment on
the relevance of each test item and by testing undergraduate and graduate students as a control group. Typically, a control group is a randomly selected group of
participants from the original test population. The term
“control group” as used in this study refers to a specific
population chosen for their assumed positive attitude to
science in each scale of the survey. For comparison purposes, the control group of the University of Arizona’s
study was chosen (Libarkin, 2001)
Results
Acceptable student scores on the attitude scales are set
at two standard deviations below the control group
mean. Thus, for students to be considered as having a
positive attitude, they must score at or above 0.81 on the
ALS scale, 0.66 on the AS scale, and 0.60 on the CS
scale. This ensures that all variability associated with
testing individuals is accounted for (Libarkin, 2001).
All attitude scales show improvement from pre- to
post-test. Attitude means reported for the post-test show
that the students’ attitudes are not acceptable based upon
the standard deviations set by Libarkin (2001).
SMT majors have overall a more positive attitude
than non-SMT majors on all scales. This is true both for
pre-test and post-test. Their attitude toward learning science improved at the end of course, while their attitude
towards science slightly decreased. Pre- and post-test
scores do not vary substantially in non-SMT majors.
To test the hypothesis that success in class and positive attitude are related (i.e. students who had more
positive attitudes received a higher final grade or students who had higher final grades displayed a more positive attitude at the end of the semester), the students
were divided into groups based on their final grades
with the line between successful/unsuccessful being
moved to encompasses fewer and fewer students in the
successful group. This was done to even out the sample
sizes for analysis and to determine if, as the final grade
improved, attitude improved as well. The terms “suc-
cessful” or “unsuccessful” are useful in this study when
considering groups of students and their final grades,
but do not consider actual learning or retention of
material.
Unsuccessful students showed no significant difference between their pre- and post-test scores only when
D+ to F was considered unsuccessful. There was a significant increase in the students’ ALS from pre- to posttest for all but the D+ to F unsuccessful students. On
the other hand, the students who were successful had a
significant increase in their ALS in all group divisions
and a significant decrease in their AS for all except the
A to B group. The change in CS was not significant in
any of the successful groups. The more successful the
students were, the more of their attitude scales showed
a significantly positive result. This could also be a result
of student views on what grade they consider successful and what grade they consider unsuccessful. The D+
to F category of unsuccessful had no significantly positive attitudes but contains the university approved passing grade of D+. This could mean that, even though
the student received a passing grade, the grade was considered as unsuccessful by the student. More likely is
that most students view a successful grade differently to
the university because of the expected easiness of an
introductory class.
These results suggest that students who are successful in the class may have more positive attitudes toward
learning science, which may help them in the learning
process. The students’ class rank did not show any significant results when compared with their attitude.
Based on previous studies found in the literature (e.g.,
McEneaney and Radeloff, 2000) and on results from
questions added to the post-test about peer and family
influence, we had expected male students to have a more
positive attitude than female students in all scales. A
question on the post-test revealed that male students
from the student population had taken more science
classes in high school than female students (Fig. 2).
There were about 10% more male students than female
students who took 6 to 9 science classes in high school
(17.7% male and 7.9% female) and about 4% more male
students than female students who took more than 9 science classes in high school (6.2% male and 2.0% female).
Also, when asked if the student would do well if they
decided to major in science, 17% more male students
than female students replied “yes” (57.0% male and
39.4% female). As for family influence, the results indicated that while neither male nor female students had a
high attendance at science fairs and museums (4.5% for
males and 4.1% for females in the category of “quite
often”), the male students had 4% more “occasional”
attendance than the female students to these types of
events (34.2% male and 30.6% female). Results from the
Post-test questions supported the hypothesis that male
students had more previous experiences in science and
prior positive attitudes that would predispose them to
doing better in a post-high school setting.
29
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
expected since the SMT majors would probably have
had previous experiences with science that predisposed
them to a more positive attitude toward learning science and a more positive conception of science.
The students who successfully passed the class
showed a significant increase in their ALS, which could
suggest that their attitude was positively influenced by
the expectation of a good grade in the class. None of the
tests run indicated a difference between freshmen and
second through fourth year students.
Figure 1.
Means of the pretest and post-test
scores for the
student group
from this study
(N=221), of the
Iowa State
University control
group (N=27) and
the University of
Arizona control
group (N=31). No
standard deviation
was available for
the University of
Arizona control
group (Libarkin,
2001).
Figure 2.
Number of high
school classes
that the surveyed
students declared
to have taken.
The results showed that male students had a significantly better attitude toward learning science in both
pre- and post-test scores. Female students showed a
more positive attitude toward science but not at a statistically significant level. The attitude toward learning science improved in the post-test in both groups, while the
attitude towards science and conception of science scores
decreased slightly or remained constant in both groups.
Male students may be more positive towards learning
science from the onset because of past experiences (e.g.,
encouragement from family and teachers and competition among peers for high scores in science and math,
McEneaney and Radeloff, 2000). The increased ALS
score in the post-test scores of both groups possibly suggests that the teaching style and/or classroom environment made the students like the class and encouraged
them to learn. These factors may not have affected the
attitude towards science and the conception of science as
strongly because these attitudes encompass broader areas
including societal opinions, ethics, and religion.
The SMT students had significantly more positive
scores than the non-SMT students for the ALS and CS
on the pre-test. The SMT students also had a higher
ALS and CS for the Post-test but it was not statistically
significant. Both groups show an improved attitude
toward learning science at the end of the course, while
AS and CS scores slightly decreased. These results were
Conclusions
From this study it can be concluded that there is a relationship between attitude toward learning science and
gender, success in the class, and major. Overall male students, successful students, and SMT majors have a more
positive attitude toward learning science. The relationship between these factors and the attitude toward science and the conception of science is more ambiguous.
There seems to be no relationship between the year in
school, freshman through senior, and attitude but these
results are still unclear because of sample size. Overall
students showed a more positive attitude toward learning
science at the end of the course. While exogenous variables such as gender, socioeconomic status, and family
mobility are not under the direct influence of the school
or instructor (Haladyna, Olsen, and Shaughnessy, 1982),
a teaching environment that attempts to actively engage
students and involve them in the learning process such as
the one used in the classes surveyed for this study, can
improve student attitudes.
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Moses Langley and ISU Statistical
Lab assistants for their assistance with the statistical
analyses, and the students in Geology 100 (Autumn
2002) for allowing us to test their attitude towards science. Partial support for this study was provided by the
U.S. National Science Foundation’s Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement program under
grants DUE-0228491 and DUE-0231246.
References
Gardner, P. (1975) Attitudes to science: A review. Studies in Science Education, v.2, p. 1-41.
Gogolin, L., and Swartz, F. (1992) A quantitative and
qualitative inquiry into the attitudes toward science of
nonscience college students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v.29(5), p.487-504.
Haladyna, T., Olsen, R, and Shaughnessy, J. (1982)
Relations of student, teacher, and learning environment
variables to attitudes toward science. Science Education, v.66 (5), p. 671-687.
Jovanovic, J. and Dreves, C. (1998) Students’ science
attitudes in the performance-based classroom: Did we
close the gender gap? Journal of Women and Minorities
in Science and Engineering, v. 4, p. 235-248.
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30
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
1.
I like to read about new scientific discoveries.
2.
I like learning about the Earth and how it works.
3.
I often wonder why the Earth looks the way it does.
4.
I like science because it challenges me.
5.
I think science is interesting and woul d like to
learn more.
19.
When scientific investigations are done correctly,
scientists gather information that will not change
in future years.
20.
When scientists classify something in nature, they
are classifying nature this way because that is the
way nature is; any other way would be incorrect.
21.
Even when scientific investigations are done
correctly, the information that scientist discover
may change in the future.
6.
Science classes are boring.
7.
I like to talk about interesting classes with
my friends.
22.
The laws, theories, and concepts of all areas of
science are related.
8.
Nothing interesting can be learned from rocks.
23.
Scientific laws, theories, and concepts are tested
against reliable observations.
9.
Geologic discoveries made today are important for
the future.
24.
Scientists classify nature through schemes which
were originally created by another scientist; there
could be other ways to classify nature.
10.
Geologists are not as scientific as other scientists.
11.
I think that science has done more harm than
good.
25.
Scientists reject the idea that we will one day
know everything about the universe.
12.
People with poor social skills tend to become
scientists.
26.
13.
Scientific beliefs do not change over time.
Today’s scientific laws, theories, and concepts
may have to be changed in the face of new
evidence.
Scientists believe that we will one day know
everything there is to know about the universe.
27.
14.
How many science classes did you take during
high school? A.0-3 B.3-6 C.6-9 D.9 or more
28.
15.
Scientists will accept scientific information even
if test results are now consistent.
Were there science labs in your high school?
A. Yes B. No
29.
16.
The evidence for scientific information does not
have to be repeatable.
How many college level science classes have you
taken? A.0-3 B.3-6 C.6-9 D.9 or more
30.
17.
The laws, theories, and concepts of all areas of
science are not connected.
Would you do wel l in science if you tried to major
in it? A. Yes B. No
31.
18.
The truth of all scientific knowledge is beyond
question.
Did your family attend things such as science fairs
or science museums when you were growing up?
A. Never B. Rarely C. Occasionally D. Quite often
Libarkin, J. (2001) Development of an assessment of
student conception of the nature of science. Journal of
Geoscience Education, v.49 (5), p. 435-442.
McEneaney, E. and Radeloff, C. (2000) Geoscience in
social context: an assessment of course impact on attitudes of female undergraduates. Journal of Women and
Minorities in Science and Engineering, v.6, p131-153.
Ramsden, J. (1998) Mission impossible?: Can anything
be done about attitudes to science? International Journal of Science Education, v.20 (2), p.125-137.
Table1.
Joan Y. Jach
Department of Geological Sciences
Iowa State University,
Ames, IA 50011
[email protected]
Attitude survey
used in the
Autumn 2002
Geology 100
course. Questions
1-26 from Libarkin
(2001); questions
27-31 adapted
from Gogolin and
Swartz (1992).
Cinzia Cervato
Department of Geological Sciences
Iowa State University,
Ames, IA 50011
[email protected]
31
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TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Recommended “Rocky” Reads
PETE LOADER
As a reward for the efforts of exam marking, each summer I treat myself to a number of books to read during those
days of convalescence on holiday. My library is now quite extensive and, though some may say this has become
something of an obsession of mine, it may just be an indication of the increase in the number of exam periods in
recent years! The following are some light geological reads for you (all in print) in stratigraphic order, with my
comments. I thoroughly recommend them all and you won’t even have to examine a single script! I would be
delighted to hear from anyone wishing to add to this list. Enjoy as I have done.
The Hidden Landscape – A Journey
into the Geological Past
By Richard Fortey (1996) – (Pimlico)
0-7126-6040-2
Already a classic, this book is beautifully
written in Richard Fortey’s inimitable
style as he explains why the landscape of
Britain is the way it is. The scenery of
Britain is related to the underlying geology as we learn how Britain has evolved
through time. All the classic geological
locations are recalled like old friends illustrated with B & W and colour photos.
This is easy reading at its best.
T.Rex and the Crater of Doom
By Walter Alvarez (1997) – (Princetown
Uni Press) 0-140-27636-X
The story of the discovery of one of the
great mysteries of modern science – what
caused the death of the dinosaurs? Written
by the original protagonist for a cataclysmic impact, Walter Alvarez provides a
first-hand insight into the way in which
scientific ideas are developed; as much by
chance as rigorous scientific method.
Though still hotly disputed among the
scientific community, nevertheless a fascinating read.
The Floating Egg – Episodes in the
Making of Geology
By Roger Osborne (1999) – (Pimlico)
0-7126-6686-9
An intriguing compendium of 25 loosely
linked stories based on Yorkshire and the
Northeast of England which have contributed to the development of geological
science. The characters, fictional or otherwise are brought to life by real or imagined
settings and supported by historical and
scientific records, my favourite being
William Smith’s journey of discovery. It led
me to the top of York Minster as described,
to look again with Smith’s eyes. Magic!
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Apocalypse: A natural history of
global disasters
By Bill McGuire (1999) – (Cassell)
0-304-35209-8
“We are living on borrowed time.” Bill
McGuire describes the four catastrophic events that await modern society who
up to now have had it easy! Full of
doomsday prophecies of Armageddon,
this is a great book for enthusing geology students, but not one to read alone at
bedtime!
Noah’s Flood – The new scientific
discoveries about the event that
changed history.
By Ryan & Pitman (1999) – (Simon &
Schuster UK Ltd)0-684-86137-2
This classic read about the flood that created the modern-day Black Sea is proposed as a scientific answer to the origin of
the biblical flood story (and others). It
reads as a detective story linking the disciplines of Quaternary geology, oceanography, archaeology and anthropology. Food
for thought.
Evolutionary Catastrophes – The
science of mass extinction
By Vincent Courtillot (1999) –
(Cambridge) 0-521-58392-6
A well-balanced and accessible read on
current theories for mass extinction.
Well illustrated with excellent B & W
diagrams. This book revisits and reinforces so much basic geology in its discussion of mass extinction it acts almost
like a textbook in itself. Thoroughly recommended.
The End of the Dinosaurs – Chicxulub
Crater and Mass Extinction
By Charles Frankel (1999) –
(Cambridge Uni Press) 0-521-47447-7
A very readable and detailed account of
the KT mass extinction event that focuses
in the cosmic hypothesis and the Chicxulub impact crater. Other mass extinctions
are reviewed and the effect of giant
impacts on the biosphere. Well illustrated
with diagrams and B & W photos. Good
balance in the current debate.
Voices of the Rocks
By Robert Schoch (2000) – (Thorsons)
0-7225-3985-1
A great read for those interested in the
link between geology and archaeology.
The way in which natural geological catastrophes have influenced the evolution
and the development of ancient civilisations is well researched with some surprising findings. Gradualism versus
catastrophism – all geology students
should be made to read Chapter One –
“The changing of the paradigm”.
The Dinosaur Hunters – A True Story
of Scientific Rivalry & the Discovery
of the Prehistoric World.
By Deborah Cadbury (2000) –
(Fourth Estate) 1-85702-963-1
This is the extraordinary, true-life story
of the bitter rivalry between two 19thcentury palaeontologists, Gideon Mantell and Richard Owen, who discovered
the prehistoric world of reptiles through
fossils. Both were driven by the fame
and power that come from scientific discovery and to them we owe the legacy of
the Dinosaurs. But at what cost!
The Dating Game – One Man’s search
for the Age of the Earth
By Cherry Lewis (2000) – (Cambridge
Uni Press) 0-521-79051-4
The age of the Earth has long been an
issue in geology and this book tells the fascinating story of Arthur Holmes in his
quest to find the “clock” that would pro-
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
vide an accurate answer. The discovery
and development of radioactive dating is
told with B&W photos and diagrams
through the story of the famous man himself. A must for all who enjoy the history
of discovery.
Surviving Galeras – One man’s battle
to tame the power of the volcano.
By Stanley Williams (2001) – (Little,
Brown and Company) 0-316-85570-7
This story highlights the dangers experienced by those scientists who risk their
own lives to understand volcanoes and
help save others. Most volcanologists are
young and this true story explains why.
Told by one of the few who survived
the1993 eruption of the Colombian volcano, Galeras, about those who did not.
An explosive read!
Architects of Eternity : The new
science of fossils
By Richard Corfield (2001) –
(Headline Book Pub) 0 7472 7179 8
An accessible history of palaeontology
explaining the importance of fossils to our
understanding of “deep time”. This book
outlines some of the personalities and
arguments that punctuate the development of the science. Palaeontology is certainly changing.
Ice Age
By John and Mary Gribbin (2001) –
(Allen Lane The Penguin Press)
0-71399612-9
The story of how we only recently came
to understand the Ice Ages through the
exploration and determination of key
personalities
such
as
Agassiz,
Milankovitch, Imbrie and Shackleton
and many others. A small book that provides a great introduction to Quaternary
climatic fluctuations. A must for those
teaching this topic.
Trilobite! – Eyewitness to Evolution
By Richard Fortey (2001) –
(HarperCollins) 0-00-257012-2
A superb guide to this popular but extinct
group of arthropods. Their anatomy,
physiology, habitats and habits are all
explained interspersed with often amusing anecdotes. One of my students went
to do geology at university on the strength
of this book. I have to agree that Richard
Fortey’s enthusiasm is infectious.
A Guide to the End of the World:
Everything you never wanted to know
By Bill McGuire (2002) – (Oxford
University Press) 0-19-280297-6
We are doomed! “One thing is for certain
– one day our familiar world will end. It’s
just a matter of when and how...” Global
warming, global cooling, super-eruptions,
giant earthquakes, mega-tsunamis and
impacts from space. Which will get us
first? A small book with a title that lives up
to expectation.
The Map that changed the World –
The tale of William Smith and the
Birth of a Science.
By Simon Winchester (2002) –
(Viking) 0-670-88407-3
This is a stimulating read and a must for
your shelf. The life of William Smith was
far from easy and this book puts his mapping feat into context. When you have
read it you will want to visit the Geology
Society map at Burlington House. And to
think that he was never invited to become
a “Fellow” himself.
The Last Days of St. Pierre: The
Volcanic Disaster that claimed
30,0000 lives.
By Ernest Zebrowski, Jr. (2002) –
(Rutger University Press)
0-8135-3041-5
This is the story of the 1902 volcanic disaster on the French West Indian Island of
Martinique. It describes how nearly
30,000 people died unnecessarily owing
to an unfortunate combination of scientific misjudgement and political manipulation. I first read this exactly 100 years to
the day after the world was first made
aware of the awesome power of pyroclastic flows. Riveting.
When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest
Mass Extinction of All Time
By Michael J. Benton (2003) – (Thames
and Hudson) 0-50005116X
A discussion of the most catastrophic
mass extinction event of all time. The
end-Permian event killed over 90 per
cent of life on land and sea around 250
million years ago. Michael Benton discusses the history and development of
our current ideas and outlines the
implications for evolution and current
bio-diversity.
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded
By Simon Winchester (2003) – (Viking)
0-670911267
The 1883 eruption of a remote island in SE
Asia was far-reaching and not just in a geographical sense. It planted the word Krakatoa firmly in modern vocabulary. This is the
very detailed account based on dramatic
eyewitness reports and the limited records
of the “most violent explosion ever recorded and experienced by modern man”.
Snowball Earth
By Gabrielle Walker (2003) –
(Bloomsbury) 0-74756051X
The story of one man’s theory that the
Earth underwent a “super ice-age” 600
Ma that completely froze the planet from
pole to pole. Told like a detective story, the
evidence is clearly presented in this very
readable account that illustrates the passions of personalities involved and the
development of this remarkable theory.
Best read on a hot day!
A Short History of Nearly Everything
By Bill Bryson ( 2003) –
(Doubleday) 0-385-40818-8
A zany attempt to understand everything
in natural science from the Big Bang to
now! This is a popular science book that
will make you smile and add that “wow”
factor to lesson anecdotes. For example –
the complete fossil legacy of every American alive today would be one-quarter of a
complete skeleton!
Pompeii: A novel
By Robert Harris (2003) –
(Hutchinson) 0-09-180120-6
A murder, mystery, love story all set in a
historically accurate setting around the
Bay of Naples, two days prior to the AD79
eruption of Vesuvius. The geology is real
and blends in well with this fictional story.
Great for anyone who has visited the area
and encouragement to plan a future visit.
A cracking read!
The Earth: An Intimate History
By Richard Fortey (2004) –
(HarperCollins) 0002570114
My summer 2004 read. Roll on August
and the end of marking!
Pete Loader, St Bede’s College, Alexandra
Park, Manchester, M16 8HX
([email protected])
33
www.esta-uk.org
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
News and Views
Crest Awards and the
Environment Research Challenge
How about getting your class involved in
the Crest Awards Scheme? CREST (CRE
ativity in Science and Technology) was set
up in 1986 to encourage practical problem
solving which can be linked to industry
and the wider community and is still
going from strength to strength. Check
out the website www.theba-net.com
The CREST Science criteria
complement the Science National
Curriculum Programme of Study for
Experimentation and Investigation (Sc1).
The Science element of the Scottish 514 Environmental Studies programmed
is an appropriate area for the project
work using Attainment Targets Levels D
and E. It included Attainment
Outcomes of Understanding Living
Things and the Process of Life and
Understanding Earth and Space. In
Northern Ireland there is opportunity
for its use in all Attainment Targets at
KS3 and Ats 1,2,4 at KS4
Ed
Science
Update
Science UPD8 developed by the
Centre for Science Education,
Sheffield Hallam University in
partnership with ASE (Association for
Science Education), creates weekly
classroom activities based on up-tothe-minute science in the news and
popular culture. To receive weekly
activity alerts by email, email your
name to [email protected]. Do check
out the www.ase.org.uk website too.
Ed
Laboratory Design
Interactive software is now available that enables both 2-D and 3-D images of
science laboratories and prep rooms to be created by teachers and technicians.
Managed by ASE and supported by Planet Science and the Royal Society, it puts
teaching and learning at the centre of designing your own laboratory or prep
room. The website and CD include easy access to guidance documents from
the DfES, ASE and CLEAPSS – so check it out www.ase.org.uk/ldtl
From an article by Andy Piggott
ASE, Education in Science (number 207, April 2004)
Britain drills deep
June 2004 saw the official launch of the
United Kingdom Integrated Ocean
Drilling Program (UKIODP) at the
Royal Society in London. This program
follows on from its highly successful
predecessors: the Ocean Drilling
Program and the Deep Sea Drilling
Project. The Integrated Ocean Drilling
Program (IODP) represents one of the
largest multi-national, mega-science
programs in operation, with the UK
representing a key group of partner
countries. The IODP offers exciting
opportunities for scientists and aspiring
scientists interested in any part of the
Earth system, from mantle to
atmosphere, particularly the ocean basins
that cover 70 % of Earth’s surface.
The UKIODP kicks off with a multi-
www.esta-uk.org
34
national expedition later this year to the
Arctic to examine the stability of the
Arctic ice sheet in order to better
understand climate change. This
expedition is fuelled by the concern that
the polar ice sheets are rapidly melting,
which may mean that the planet is
starting to show very obvious signs of
significant global warming. Three ice
breakers with a combined crew of 200
scientific and non-scientific personnel
will be required to undertake the
expedition safely.
More information can be found at
www.bgs.ac.uk/odp/odpiodp.html and
www.iodp.de.
Stephen J Edwards
University of Greenwich
Outdoor
Learning
The National Foundation for
Educational Research and King’s
College London have recently
published A review of Research on
Outdoor Learning. Commissioned
by the Field Studies Council and
several partner organisations, the
document summarises the key
findings of research on outdoor
learning during the last decade.
Encouragingly, the review finds
that substantial evidence exists to
indicate that fieldwork, properly
conceived, adequately planned,
well taught and effectively
followed up, offers learners
opportunities to develop their
knowledge and skills in ways that
add value to their everyday
experiences in the classroom.
Copies of the full report are available from the Field Studies Council.
Telephone: 0845 3454 072
Email: [email protected]
Martin Whiteley
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Teaching Awards
Earlier this month the Guardian-sponsored Teaching Awards ceremonies took place in
Newcastle. This was the first of 12 ceremonies taking place around the England,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland leading up to the national awards which will take place in
October. There were 376 nominees “for the Plato award in recognition of what they
do very single day: brilliantly.”
This is the 6th year that the awards scheme has been running. David Hanson, the
new chief executive of the Teaching Awards Trust said that the “focus on celebrating
the profession comes from a time when teaching morale was low. Media coverage on
TV wasn’t particularly positive. Almost in despair Lord Puttnam [chair of the Trust]
persuaded the government, all the unions and other big stakeholders to say ‘look,
we’ve really got to promote teaching, so it’s seen as a celebratory thing’”.
From article by Polly Curtis, Education Guardian June 8, 2004
Have you nominated an Earth science teacher for an award, have you been nominated or do you know
of an Earth science teacher who has won an award? If so, get in touch. If not, I am sure there are some
super Earth science teachers out there – so nominate them!
Ed
The National School’s Observatory (NSO)
The National Schools’ Observatory (NSO) was found by Liverpool John Moores
(JMU) with support from PPARC (Particle Physics and Astronomy Research
Council). It is a major web-based resource that allows UK schools to use worldclass astronomical telescopes sited all around the world.
I first heard about this initiative at a presentation given recently by Paul Roche
(Director of the Faulkes Telescope Project). Paul is based in the School of Physics
and Astronomy at Cardiff University, and is also the National Schools Astronomer,
funded since 2000 by a PPARC National Award for the Public Understanding of
Science, working with schools across the UK and Ireland.
Sir Keith O’Nions and Earth science
The new Director General of the
research councils is an Earth scientist. Sir
Keith O’Nions has a professorship from
both Oxford University and Cambridge
University and a knighthood for services
to Earth sciences, awarded in 1999. He
left his position as the head of the
department of Earth sciences at the
University of Cambridge four years ago
to become chief scientific adviser to the
Ministry of Defence.
As Director General he will have
overall responsibility for the seven (soon
to be eight) research councils (including
NERC and PPARC), the Royal Society
and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
He is also Chairman of the trustees at
the Natural History Museum.
In interview he said that he “really
enjoyed understanding how the Earth
worked on the inside; the relationship
between planets and the solar system”
that’s what “really turned me on and got
me out of bed in the morning”.
From an article by Anna Fazackerley,
Education Guardian, June 8, 2004
Congratulations to Sir Keith O’Nions. This is
good news, I hope, for Earth science and is yet
another example of a successful career based on
experiences within Earth science (see editorial).
As Sir Keith noted, it is not necessarily the depth
of knowledge but the understanding of how
scientific method works, which is important.
So think CV, transference of skills, and the career
opportunities are almost limitless. Ed
Foundation
Degrees
More than 25,000 students are
studying for foundation degrees.
Foundation degrees devised in
collaboration with employers,
were introduced two years ago to
help the Government meet its
target of attracting 50% of 18-30
year-olds into higher education
by 2010.
They have introduced
universities to a new generation of
students, but not those that were
expected. The Higher Education
Statistics Agency says that 71% of
first-year foundation degree
students in the academic year
ending in 2003 were 21 or older.
The original idea was that the
two-year degree courses might
work as a fast-track qualification
for 18 year-olds, but they found
that although they were most
popular with the 21-29 age range,
the over 30s were the next most
common group.
From an article by Nic Paton,
The Mail on Sunday, June 13, 2004
So, designed to tempt the young into
higher education, they have in fact been
a hit with older students. Do you know
of any Foundation degrees in Earth sciences or related topics? Most are industry led, and students are mainly
recruited through their employers, so are
there any industries out there encouraging their staff to apply or helping set up
new courses?
Ed
Errata
Caption for figure 2, TES 29.3/4 page 18 should
have read “Abandoned copper mine at Mathiati,
Cyprus”. The photo of sulphur crystals which was
referred to as figure 2, could not be printed”
35
www.esta-uk.org
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Who were they? The lives of geologists
BY CYNTHIA BUREK
2. ANNING, Mary (1799-1847)
Mary Anning was born in Lyme Regis in Dorset, England in
1799 during the French Revolution and died at the age of 47
in 1847, 2 years after Etheldred Benett and in the eighth year
of Queen Victoria’s reign.
Her father, Richard Anning was a carpenter and so her life
started within the artesian class. She always hoped to advance
up the social scale but circumstances dictated otherwise. She
was born into a non-conformist family but evidence towards
the end of her life suggests she was then possibly Anglican.
Mary Anning was one of at least nine children, only three of
whom lived to see their first birthday. She was most closely
associated with her elder brother Joseph.
She became famous as a small child when she was the only
one of four people to survive a lightening strike. On August
19th 1800, Elizabeth an acquaintance of Mary’s mother, along
with two friends, took Mary out to see a local equestrian event
at Rack Field, near Lyme Regis. In spite of the
impending storm the assembly stayed, engrossed by
the skill of the riders. At four forty five, the rain
started and many gave up, to go home. For protection, Mary was taken to shelter under a large elm.
The storm became more violent and as lightning
struck the elm, the tree disintegrated and other spectators noticed colour below the tree. People quickly
ran to the tree to find at the bottom, three figures
and a baby. All four looked dead on arrival, however,
soon they realised that the baby was still alive. Both
her intellectual ability and to some extent her strange behaviour were attributed to this fact at the time.
Mary was born to a poor family and taught her initial trade
down on the beach by her father who was tragically killed in a
cliff accident when she was only 11. To make ends meet when
her father died, her brother, Joseph, mother, Mary and Mary
junior extracted, collected and sold fossils from the beach in
their little shop. However, for a while, the family was very poor
and had their income supplemented by the Parish.
During the end of the 18th century, it became very fashionable to visit seaside resorts such as Lyme Regis. Wealthy holidaymakers liked to return home with a souvenir of their trip
and so these visitors injected a certain capital to the coastal
towns, which would otherwise have remained fishing towns
and ports with little affluence and wealth. The fossils, ignored
by locals for generations suddenly attained an economic value.
Mary, along with many locals around the coast started to go collecting the fossilised remains of the animals of the Jurassic period, in order to sell them on as ornaments to wealthy holiday
makers. These ornaments and trinkets found on the coast were
known collectively as Curiosities. The locals even went as far as
to give them colloquial names, for example the fossil bivalve,
Gryphea, was given the common present-day nickname ‘the
www.esta-uk.org
36
devil’s toenail’. Lyme Regis is still famous for its Jurassic
ammonites and dinosaur remains.
However, over the next 35 years Mary knew and became
known to most of the famous geologists of the time running
her fossil shop first with her mother and then later on her
own after her mother died in 1842. Her claim to fame had
been firmly established when she at the age of 12 and her
brother found and extracted a complete ichthyosaur skeleton. It was later sent to a London Museum. Subsequently,
Mary made some remarkable discoveries. In 1823, she found
and pieced together a nearly complete skeleton of a plesiosaur. She made her third great discovery in 1828, the anterior sheath and ink bag of Belemnospia, a spectacular find that
drew many tourists to the area. In 1829 she made her fourth
major discovery, the fossil fish Squaloraja, thought to be an
ancestor of the shark and the ray and was used to support the
transition debate. Her last major discovery in 1830
was the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus, named by
Professor William Buckland in 1836.
Mary was an accomplished palaeontologist, largely
self educated but a highly intelligent woman even
teaching herself French so that she could read and
understand George Cuvier’s work in the original. As
such, Mary encountered many famous geologists
from an early age. However, Mary only once went to
London. People came to visit her. She mixed freely
with leading scientists of her time having many visitors to her home such as Richard Owen, William Buckland
and Henry De La Beche. Anna Maria Pinney wrote in her
journal ‘She has been noticed by all the cleverest men in England, who have her to stay at their houses, correspond with her
on geology’. She was never allowed to join the prestigious
Geological Society of London, because she was a woman. Her
powers of field observation were great and her knowledge of
anatomy was reportedly better than some eminent professors.
Her knowledge of dinosaur anatomy allowed her to meet and
talk with the famous of the time including the noted fossil collector the King of Saxony. Lord Melbourne as Prime Minister
awarded her a research grant of £300 in 1838 from the government to help with her work. However, she never published
any of her findings. Her discoveries were and indeed still are
displayed in museums but they carry the name of the collector
or purchaser not the discoverer.
During her lifetime, she had two fossils named after her by
Louis Agassiz, the famous Swiss palaeontologist and exponent
of the Ice Age theory, Acrodus anningiae in 1841 and Belenostmus
anningiae in 1844.
However by 1844 Mary realised that she had breast cancer
and bore the pain of the illness by taking Laudanum, the effect
of which were similar to alcohol. The effects were compara-
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Useful websites
The National Schools’ Observatory and the Faulkes Telescope Project
ble enough that young people of the area
thought that she had taken to serious drinking. Mary Anning died on the 9th March
1847, aged forty-seven. Her knowledge of
ammonites, dinosaur bones and other
marine fossils found on the beach at Lyme
Regis gave her fame but not fortune. After
her death in 1846, she was recognised by the
Geological Society of London and eventually made an honorary fellow of that society.
Mary contributed in no small way to the
advancement of understanding of dinosaur
anatomy and that is not disputed nowadays.
Mary Anning was both a successful fossil seller and foreshore guide. The tongue twister
‘She sells sea shell on the sea shore’ is sometimes attributed to her. She never married and
had no formal education. Despite these apparent social and educational disadvantages, her
talent for finding and preparing new and
exciting specimens was so unique that important palaeontologists respected her skills as an
outstanding fossil hunter, excavator, reconstructor and documentationalist. Today, she is
still recognised as an authority on British
Jurassic dinosaur anatomy and is known as the
mother of Paleontology.
References
Boylan P., (1984), William Buckland, 17841856, Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
University of Leicester, UK
Burek C.V., (2001), Where are the women
in geology? Geology Today, 17, (3), 110-4
McCall J., (1999), Mary Anning and her
times – the discovery of British
palaeontology 1820-1850, Geoscientist, 9,
(10), 4-6
Tickell, C., (1996), Mary Anning of Lyme
Regis, Philpott Museum, Lyme Regis,
Dorset, UK
Torrens, H. (1995), Mary Anning (17971847) of Lyme: The greatest fossilist the
world ever knew. British Journal for the
History of Science, 28. 257-284
Cynthia Burek
National Schools Observatory
www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk
The National Schools’ Observatory (NSO) was found by Liverpool
John Moores (JMU) with support from PPARC (Particle Physics
and Astronomy Research Council). It is a major web-based resource
that allows UK schools to use world-class astronomical telescopes
sited all around the world. Mike Simcoe (Project Manager for the
National Schools’ Observatory) is based at the Astrophysics Research
Institute of JMU.
Liverpool Telescope
www.telescope.livjm.ac.uk
Up until now, it has been difficult, if not impossible, for schools to
have access to large telescopes. Liverpool John Moores has allocated
more than 450 hours per year observing time on the Liverpool
Telescope for schools’ use.
Faulkes Telescope
www.faulkes-telescope.com
University of Leicester, Space Research Centre
www.src.le.ac.uk/projects/faulkes
Faulkes Telescope Australia
www.astronomy.swin.edu.au/faulkes/
The Faulkes Telescope Education and Science Unit is developing a
wide variety of research projects and educational materials to be used
by participating schools. Funding from PPARC and the Department
for Education and Skills (DfES) is contributing towards this
educational outreach. In addition, specially developed teaching
materials are described on the Faulkes Telescope NSO and Liverpool
Telescope websites.
The Faulkes Telescopes are robotic and can be operated by schools
in two ways, real-time mode and off-line mode via computer links.
At any time students can send requests for observations to the
telescope from the classroom or from home. There is a registration
process for schools and an annual subscription of £50 or £160
depending on what use the schools wish to make of the telescopes.
Paul Roche (Director, Faulkes Telescope Project) is based in the
School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University, and is also
the National Schools Astronomer with a PPARC National Award for
the Public Understanding of Science, working with schools across
the UK and Ireland.
I first heard about this initiative at a presentation given recently by
Paul Roche (Director of the Faulkes Telescope Project) at the Royal
Society. I met Paul again when we both gave presentations to the
joint meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and the
Geological Society on Communicating Science in the 21st Century,
at which I gave a presentation about facilitating Earth science
communication. There are already a number of joint initiatives –
Earth science and astronomy go rather well together. With the work
of ESEU and ESTA and the Science Learning Centres there are
further opportunities for collaboration.
Ed
37
www.esta-uk.org
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
Reviews
Fossils At A Glance. Clare Milsom and Sue Rigby.
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford 2004. 155pp. £19.99 paperback; ISBN 0-632-06047-6.
After quite a number of years with very
few palaeontology textbooks, we now
have a number to choose from, at a
variety of levels: Clarkson (invertebrates)
and Benton (vertebrates), Goldring
(fossils in the field), Bromley (trace
fossils), Brasier (microfossils) are useful
at senior undergraduate level; Doyle
(invertebrates) and Benton & Harper
(basic palaeontology) at an intermediate
level; Nield & Tucker at 6th Form to
First Year undergraduate level. Fossils At
A Glance covers all these fields, and can
be firmly placed in the latter level.
After an introductory chapter on fossil
classification and evolution, the next
eight chapters cover the major groups of
invertebrate fossils: Sponges, Corals,
Bryozoans, Brachiopods, Echinoderms,
Molluscs, Trilobites and Graptolites.
Vertebrates, Land Plants, Microfossils
and Trace Fossils have a chapter each,
and the final two chapters give an
overview on Precambrian and
Phanerozoic Life. Illustration is by line
drawings throughout: these are mostly
from published secondary sources, but
they are beautifully drawn and clear.
Using stippling as a means of depicting
relief, they form an example for the
student on how to draw in class (if
students still do such things...). A
glossary is given for each chapter, and a
short reading list at the end of the book.
Within the inevitable limits of the
length of the book (155 pages), there is
an impressive amount of information
given, forming a comprehensive
summary of each group. The relations of
hard to soft parts; evolution;
biogeography; taxonomy and
palaeoecology are all covered. On a
general level topics include cladistics,
molecular biology, mass extinctions, and
the evolution of the eukaryotic cell. I
must congratulate the authors on the
skill with which they have woven
together all these topics in such a concise
manner, and at the same time have
produced a readable and interesting text.
The book is to be strongly
recommended: for undergraduates as a
course text, for schools as a book to at
least have available for consultation, if
not again being a set book.
There are only a few mistakes in text
and illustrations. On p.62 nautiloid
septal walls are described as “flat”
(I know what the authors mean:
elsewhere they use the term “dished”).
The illustrations of bivalve dentition are
not clear (particularly that of heterodont
teeth): they could be drawn to a larger
scale, at the expense of showing the
whole valve. On pages 69 and 70 “setae”
is used for “septa”, and on p.70 the
orthoceratitic suture pattern is described
in the caption as being an ammonoid
pattern (it is the caption to the diagram
which is at fault here; the logical
progression is valid). In Table 10.1, the
genus Rhaphidonema should, of course,
be Rhabdinopora: the index refers to
Rhaphidonema in both the sponge and
graptolite chapters. On p.84,
Dicranograptus should be in the
diplograptid fauna. The drawing of
Rastrites, shown is shown in the text as
having parallel-sided thecae, but on
the cover as having a rather curious
club-shape.
Denis Bates
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of Wales Aberystwyth
The Irish Landscape: A Scenery to Celebrate. C.H. Holland.
Dunedin Academic Press, Edinburgh 2003. 192pp. £19.95 laminated hardback; ISBN 1-903-76520- X.
The landscape and geology of Ireland have
featured in a number of recent books and
pamphlets. The Antrim Coast, and the
Burren, have featured in guides published
by the Geographical Association; the rural
landscape in Atlas of the Irish Rural
Landscape; the geology in The Geology of
Ireland and The Making of Ireland. The Irish
Landscape: a scenery to celebrate joins this
company, together with earlier books by
Mitchell and Whittow. As Editor of the
scholarly The Geology of Ireland, Professor
Holland is well placed to produce a
volume on landscape and geology for the
general reader.
Part 1 of the book is a brief geological
and scenic tour of Ireland: in effect a
summary of the book, taking a tour from
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38
Dublin Bay clockwise round the country,
concentrating on the coastal areas. The
succeeding chapters deal with each
region in turn, illustrated with photos of
both the landscape and the rocks (and a
few fossils), and sketch maps of the solid
geology. Part 2 deals with the South, i.e.
south of a line from Dublin to Galway;
Part 3 with the North (as Professor
Holland says, not the political north!).
Part 4 covers the principles of geology in
two chapters, on the Rocks beneath our
Feet, and on Reading the Rocks.
The book is entitled The Irish
Landscape, and on the cover it is claimed
to describe “this wonderful scenery and
place it in its geological context”. I
therefore opened it with expectation that
the scenery would figure more
prominently in the text than it does: in
fact it might be better titled Irish Geology,
with the landscape appearing as a
subtitle. Each regional section
concentrates on the geology, both solid
and drift, with quite an emphasis on
geological interpretation, such as
describing the environment of
deposition. The thread is largely
topographical, covering roads, hills or
mountains, river valleys or the coast,
giving a brief account of the successions,
the geological structure, particular
features of the rocks, and influence of the
rocks on the landforms.
Where the landscape makes its mark is
in the illustrations, 64 in all, ranging
TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES ● Volume 29 ● Number 2, 2004
from the striking air photograph of
eskers to the evocative painting of Achill
Head by Paul Henry. In the text the
landscape is described rather briefly: for
example in the section on North Galway
and South Mayo there are only
generalised references to the form of the
mountains and valleys. The evolution of
the landscape is not treated in any detail:
I would have liked to see Figure 79, a
summary of the geological history of
Ireland, expanded to give more
information on the landscape, with
reference to the development of such
topics as the vanished Cretaceous cover,
the erosion history and the development
of river systems.
It is a pity that the geological maps are
produced in black and white: with the
extensive use of colour for illustrations in
the book it would have made for clearer
presentation to have used colour for
maps, and other diagrams. The maps
have very few topographical features
shown: lakes but not rivers, a few
mountain summits. I would have liked to
see more diagrams throughout the book,
including some block diagrams relating
geological sections to the topography.
There are inevitably a number of
small errors. In Figure 14 the view is to
the south, not the north; the famous
sand volcanoes of Clare are not NW of
Loop Head; Errigal is 2466 feet high, not
metres; it is the Rosses Pluton which is
emplaced within the Thor Pluton, not
the Adara (Ardara) Pluton; the Aran
Islands trend north-westward, not northeastward. A more serious error is the
statement that at subduction zones a
continental plate is dragged down
beneath an oceanic plate.
Within 170 pages (of which 56 are
photographs), however, the book covers a
broad canvas: geological principles; Irish
geology both regionally and temporally,
solid and drift; aspects of the types of
landscapes found; and something of
human use. It admirably fills a gap in the
geological and geomorphological
ESTA Diary
SEPTEMBER 2004
NOVEMBER 2004
2nd - 4th September
5th - 7th November
UKRIGS Conference
Geologists’ Association Annual Meeting and
Dudley, hosted by Black Country Geological
Reunion
Society and Dudley Museum, West Midlands
The National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: [email protected]
Tel: 01384 443644
Tel: 020 7434 9298
www.ukrigs.org.uk
www.geologist.demon.co.uk
literature of Ireland, as a one-volume
equivalent of the British Geological
Survey guides to the regional geology of
Great Britain, and can be recommended
for general use.
Aalen, F.H.A., Whelan, K. & Stout, M.
1997. Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape.
Cork University Press.
Holland, C.H. (editor). 2001. The
Geology of Ireland. The Dunedin
Academic Press, Edinburgh.
Mitchell, G.E. 1976. The Irish Landscape.
Collins, London.
Mitchell, G.E. 1986. Shell Guide to
Reading the Irish Landscape. Country
House Publishers, Dublin.
Whittow, J.B. 1974. Geology and Scenery
in Ireland. Penguin, Harmondsworth.
Williams, M. & Harper, D. 1999. The
Making of Ireland, Landscapes in Geology.
IMMEL Publishing.
Denis Bates
Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences
University of Wales Aberystwyth0
Northern
Rock!
6th - 10th September
JANUARY 2005
The BA (British Association)
Festival of Science
University of Exeter
www.the-ba.net
5th - 8th January
ASE (Association for Science Education) Annual
Meeting
17th - 19th September
Leeds University
ESTA Annual Conference
Contact: [email protected]
Heriot Watt University
Tel: 01707 283000
Edinburgh
www.ase.org.uk
Contact: [email protected]
Tel: 0131 6516410
www.esta-uk.org
See back cover for
more information
39
www.esta-uk.org
THEMATIC TRAILS
These guides are full of serious explanation, yet challenge us to question and interpret what we see.
The reader is encouraged to observe, enquire and participate in a trail of discovery – Each trail is an
information resource suitable for teachers to translate into field tasks appropriate to a wide range of ages.
LANDSCAPES
CITYSCAPES
GEOLOGY AT HARTLAND QUAY
Alan Childs & Chris Cornford
BRISTOL, HERITAGE IN STONE
Eileen Stonebridge
In a short cliff-foot walk, along the beach at Hartland Quay, visitors are provided with a
straightforward explanation of the dramatically folded local rocks and their history.
Alternate pages provide a deeper commentary on aspects of the geology and in
particular provide reference notes for students examining the variety of structures
exhibited in this exceptionally clear location. A5. 40 pages. 47 figs.
ISBN 0-948444-12-6 Thematic Trails 1989.
£2.40
The walk explores the rich diversity of stones that make up the fabric of the City of
Bristol. The expectation is that as the building stones become familiar, so comes the
satisfaction of being able to identify common stones and their origin, perhaps before
turning to the text for reassurance. A5. 40 pages. 60 figs.
ISBN 0948444-36-3 Thematic Trails 1999. £2.40
THE CLIFFS OF HARTLAND QUAY
Peter Keene
On a cliff-top walk following the Heritage Coast footpath to the south from Hartland
Quay, coastal waterfalls, valley shapes and the form of the cliffs are all used to
reconstruct a sequence of events related to spectacular coastal erosion along this coast.
A5. 40 pages. 24 figs.
ISBN 0-948444-05-3 Thematic Trails 1990.
£2.40
LYN IN FLOOD, Watersmeet to Lynmouth
P. Keene & D. Elsom
A riverside walk from Watersmeet on Exmoor, follows the East Lyn downstream to
Lynmouth and the sea. The variety of physical states of the East Lyn river is explained
including spate and the catastrophic floods of 1952. A5. 48 pages. 36 figs.
ISBN 0-948444-20-7 Thematic Trails 1990.
£2.40
THE CLIFFS OF SAUNTON
Peter Keene and Chris Cornford
“If you really want explanations served up to you... then go elsewhere, but if you want
to learn, by self-assessment if you like, start here. Ideally you should go there, to
Saunton Sands, but it’s not absolutely necessary. The booklet is so cleverly done that
you can learn much without leaving your armchair. Not that we are encouraging such
sloth, you understand.” (Geology Today). A5. 44 pages. 30 figs.
ISBN 0-048444-24-X Thematic Trails 1995.
£2.40
BATH IN STONE a guide to the city’s building stones
Elizabeth Devon, John Parkins, David Workman
Compiled by the Bath Geological Society, the architectural heritage of Bath is explored,
blending the recognition of building stones and the history of the city. A very useful
walking guide both for visiting school parties, geologists and the interested nonspecialist visitor. A5. 48 pages. 36 illustrations.
ISBN 0948444-38-X Thematic Trails 2001.
£2.40
GLOUCESTER IN STONE, a city walk – Joe McCall
This booklet was compiled by the Gloucestershire RIGS Group as an introduction to
the geology of the city. Four compass-point streets radiate from Gloucester city centre.
The first short walk, Eastgate Street, is, in essence a mental tool-kit for identifying
some local common building stones and their history - a skill which can then be applied
to any of the three following compass direction walks.
A5. 40 pages. 39 illustrations.
ISBN 0948444-37-1 Thematic Trails 1999.
£2.40
GEOLOGY AND THE BUILDINGS OF OXFORD
Paul Jenkins
The walk is likened to a visit to an open air museum. Attention is drawn to the variety
of building materials used in the fabric of the city. Their suitability, durability,
susceptibility to pollution and weathering, maintenance and replacement is discussed.
A5. 44 pages. 22 illustrations.
ISBN 0-948444-09-6 Thematic Trails 1988.
£2.40
SNOWDON IN THE ICE AGE
Kenneth Addison
EXETER IN STONE, AN URBAN GEOLOGY
Jane Dove
Ken Addison interprets the evidence left by successive glaciers around Snowdon
(the last of which melted only 10,000 years ago) in a way which brings together the
serious student of the Quaternary Ice Age and the interested inquisitive visitor.
A5. 30 pages. 18 figs.
ISBN 0-9511175-4-8 Addison Landscape Publications. 1988. £3.60
“Directed at ‘the curious visitor and interested non-specialists’, Thematic Trails Trust
publications incorporate and translate professional knowledge from the academic
literature to which members of the general public don’t have ready access....Exeter in
Stone is a fine addition to the ever-expanding list of booklets on the building stones of
British towns and cities.” (Geology Today). A5. 44 pages. 24 illustrations.
ISBN 0-948444-27-4 Thematic Trails 1994.
£2.40
THE ICE AGE IN CWM IDWAL
Kenneth Addison
GUIDE TO THE BUILDING STONES OF HUDDERSFIELD
The Ice Age invested Cwm Idwal with a landscape whose combination of glaciological,
geological and floristic elements is unsurpassed in mountain Britain. Cwm Idwal is
readily accessible on good paths within a few minutes walk of the A5 route through
Snowdonia. A5. 21pages. 16 figs.
ISBN 0-9511175-4-8 A. L. P. 1988.
£3.60
THE ICE AGE IN Y GLYDERAU AND NANT FFRANCON
Ice, in the last main glaciation, carved a glacial highway through the heart of Snowdonia
so boldly as to ensure that Nant Ffrancon is amongst the best known natural landmarks
in Britain. The phenomenon is explained in a way that is understandable to both
specialist and visitor. A5. 30 pages. 21 figs.
ISBN 0-9511175-3-X A.L.P. 1988. £3.60
ROCKS & LANDSCAPE OF ALSTON MOOR
geological walks in the Nent Valley. Barry Webb & Brian Young (Ed. Eric Skipsey). On
two walks in the North Pennines landscape, the authors unravel clues about how
today’s rocks, fossils and landscape were formed and how men have exploited the
geological riches of Alston Moor.’
A5. 28 pages, 40 figs. Cumbria Riggs 2002.
£2.00
Two walks in central Huddersfield examine decorative polished building stones that
have been brought into Huddersfield from many parts of the world to enhance the
commercial and public buildings of the city. Huddersfield Geology Group.
A5. 12 pages. 23 illustrations.
£2.00
COASTAL EROSION AND MANAGEMENT
WESTWARD HO! AGAINST THE SEA
Peter Keene
This ‘case study’ examines the history of coastal erosion at Westward Ho! and the
many strategies for coastal defence adopted and discarded over the last 150 years.
A5. 44 pages. 24 illustrations.
ISBN 0-948444-34-7 Thematic Trails 1997.
£2.40
DAWLISH WARREN AND THE SEA
Peter Sims
Within living memory Dawlish Warren in South Devon has dramatically changed its
shape several times. A shoreline walk explains the nature and history of dynamic coastal
change and its implications for both short-term and long-term coastal management.
A5. 48 pages. 44 figs.
ISBN 0-948444-13-4 Thematic Trails 1988-98
£2.40
These titles are selected from over 100 guides published or marketed by the educational charity Thematic Trails.
For a free catalogue e-mail [email protected]
(Tel:01865-820522 Fax: 01865-820522) or visit our web site: www. thematic-trails.org
Address ORDERS to THEMATIC TRAILS, 7 Norwood Avenue, Kingston Bagpuize, Oxon OX13 5AD.
Use an educational address and quote your ESTA membership number to qualify for a 15% educational discount.
Orders for five or more items are post free. Thematic Trails is registered charity No. 801188.
www.esta-uk.org
40
School of Earth Sciences
University of Leeds
If you have a field trip in the north of England, why not visit us
en route for a day of geological activities?
Schools Liaison Activities
Why not bring your class for a visit on
one of the University Open Days
(June & September)?
If you pre-book we will provide
a buffet lunch.
Contact us if you would like students
or staff to visit your school, either to
give a presentation about Earth
Sciences or to help deliver a
particular topic.
Why not visit as a school group and
use our facilities? We can give
tours, talks, demonstrations
(flume tank & seismics) and
petrology practical classes.
If you would like to learn about a new field
area, teachers are welcome to join us on undergraduate field courses.
Contact us if you would like any of the
following resources:
KS3/4 & A-level lesson packs
Field trip packs
Surplus maps/specimens
Course information and brochures
Video about us made by a local school
Contact: Undergraduate Admissions Secretary, School of Earth Sciences,
University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT. Tel: 0113 343 6673.
Email: [email protected]. Website: www.earth.leeds.ac.uk
41
www.esta-uk.org
ADVERTISING IN “TEACHING EARTH SCIENCES”
THE MAGAZINE OF THE EARTH SCIENCE
TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
The magazine has a circulation of
approximately 800 (and rising) and its
readership consists of dedicated Earth
science teachers in:● Primary schools
● Secondary schools
● Departments of Earth sciences,
geography and geology in colleges
and universities.
Teaching Earth Sciences is the only UK magazine that
specialises in the teaching of Earth Sciences. It is published quarterly.
Advertising in the magazine is offered at competitive rates as follows.
1. PAGE ADVERTISING
1 ISSUE
2 ISSUES
Full A4 Page
£120
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Half page
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Quarter page
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Eighth page
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The price to include type setting if necessary
3 ISSUES
£275
£180
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4 ISSUES
£340
£210
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2. INSERTS
These are charged at £100 per issue for sheets up to A4 size. For inserts more than
A4 please contact the Advertising Officer (see p3 for details). Upon confirmation,
please send inserts to:Character Design, Highridge, Wrigglebrook Lane, Kingsthorne, Hereford HR2 8AW
3. ESTA SMALL ADS
Rates are 20p. per word with a minimum of £5. Adverts should be sent with
payment to the Advertising Officer. Cheques should be made payable to the
EARTH SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION.
REQUESTS TO ADVERTISE
Your request for advertising space should be sent to the Advertising Officer at the
address on p3. Your request should indicate the volume(s) and issues in which you
wish to advertise. (The next available issue is volume 29.3/4 – Autumn/Winter 2004)
You should include your advertisement copy (or copy of insert) and state any
additional requirements.
An invoice and voucher copy will be sent to you upon publication.
www.esta-uk.org
42
ESTA TEACHING MATERIALS
ESTA has produced a variety of teaching materials with teacher notes and worksheets. They are all
copyright free for classroom use. Enquiries and orders to [email protected]
PRIMARY
Useful as part of Literacy and Numeracy Hour, with themes that can be developed further in KS2 Science
Working with Soil
This new resource includes a booklet, Waldorf the Worm, relating the story
of a family of worms, together with supporting activities and worksheets.
£6.00 + p&p
Workin
g
With
Soil
Conten
ts
Working with Rocks
This pack contains Christina’s Story, which tells the tale of a marble gravestone,
together with supporting activities and worksheets. Sixteen full colour postcards
depicting common building and ornamental stones are also included.
● The
Map .
......
● Informa
...
tion .
● How
...... ..........
to
......
● Science Use the Work . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .inside cover
. . . .pages
● Literacy Activities and Sheets . . . .
..
● Numera Activities and Work Sheets . . . . . . . .page 1 - 3
Work Sheets . . . . . . .
4
cy Activitie
. .pages - 6
s and Work
...
7
Sheets . . . . . .pages - 16
17 - 26
......
.pages
27 - 30
was written
and develop
ed by membe
rs of the
ESTA Primary
£6.00 + p&p
Author
s
This pack
orm
f the W
Waldor
Commi
ttee.
NEW
KEY STAGE 3
Devised to introduce Earth science to pupils as part of the Science & Geography Curriculum
Hidden changes in the Earth: an introduction to metamorphism (2001)
Magma: an introduction to igneous processes (2002)
£2.00 + p&p
£2.00 + p&p
The Dynamic Rock Cycle is a comprehensive teaching pack, full of interesting activities and experiments. It
addresses weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, compaction and cementation, plus selected igneous
and metamorphic processes. The pack forms the basis of the workshops offered by the Earth Science Education
Unit. It is freely downloadable from their website (www.earthscienceeducation.com)
KEY STAGE 4
Investigating the Science of the Earth: practical activities for KS4 and beyond
SoE1: Changes to the atmosphere (1995)
SoE2: Earth’s structure and plate tectonics (1996)
SoE3: Rock formation and deformation (1998)
£2.50 + p&p
£2.50 + p&p
£2.50 + p&p
The Plate Tectonics Interactive and Investigating the Changing Earth and Atmosphere focus on GCSE
Science syllabuses. These packs underpin the Earth Science Education Unit workshops and are freely
downloadable from their website (www.earthscienceeducation.com)
PRACTICAL KITS
High quality specimens representing real value-for-money.
For further details contact [email protected]
Fossils:
Rocks:
Twelve representative replica fossils and data sheet in boxed set
Reference Kit comprising 15 large samples, with worksheets and notes
Class Kit with 6 sets of 15 medium-size samples, worksheets and notes
£17.00 + p&p
£15.00 + p&p
£45.00 + p&p
All kits supplied plus postage at cost. Enquiries to [email protected]
43
www.esta-uk.org
Earth Science Teachers’
Association
Course and Conference 2004
Edinburgh
© Cliff Ford, University of Edinburgh
17-19 September 2004
For more information, please see details inside or contact:
Hamish Ross ([email protected])
SESEF, Faculty of Education, University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road
Edinburgh, EH8 8AQ Tel: 0131 651 6410