r------w.®®n®
0
«=>
T®~CJ3llii1J]1~
.,
Volume 12, Number 4, 1987
Journal of the Association of Teachers of Geology
£2.50
C8EW])
A series of Units designed for Science and Geology
Courses at GCSE-level
Science of the Earth Units are published by the Association of Teachers of Geology with the
generous support ofthe Geologists' Association. Each Unit is professionally printed and
designed in a similar style to the ASE's SATIS Units. Previous knowledge of the subject
matter is not assumed, either from the student or the teacher!
Science of the Earth Units are' designed to introduce Earth sciences to all in the upper
secondary school and as such fill a void in present publishing. Prices of the Units have
been kept deliberately low to encourage bulk purchase - why not give them a try?
The following are currently available:
Unit 1:
Unit 2:
Unit 3:
Unit 4:
Unit 5:
Will my gravestone last?
Earthquakes - danger beneath our feet
Fluorite - is it worth mining?
Building sedimentary structures - in the lab and millions of years ago
Waste - and the hole-in-the-ground problem
Watch out for details of other Units as and when they are published.
Science of the Earth Units are available as bound single copies at the special members'
price of £1.25 each (plus 30p p & p) or as special value bulk packs comprising one
Teacher's Unit and 10 copies of all Student Sheets and Data Sheets for £9.95 (post free).
ORDERS TO: Fran Stratton, Sandbourne, Clop hill Road, Maulden, Beds., MK45 2AA .
• Official orders will be invoiced. • Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ATG Promotions Group.
Volume 12 No. 4 (1987)
Editorial
130
Letters
132
Geological maps: an actualistic approach
to teaching
B. C. M. Butler and J. D. Bell
134
Teaching Earth sciences at a distance
Dee Edwards
139
Mineral deposits - current concepts on their formation
DavidRoberts
146
The sedimentary structure: can it be useful to the
geologist? Colin Howard
148
Volcanic hazards (a works he et) Mike Tuke
150
Letter from California No. 3 MelanieRutter
152
Re~ews
154
Grape~ne
156
Nonconformity: An introduction to challenges of
curriculum development and assessment
157
News
160
Geofun
167
Cover picture: 'Science for all': visitors to the BGS Open Day at
Keyworth, Notts, in 1986.
'Hercules contemplates his thirteenth labour?'
'Metals and the Motor Car'
For full descriptions of these exhibits, see page 168.
By courtesy ofBGS, Keyworth.
129
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we
were beginning to form up into teams we would be
reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to
meet any new situation by reorganising, and a
wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of
progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and
demoralisation. '
In the machinations going on for type A status some
universities have been commendably decisive. It is no
secret that Strathclyde and Dundee want to combine
forces with Glasgow to form a major centre at Glasgow,
which suits Glasgow perfectly. On the other hand the
situation in some other areas is not quite so clear.
Discretion prohibits me from naming the institutions but,
apparently, the department at University A would like to
combine with that at University B, and the feeling is
mutual; however, the respective vice-chancellors have
threatened pistols at dawn should negotiations proceed
further. In another case University C, with quite a healthy
geosciences department, is convinced the ailing
department from University D intends to join it thereby
ensuring Type A status for C whereas the department at
University D anticipates a happy conjugation with the
department at University E. ...
Gaius Petronicus, AD 66
In these days of sudden changes throughout the spectrum
of Earth sciences education there is irony in this quotation
with which Professor House, of Hull University, opened
the 1987 ATG Conference. One thousand, nine hundred
years on nothing seems to have changed: confusion,
inefficiency and demoralisation still appear to be the
outcome of reorganisation. To be fair, however, we
should examine this assertion in the context of the actual
changes and reorganisation taking place within the Earth
sciences community today.
As well as confusion there is also demoralisation among
the high quality researchers in those departments not yet
sure whether they will achieve Type A status, and in those
departments where it is known, intuitively, that the
departments are destined for closure.
The universities
There is also little doubt that the UGC questionnaire sent
to all heads of geosciences departments to ascertain
details of staff performances in research, teaching and
administration (returned by 30th November, 1987)
caused internal chaos and the loss of much midnight oil.
There is some satisfaction in knowing that there will be
just as much chaos for those called upon to collate the
responses; for example, untangling the 'double counting'
caused when a member of staff carries out research at
one university and writes it up at another and yet both
have listed it as a prestigious publication.
The original Oxburgh Review took a hammering from
CHUGD (see Nonconformity, Geology Teaching, 12(2)
but a modified version, which still meets the main
restructuring objectives of the original report, is to be
implemented shortly.
The three tier system of Levels 1, 2 and 3, is to be replaced
by a two tier system comprising Type A and Type B
departments. It is now envisaged that there will be,
nationally, around twenty Type A departments, all of
which will be involved actively in research and honours
level degree teaching.
Such departments will not
normally have less than one hundred and eighty full time
student equivalents. The remaining departments are
doomed either to become type B, combining, perhaps,
with other disciplines such as geography, physics or
oceanography and not offering single honours degrees, or
to cease to exist. Restructuring will begin in 1988 with a
phasing-in period of three to four years (see News, this
issue).
In all fairness we should say that we shall not know
whether the university restructuring will lead to
inefficiency or not until it has been implemented.
However, at least CHUGD believes that increased
efficiency, rather than inefficiency, should be the outcome even though some of the amputations may prove painful.
The schools
Pat Wilson has given a succinct summary of the
curricular changes facing schools and how these will
affect the Earth sciences (see Nonconformity, ,this issue)
but the implications of the Oxburgh Review may also
impinge on schools and sixth formers may well feel
demoralised about persuing Earth sciences because of the
uncertainty of university statuses (News, this issue).
But have confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation
ensued? In some areas there is now less confusion than
when the Oxburgh Review was first published. Regional
(as opposed to national) needs have been recogcised and
so the Scottish and Northern Ireland universities are likely
to be treated as separate entities. In the case of Scotland
this is because the pattern of sixth form, and hence
university, education is different to that of the rest of
Britain whereas Northern Ireland is simply plagued by
geographical isolation.
The Letters section of Geology Teaching, 12(1) confirmed
the confusion caused by the introduction of GCSE and
Nonconformity in the same issue highlighted sources of
130
Ordinary members ofCouncil 1986-1989
publicly redefined GCSE as either 'Generally Committing
the Same Errors' or 'Got a Clue how this Substitute
Examination works?' There is no doubt that the marriage
between GCE and CSE procreating GCSE has resulted in
all sorts of confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation
where many of our readers are concerned.
John Collins, [Exhibitors and Advertising] 46 Oakfield Road,
Frome, BAll 4JE, teI. 0373 62371 (affiliation: S).
David Lewis,
39 Derwen Road, Alltwem, Pontardawe,
Swansea, SA8 3AU, teI. 0792864006 (affiliation: S, FE).
Dr.
Mike
Tuke,
Waterloo
Farm,
Great
Stukeley,
Cambridgeshire, PE17 5HQ, teI. 0480 57068 (affiliation: S,
CHE).
The future
At face value the picture for schools painted by the
changes appears very negative; but then so did that for
the universities when the Oxburgh Review first emerged.
There are two ways of approaching such a situation (if
we discount indifference): positively and negatively.
CHUGD approached the Review positively and the result
was, as all numerate geologists should know, that
something negative plus something positive pIoduced
something less negative than it was, and more positive. If
you, as teachers, approach the changes outlined by Pat
Wilson in a negative frame of mind then the outcome can
only be more negative than it was before. The future lies
in your hands: think positively and act positively and you
will minimise the damage you perceive the changes doing
to your teaching and your pupils.
Ordinary members ofCouncil 1987-1990
Jayne Bayley, Pare Uchaf, Cwmoernant, Carmarthen, Dyfed,
SA31 lEG, teI. 0267 230523 also 0267 237971/213 ext. 32
(affiliation: S, TTC).
Neil Bowden, [Publicity] 26 Delph Common Road, Aughton,
Ormskirk, Lancs., L39 5DW, teI. 0695 421372 also Liverpool
Polytechnical College (CF Mott Site), teI. 051 489 6201
(affiliation: S, CHE).
Malcolm Fry [Promotions] 57 Darbeck Road, Scatter,
Gainsborough, Lincs., DN21 3SX, teI. 0724 762989 also John
Leggott SFC, Scunthorpe (affiliation: S, SFC).
HMI Observer
Dr. John Rae, DES, Government Buildings, Marston Road,
Oxford, teI. 0865 247203 (affiliation: U, P, EM).
Council Members
Co-opted members
Senior Officers
Working Group Chairs
President:
[RSSESEC] David B. Thompson, 3 Ladygates,
Betley. nr. Crewe, CW3 9AN, teI. 0270820514 also Dept. of
Education, The University, Keele, Staffs, ST5 5BG (affiliation:
S, U,EM, WEA). (untilend1988)
John Fisher, [Teacher education] 5 St. Michael's Close,
Buckland Dinham, Frome, Somerset, teI. 0373 61374 also School
of Education, University of Bath, teI. 0225 61244 (affiliation: S,
MS,U).
Vice·President:
[Secondary Exams Council] Dr. Chris
Wilson, Dept. Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton
Keynes, MK7 6AA, tel. 0908 74066 (affiliation: U, P).
(President elect)
Chris King,
[CuITciulum] 52 Lilac Road,
Cheshire, WAl4 8BJ, teI. 061 980 8964 also
Grammar School for Boys (affiliation: S).
Altrincham,
Altrincham
Tom Shipp, [Exams, syllabus] 32 Cumberland Close, Clifton,
Penrith, CAlO 2EN, teI. 0768 67759 (affiliation: S).
Vice-President: [RSSESEC] Dr. Reg Bradshaw, 31 Grove Road.,
Coombe Dingle, Bristol, BS9 2RJ, teI. 0272 682550 also Dept of
Geology, University of Bristol, Queen's Road., Bristol, BS8 1RJ
(previous President) (affiliation: U, EM).
Dr. Frank Spode, [Primary] 52 Carterknowle Avenue,
Sheffield, Sl1 9FU, teI. 0742 585876 (affiliation: P, CHE).
Secretary: [RSSESEC] Michael Collins, 20 Pebworth Close,
Alkrington, Middleton, Manchester M24 1 QH, teI. 061 643 8672
also Shona Simon SFC, Whitworth Street, Manchester, M1
3HB, teI. 0612363418 (affiliation: S, SFC).
Jim Wallace, [Fieldwork] Cambrian Field Studies, Rhiwfelen,
Goginan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed., SY23 3PF, teI. 097 084 226.
Others
Treasurer: John Reynolds, 18 Gardiner Drive, Longton, Stokeon-Trent, ST3 2RQ, teI. 0782327068 also St. Thomas More High
School (affiliation: S).
Geoff Cox, Mineral Industry Manpower and Careers Unit
(MIMCU), Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, London,
SW7 2BP, teI. 015847397.
Editor:
Dr. Joan Brown, Lothlorien, 116 Main Street,
Woodhouse Eaves, Loughborough, Leics., LE12 8RZ, teI. 0509
890757 also The Open University, The Octagon, 143 Derby Road,
Nottingham, NG71PH, teI. 0602 473072 (affiliation: U).
Alistair Fleming [ASE links] 1 Teanhurst Close, Lower Tean,
Stoke-on-Trent, ST10 4LN, teI. 0538 722443 also Cheadle High
School, teI. 0538 753828 (affiliation: S, U).
Dr. Richard Porter, 58 Dobcroft Avenue, Sheffield, S7 42LX, teI.
0742362210 also Manchester Museum Education Dept., teI. 061
2732892.
Ordinary members of Council 1985-1988
Julie Pendry [Membership] 22 Mountsfield Close, Newport
Pagnell, Bucks, MK16 OJE, teI. 0908 611076 (affiliation: S,
WEA).
Affiliations: CHE - ColI. Higher Ed., FE - Further Ed., U University, TTC - Teacher Training ColI., WEA - Workers
Educ. Assoc., EM - Extra-Mural, P - Primary, S - Secondary
School, MS - Middle School, SFC - VI Form ColI., RSSESEC Royal Society Solid Earth Sciences Educcation Committee.
Tim Guy, [SSCR]10 Haytor road, Wrexham, Clwyd, LL11 2FT,
teI. 0978 354569 (affiliation: S, SFC).
Peter Kennett, [L. SEC] 142 Knowle Lane, Sheffield, Sl1 9SJ, teI.
0742361271 (affilIation: S, U).
131
Dear Editor,
factors affecting planning and development can be
appreciated by non-specialists, thus helping to ensure
that such factors are taken into consideration and that,
where appropriate, professional advice is sought.
Results tend to consist, therefore, of a set of maps
(showing themes such as mineral resources, extent of
mined
and
made
ground,
locations
of
mineshafts, groundwater characteristics, contaminated land, landslips and foundation conditions
depending on the features of each area) and some sets
include summary maps emphasising, for example,
constraints to development, opportunities for
development, or areas which might merit special or
very detailed site investigations before development is
designed. A large number of studies have been
completed, are in progress or are in preparation and
examples can be taken from most regions of Great
Britain. One study to be completed in 1988 (Torbay)
will be the first to include geomorphological mapping
in a fully coordinated set of applied geological maps.
Economic geology: Sources of information
1. A recent book review in Geology Teaching (12(2),
p.79) expressed concern at the lack of good teaching
material which might be used in relation to economic
aspects of the GCSE.
One of the few titles
recommended was the HMSO publication Limestones
of the Peak.
2. That publication was one of over one hundred and
sixty
Mineral
Resource
Assessment
studies
commissioned by the Department of the Environment
between 1969 and the present. Further studies are in
. progress of being planned. Many of your members
will, I think, be aware of the Industrial Minerals
Assessment Report Series produced by BGS and
published by HMSO which covers the first one
hundred and forty-seven studies. However, most
recent results have not appeared in this series. The
majority of these studies covered sand and gravel
resources but several have considered limestone
resources. A few have dealt with sandstones and one
with celestite. Most are still in print and, in some cases,
extra copies of maps (flat) can be obtained from the
BGS at Keyworth. An article in Geology Teaching,
8( 4) p. 135, showed a possible exercise based on one of
these reports (see, also, 9(3), p. 97), but a similar
approach can be taken to any of the others which,
between them, give examples for most parts of
England, Scotland and Wales. In addition studies are
in progress on offshore sand and gravel resources for
major dredging areas.
5. Research on land instability and safety is founded
on a series of reviews of existing knowledge on
issues such as landslipping, mined ground, natural
underground cavities, quarry face instability and
seismicity, in Great Britain. These are at various
stages of progress but some have been completed
and research has moved on to:
3. The Research Programme extends much further than
mineral resources.
It includes research on
environmental effects of mineral working, disposal of
mineral wastes (mainly colliery spoil) and land
instability and safety as well as a series of applied
geological mapping exercises.
a)
development of risk assessment techniques (e.g.,
landslides and mining subsidence in the South
Wales villages);
b)
improvement of techniques for site investigation
and precautionary and remedial works (e.g.,
abandoned limestone mines in the Black Country,
South Wales landslides).
Although not intended for a teaching market, the
programme has produced many results which could
be referred to or used as a basis for exercises in
economic geology and the wider field of the impact of
geological factors on many human activities.
4. Applied geological maps have been produced for a
wide variety of carefully selected areas throughout
Great Britain. The areas have been highlighted
because of significant problems and opportunities for
the redevelopment or development of land,
exploitation of mineral resources, and safeguarding of
such resources from sterilisation by other forms of
development. They are intended both to provide
information needed in formulating rational and
consistent policies for land use and development.
However, the Department is also interested in using
such studies to develop techniques for collecting,
collating, retrieving and interpreting applied
geological data (including computer data bases and
digital mapping) and, importantly, finding ways of
presenting results so that the significance of geological
6. The principal restriction is that results from some of
/ the studies are relatively expensive (especially where
numerous maps exist in each set). Secondly, many of
the results have been made public on 'open file' - an
official term which means that xerox and dye-line
copies can be purchased on request. The Department
is concious that results may not be reaching a wide
audience, therefore a catalogue of results has been
prepared which will be revised at intervals. Thirdly, a
decision has been taken that summary reports
accompanied, where appropriate, by selected maps
should, in future, be printed and published.
132
7. The reason that Limestones of the Peak was relatively
cheap was that the Department realised its wide sales
potential and therefore supported a large print run
which reduced the cover price of each copy. This has
in fact proved well founded since the report has sold
exceptionally well to a very diverse readership and
less than one thousand copies remain. For this to be
possible for other studies we need to be confident that
demand will be high and, so, need to establish what is
needed by various audiences and what price the
market can stand.
Can I now make a plea to all members for photographs
which we can use on the exhibit. I haven't received any
material from the Hull Conference yet. We need your
help to keep them up to date and to develop a bank of
photographs. Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Anne Stuart,
9 Lea Drive,
Shepley,
Huddersfield.
For the interest of members, Anne's exhibit team
comprises Alistair Fleming, Richard Porter, Frank Spode.
Next January the ASE Conference will be in Birmingham
and the team will be looking for volunteers to help man
the stall. So, if you live within easy travelling distance of
Birmingham, please bear this in mind and be ready to
volunteer a little help when the call comes.
8. This letter is already long so I will not elaborate
further except to say that I would be happy to supply
more details. I could also ask the Department for
permission to tell members more at your annual
conference if the ATG considers that this would be
useful. In the meantime I will continue to read your
journal with great interest.
Dear Editor,
Brian Marker,
Department of the Environment,
2 Marsham Street,
London,
SW1P3EB.
I noticed that in Volume 12(3) CID (Grapevine) referred
to several excursion guides, some of which are
unfortunately disappearing from the shops. One of these
was the Geologists Association Guide to the Lake District,
which I had understood was now out of print, however, to
my great surprise, it was noted to have reappeared.
There is, in fact, a new Geologists Association guide to the
Lake District well on the way; it is multi-author (thirteen
in all) and I hope, in my prejudiced way, that it will be
very much up to date because interpretations of Lake
District geology have changed beyond recognition during
the eighteen years since Mitchel's guide was published.
Dear Editor,
With reference to the last edition of Geology Teaching
(Volume 12(3)), a mistake occurred in the type-setting of
my letter. The error is on p. 95, line eight of the left-hand
column. My letter actually said: 'It is possible that the
number for both the GCSE and the GCSE (M) will be
insufficient to justify running the examinations.'
In the meantime there are several Lake District guides
available which never seem to get a mention in your
Journal. I refer particularly to The Volcanic Rocks of the
Lake District (1983, Macmillan) and Geology and Scenery
in the Lake District (1986, Macmillan). You would find it
interesting to look at the reviews in the Proceedings of the
Geologists Association, Geological Magazine, Mercian
Geologist, Geology Today, TES, etc. Following Derek
Ager's example I have to say that modesty forbids that I
mention the author!
Peter Perkins,
Diss High School,
Diss,
Norfolk.
Our apologies to Peter for reversing the issue and making
the problem disappear - wishful thinking, perhaps.
Dear Editor,
Incidentally, I think that the Journal (new image) is going
very well.
I should like to report to members, through the Letters
section of the Journal, the success of the ATG exhibit at
the recent ASE Conference at Nottingham University.
Dr. Frank Moseley,
Dept. of Geological Sciences,
University of Nottingham.
As always the Conference attracted many ASE members,
up to five thousand this year. Our own Association was
well represented through symposia, lectures and the
exhibit. We enjoyed a steady stream of visitors at the
exhibit over the four days and dealt with many enquiries.
Our new ATG Earth sciences units sold well and we hope
to receive further orders from the sales material
distributed.
Chris Darmon (CID) replies: Thank you for bringing
your excellent guides to the attention of members. You
will be pleased to hear that a number of members have
indicated to me how much they have appreciated both the
titles mentioned.
As you will appreciate it is a very difficult task to keep up
to date with what is available, so if there are any other
titles which members would wish to bring to my attention,
I would be pleased to hear from them.
I should like to express my thanks to the exhibit team for
all their work before the Conference and to those who
helped to man (person?) the stand. Also, thank you to
John Reynolds for his patience in solving financial
problems and also for his encouragement.
133
Geological maps: an actualistic approach
to teaching
B.
c. M. Butler and J. D. Bell
Abstract
2. an increasing amount of data from geophysical
observations, bore-holes, and geochronology.
The authors advocate the use of published geological
maps for teaching techniques of map interpretation at all
levels, including introductory and elementary classes.
The principal advantage is that students are introduced to
maps as primary sources of geological data from an early
stage in their study of geology and so map interepretation
can be fully integrated with the rest of geology teaching.
The authors' approach to map interpretation is illustrated
with examples from the 1 : 250,000 BGS map of the
Portland area.
Moreover there have been improvements in the design,
clarity, colour balance, and standardisation of symbols
which make geological maps more attractive and easier
to read than formerly. Published maps are available on
many different scales, providing information at all levels
from local detail to regional overview.
The developments, together with our increasing
understanding of regional and global geological processes
under the influence of plate tectonic theory, and our
improving knowledge of the geological time-scale, allow a
more profound and geologically meaningful interpretation of the data presented on geological maps.
Introduction
A geological map is a record of many observations - a
representation on paper of the rock-types and structures
of an area.
Teaching map interpretation using real
maps
The objective of map interpretation is to convert the twodimensional information on the map into an understanding of the geology of the area and its geological
history. It should be understood from the outset that
interpretation is a combination of logical deduction from
the available data and personal judgement derived from
experience.
There are two inter-related stages of
interpretation:
It is our experience that interpretation of geological maps
can be taught successfully directly from published maps
of real geology. This is equally applicable to those
beginning to study geology at school, polytechnic, or
university. We have found that this approach has two
particular advantages:
1. maps (which are one of the geologist's principal
1. to show how the map reveals the geometrical shapes
means of presenting information) are introduced to
students at an early stage as factual data about many
aspects of geology.
of rock units.
2. to show how the shapes came about as a result of the
operation of geological processes (erosion, sedimentation, igneous processes, deformation, metamorphism) through geological time.
2. the conceptual barrier that many, though not all,
students encounter when they change from simplified
and idealised synthetic maps to real geological maps is
avoided.
Actualistic arguments are used in the second stage - the
application of our knowledge of how the Earth operates at
the present day in order to reconstruct the environments
and processes ofthe past.
Careful selection from the wide range of published maps
makes it possible to begin with simple geological
situations
and
to
progress gradationally and
systematically to the more complex.
New developments in maps
An example of map interpretation
There has been a trend towards the presentation of more
and different information on recently published
geological maps compared with the style of older maps.
This includes:
We will use as an axample the BGS 1 : 250,000 Geological
Map of Portland (1983) - see Fig. 1. We have chosen this
map because it is an excellent example of modern mapmaking (including offshore as well as onshore geology)
and also because of the variety of rock-types and
structures that it depicts in an area which is relatively well
known to many British students. The map area covers
1. more information on the lithology, including the
fossils and the stratigraphical zonation of rock units.
134
c
9
Osmington
Lulworth
-- 2
--
--~
ku
F
3° W
o
10
20
30
40
50km
~1~====~""'i"~'=======2'~i"""'5=====9iF'
o
Chronostructural unit 3
10
20
Chronostructural unit 2
114Ma
9
Chronostructural unit 1
Durlston and
Palaeogene
.' ·kl·.· Wealden Beds
(L.Cret.)
135Ma
Chalk
ju
Upper Jurassic
Gault and Upper 152Ma
- - --:. Middle Jurassic
Greensand
--- jm
- -:.
180Ma
Lower
Upper Cretaceous
95Ma
Albian
107Ma
Aptian
114Ma
jI
Greensand
205Ma
~
00
oo
o 0
Lower Jurassic
:
0
00
0
00
250Ma 1-0 0 pt
0
0
00
0°0
0
0
0
o
0
o 0 00 0
--y--
30miles
Unconformity
290Ma
oO.noooooo
Triassic
Permian
290Ma~
C
Carboniferous
355Ma
d
Devonian
405Ma
'El
~
"Basement"
(Start Complex)
Fault
F
•
Thrust
Figure 1. Simplified geological map of the area of the BGS map of Portland (1983) showing the principal
stratigraphical units and unconformities and with representative dips. Dates in the legend are from Snelling
(1985) and Stone and Exley (1982).
135
southeast Devon and much of Dorset and extends up to
the mid-line of the English Channel. The rocks range
from the schists of the Start Complex through the Upper
Palaeozoic of Devon (including the Dartmoor granite)
and the Mesozoic of east Devon and Dorset to the
Palaeogene of the Bovey Tracey and Wessex basins. The
rocks of the floor of the English Channel are mapped in a
simpler style than the onshore areas because of the
smaller amount of information. Chronostratigraphical
divisions are indicated in colour with lithology indicated
by an overprint. Dip directions and fold axes are mapped
in the offshore areas. Some palaeomagnetic orientations
are given (mostly in the Permian). A stratigraphical
section, two structural sections, and lithological
descriptions of the onshore formations are provided in the
margins; the K-Ar date of the Start Schists and its
interpretation are included in the lithological descriptions.
given the large amount of information on the published
map.
Rate of deposition of sediments
The average rate of deposition of sediments can be
calculated simply from the thickness divided by the time
interval. The average rate is, of course, much slower than
the rate of deposition of individual beds, but it is the
average rate that is the more significant and meaningful
on the scales of space and time that are important for map
interpretation. The calculation makes no allowance for
compaction after sedimentation.
To enable the
calculation of rates to be made, the dates of stratigraphical
boundaries from the geological time-scale of Snelling
(1985) and the age of the Dartmoor granite from Exley &
Stone (1982) have been added to the legend of Fig.1. The
data and calculations are shown in Table 1.
Two major unconformities divide the area into three
chronostructural units - that is, groups of rocks that have
had the same structural history (see the legend of Fig. 1).
Table 1 Sediment deposition rates of Permian to
Cretaceous strata in the Portland area of Dorset.
To illustrate some aspects of our approach to map
interpretation we shall study the second chronostructural
unit, starting with the post-Hercynian unconformity, and
ending with the formation of the mid-Cretaceous
unconformity.
In an Appendix we provide some
suggestions for the reader to follow in applying the same
methods to features of the other two chronostructural
units.
Thicknesses of stratigraphical units
Thicknesses and lithologies of the onshore formation are
given in the 'generalised vertical section' in the margin of
the published map.
Thickness
Time
Interval
Rate of
Sedimentation
Durlston and
Wealden Beds
270-760m
21 Ma
0.01-O.04mm/y
Upper Jurassic
c.540m
17Ma
0.03mm/y
Middle Jurassic
210-390m
28 Ma
O.Olmm/y
Lower Jurassic
230-400m
25Ma
0.01-O.02mm/y
Triassic
c.520m
45Ma
0.01 mm/y
Permian
c.1250m
40Ma
0.03mm/y
The presence of sands, oolites, and glauconite in much of
the Jurassic and of intermittent marine beds in the
Wealden shows that much of the sedimentation was close
to sea level. The data in Table 1 therefore indicate also thp
average rate of subsidence of the area.
The thicknesses of formations offshore can be
approximately determined at a few places; for example, to
the south of Bill of Portland the Upper J urassic outcrop is
11 to 14 km wide, with recorded dips of 2_3°, so the
stratigraphical thickness (outcrop width x sin dip) is
approximately 400-700 m. This is similar to the stated
onshore thickness of the same rocks, 530-540 m, so it can
be assumed that there are no gross variations of thickness
offshore. We emphasise that the thickness so determined
is approximate, since there may be minor variations in dip
along the measured line, but the method is valid and the
results reasonable.
The mid-Cretaceous unconformity
At the eastern edge of the map, to the east of Lulworth
and also offshore to the southeast of Bill of Portland, there
is a virtually continuous succession from Weal den Beds to
Lower Greensand. Westwards an angular unconformity
develops - well seen on the map, for example in the
offshore areas to the south of Bill of Portland. At
Osmington, Gault and Upper Greensand (AlbianCenomanian, age between 107 Ma to 91 Ma) rest
unconformably on Wealden (135 to 114 Ma) and on
Upper Jurassic. A reasonable estimate of the time period
for formation of the unconformity is after depositing a
thick sequence of Wealden (not earlier than about 120
Ma) and before the deposition of the Gault (not later than
about 100 Ma). During this interval of about twenty
million years the older rocks below the unconformity
were tilted and eroded. The time interval represented by
the unconformity varies from place to place -towards the
west the rocks below the unconformity becomes older and
those above become younger, so that at Newton Abbot
Upper Greensand rests on Permian and on folded
Environment of deposition of sediments
The published map provides brief descriptions of
borehole samples from the seabed of the English Channel
indicating that the onshore facies persist to the south.
The lithological descriptions of the stratigraphical units in
the margin of the published map show that in the
Permian and Triassic the environment of deposition was
terrestrial, including cross-bedded sandstones (in part
aeolian), gypsum, and rock salt. During the Jurassic the
environment was marine, often shallow water (e.g., oolitic
limestones and glauconitic sands). This was followed in
the
Cretaceous
by
predominantly
freshwater
sedimentation. Further detailed interpretation is possible
136
Devonian and Carboniferous. The uplift here can only be
dated as post-Permian, pre-Upper Greensand, though the
simplest assumption is that it was approximately
contemporaneous with the areas to the east. The greater
extent
of
uplift
in
the
west
and
the
greater resistance to erosion of the older rocks kept the
area above sea level for longer and so the marine
transgression was later here than in the east.
consequences and implications for adjacent and for more
distant areas. It is only justified if there is enough
evidence to support any conclusions that may be reached,
but the opportunity to relate individual areas to global
processes should not be shirked if the evidence is there.
The formation of the mid-Cretaceous unconformity in the
area of the Portland map at about 120 to 100 Ma is
contemporaneous with the initiation of ocean-floor
spreading in the North Atlantic 300 km to the southwest at
about 120 Ma (see Ziegler, 1982). The uplift and eastward
tilting of the area of the Portland map in mid-Cretaceous
times may have been a consequence of the thermal
expansion of the continental crust and formation of new
oceanic crust preceding and during the continental
rifting.
The subsequent subsidence and marine
transgression of the Upper Greensand and later rocks can
be correlated with the collapse of the graben of the
Rockall Trough (Anderton et aI., 1979, p. 240).
The
regional uplift of the northwestern margins of the
European continent is analogous to the uplift of northeast
Mrica and southwest Arabia at the time of formation of
the Red Sea rift in the Oligocene (Hallam and Sellwood,
1976; Lowell and Genik, 1972). Although there is no direct
evidence for these interpretations on the Portland map,
this example shows how the significance of global events
contemporaneous with rocks and structures of an
individual area should always be kept in mind while
working on geological maps.
In order to make a simple model for understanding and
beginning to quantify the geological processes in the area,
we could assume that all the Mesozoic sediments
originally extended to cover the western part of the map.
On this basis, the total thickness of rock removed in the
formation of the mid-Cretaceous unconformity would
have been at least 3000-4000 m (see Table 1). The rate of
uplift and of concurrent erosion in the west during the
twenty million years for the formation of the
unconformity was then 0.15 to 0.2 mmy-l (at the low end
of the range of estimates for the present day rate of
erosion of mountainous regions - see, for example, OIlier,
1981). A further calculation based on the thickness of the
sediments and the area they formerly covered indicates
that the total volume of rock removed during the
formation of the unconformity was about 20,000 km 3
- enough to form a 1250-metre thick layer over an area
equivalent to that of the Portland map. (This raises the
question of where this substantial volume of erosion
products was deposited as sediments.)
This simple geometrical interpretation and calculation
represents only a first approximation to an understanding
of the formation of the unconformity. If uplift started in
the west and progressed eastwards, some of the later
Mesozoic formations would have been less thick or absent
to the west of their present areas of outcrop, and the
thicknesses of rock and rates of erosion would have been
less than those calculated above.
Conclusions
We have briefly illustrated only a few of the many kinds
of interpretation that can be carried out on published
geological maps. As teachers, we should make use of
maps as primary sources of geological data through
which it is possible to communicate a greater
understanding of the nature of geological processes.
Palaeogeographical interpretation
Dr. B. C. M. Butler and Dr. J. D. Bell,
Department of Earth Sciences,
Parks Road,
Oxford, 0X13PR.
The interpretation of the environment of deposition of
sediments (see above) gives some clues to the changing
palaeogeography of the area. The formation of the
Hercynian orogenic belt led to uplift, erosion, and the
relatively rapid deposition of Permian sediments in
terrestrial conditions. The palaeomagnetic data plotted
on the map show that the area at this time was in
equatorial latitudes, conforming with the sedimentological evidence of arid conditions. Slower sedimentation followed, at first terrestrial in the Triassic and then
in a shallow marine basin in the Jurassic. Faster
sedimentation and freshwater conditions developed in the
Wealden as the Weald Basin subsided and filled.
References
Anderton, R., Bridges, P. H., Leeder, M. R., and Sell wood,
B. W. 1979. A Dynamic Stratigraphy of the British Isles.
George AlIen and Unwin.
Exley, C. S. and Stone, M. 1982. Geological setting of the
Hercynian granites, in: Sutherland, D. S. Igneous Rocks
of the British Isles. Wiley.
It is instructive to note that much of the environmental
interpretation that is derived directly from study of the
map is consistent with that derived from wider geological
studies (cf., Anderton et aI., 1979, Chapters 13 to 15).
Hallam, A. and Sell wood, B. W. 1976. Middle Mesozoic
sedimentation in relation to tectonics in the British area. J.
Geol., 84, 301-321.
Plate tectonic interpretation
Lowell, J. D. and Genik, G. J. 1972. Sea-floor spreading
and structural evolution of the southern Red Sea. Bull.
Amer. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists., 56,247-259.
It is both stimulating and risky to attempt a plate tectonic
interpretation of a map of a relatively small area. Such
interpretation depends on a wider range of evidence than
is commonly shown on geological maps and has
OIlier, G.D. 1981. Tectonics and Landforms. Longman.
Snelling, N. J. (ed.) 1985.
137
The Chronology of the
Geological
Blackwell.
Record.
Mem.
10,
Geological
strati graphical thicknesses of the sediments eroded
before the deposition of the Permian sediments. A
more realistic rate would be based on the construction
of a schematic cross-section through the folds and
thrusts of the Devonian and· Carboniferous rocks and
the Dartmoor granite so as to estimate the thickness of
rock that was eroded to create the pre-Permian land
surface. This cross-section will also suggest the
possible depth of emplacement of the part of the
Dartmoor granite that is now seen at the present day.
How do estimates of erosion rates of the Hercynian
belt compare with deposition rates of the Permian and
Triassic rocks?
Society.
Ziegler, P. A. 1982. Geological Atlas of Western and
Central Europe.
Shell Intemationale Petroleum
Maatschappij B.V., Elsevier.
Appendix: Some pointers to
interpretation of the Devonian and
Carboniferous rocks and structures of
the Tertiary Bovey Tracey Basin.
3. Measure the strike-slip displacement of the Sticklepath
Fault and the length (from northwest to southeast) of
the Bovey Tracey Basin. Show diagrammatically or
construct a simple model to illustrate how right-lateral
movement of the Sticklepath Fault zone can create a
basin containing up to 1100 m thickness of sediments.
Given that the time interval for formation of the
Bovey Formation was not more than 34 Ma (the
duration of the Eocene and Oligocene), what was the
minimum rate of movement of the Sticklepath Fault
and the minimum rate of deposition of the sediments
ofthe Bovey Formation?
Some further topics for observation and interpretation on
the published map of the Portland area are outlined in the
questions and suggestions below.
1. What can be inferred about the environments of
formation of the Devonian and Carboniferous rocks?
(Devonian: continental and marine sediments, basic,
spiIitic, and acid lavas and tuffs; Lower Carboniferous:
varied lithologies including shales and limestones and
a high proportion of basic lavas and tuffs; Upper
Carboniferous: predominantly detrital rocks including
turbidites). Estimate the rates of deposition of the
groups of sediments. How might the markedly faster
rates of sedimentation in the Lower Devonian and the
Upper Carboniferous be explained?
2. A minimum rate of erosion of the rocks of the
Hercynian orogenic belt can be estimated from the
138
Teaching Earth sciences at a distance
DeeEdwards
1. Introduction
b) The tuition and counselling staff
It is nearly fifteen years since Chris Wilson wrote about
the first geology course produced by the Open University.
Since that time the Department of Earth sciences at the
OU has grown, added other courses to the profile,
rewritten the original Geology course, and is now
contemplating its offering for the beginning of the 21st
century. It is, therefore, a convenient time to consider
some of the processes which have been influential in the
development of geology teaching at the OU.
The centrally generated packages are received by all
students but the direct interface for students is based on
thirteen Regional Centres where applications are
processed and student support in the form of counselling
and tutorial advice is organised. Each student is assigned
a course tutor who is normally a member of part-time
staff operating at one of about three hundred local study
centres (often institutes of higher education), where
students can meet their tutor, tutor-counsellor and other
students. However, participation in tutorials and other
study centre activities is optional.
First, however, a little background, as although some of
the course materials may be familiar to readers, the
institutional context in and for which they were
developed may be less well-known.
c) The size of the operation
At present there are around sixty-eight thousand
registered undergraduate students, with a further ten
thousand Associate students studying individual courses
but not as part of a degree. As an illustration of the size of
the operation, in 1985 the University processed ninetyeight thousand enquiries, which resulted in forty-one
thousand applications for twenty thousand three hundred
places on the five available foundation courses. The sixty
thousand 'live' students occupy the range of one hundred
and thirty-four courses provided in the University's
undergraduate programme and, of these, twenty-seven
are science based courses with nine containing at least a
component of Earth sciences.
2. Background
a) The students
Open University students are over eighteen years of age
(the median age is about thirty) and they all study parttime, at home, using the specially designed, multi-media
packages sent out from the OU centre at Milton Keynes.
The University operates a system in which each course
has a credit value, and to obtain a BA degree a student
needs six credits (eight for the BA Hons), which may be
taken at up to two credits per year. Each student begins
with a foundation course in one of the five faculties (Arts,
Social Sciences, Mathematics, Science or Technology)
before moving on to higher level courses, at second, third
and fourth level. A system of continuous assessment with
an end of course examination is used to assess student
performance and to award course credit results.
Typically a one-week study package on a full credit
course (thirty-two weeks of study) will contain a forty
page Unit written text, notes to accompany a twenty-five
minute television programme (or video tape) and possibly
a radio programme (alternatively an audio cassette) and,
perhaps, an experiment to be completed through use of
the student's Home Experiment Kit. The student will
complete several assignments for assessment and
feedback on progress, which may be marked by a locally
based tutor (tutor marked assignments, TMAs), or the OU
computer (CMAs).
3. Science and Earth sciences at the
Open University
Distance teaching of science is a challenge, not least
because of the difficulty of providing laboratory practical
work, which most educational institutions have not had to
face.
In addition to the course texts, which substitute for
lectures, key elements in the successful teaching of
undergraduate level science have been the development
of: (1) equipment which can be sent to students' homes
(called Home Experiment Kits), and this is particularly
central to the teaching of Earth sciences at the Open
University; (2) radio and television programmes; and (3)
short residential courses to supplement practical work
done at home.
Students have considerable freedom of choice over the
time and place of study, and so, although parents at home
with children at school may study during the day, most
students study in the evenings, at weekends and in any
spare moments.
There are few restrictions on students' choice of courses
and although they may combine subjects from all
Faculties within their degree, each science department
provides a range of cour.ses which they consider
139
Table 1 Earth sciences courses at the Open University
Level
Course
code
Title
Fourth
(honours)
S431
Earth Science Projects in
the Lake District
1986
25
Third
(honours)
S334
Oceanography (replaced by, below)
1978
350
S330
Oceanography
1989
S335
Surface & Sedimentary Processes
(replaced by, below)
1977
235
S338
Sedimentary Processes and
Basin Analysis
1987
350
S336
Crustal and Mantle Processes
1977
125
8364
Evolution (jointly with Biology Dept).
1981
350
823(3)
Geology (replaced by,below)
1971
400
8236
Geology
19,83
700
8237
The Earth: structure,
composition and evolution
1981
550
S266
The Earth's Physical Resources
(replaced by, below)
1973
400
8238
The Earth's Physical Resources
1984
400
8100
Science Foundation Course
(replaced by, below)
1971
3500
S101
Science: A Foundation Course
(replaced by, below)
1979
3500
S102
Science: A Foundation Course
1988
3750
8econd
Foundation
First year of
presentation
Approx
population
NB All are half-credit courses except the Foundation Course which is a fun-credit containing roughly one quarter
Earth sciences.
constitutes a coherent degree profile for those students
wishing to major within their discipline. In Earth sciences
there are courses in general, introductory geology at
second level, and more specialised courses at higher levels
which students may count towards an honours degree.
The range of Earth sciences courses and titles is set out in
Table 1.
and basin analysis techniques and concepts (S338). ThesE:
rather specialised courses have lower populations than
the interdisciplinary courses in Oceanography (8334) and
Evolution (S364) which both attract around three
hundred and fifty students a year and are the most
popular third level OU science courses. At least two
credits at third level are required to achieve honours
degree status. Those students who wish to convert their
six-credit ordinary BA degree (often based on foundation
and second level courses) into an eight-credit honours
degree involving mainly Earth sciences can do so by
taking all four of these third level courses.
The
classification of this degree is determined by the student's
performance across second and third level courses with
emphasis on the latter. A recent development has been
the introduction of a project-based course at fourth level
which finishing honours students may take to
demonstrate, as with final year projects at conventional
institutions, their ability to undertake independent
research-oriented studies.
Building on a foundation course of integrated science
(S102 in 1988), three separate half-credit courses are
provided at second level. These are the 'core' course in
basic geology (8236), and two more specialised courses in
80lid Earth geophysics-geochemistry (8237) and
economic geology (8238), Both 8236 and S237 regularly
attract over five hundred students each year which is
above average frJr second level science courses. A pair of
third level specialist Earth sciences courses is provided,
one invol ving igneous, economic, metamorphic and
structural topics which uses a case study approach (8336)
and a second which concentrates on palaeoenvironmental
140
4. The innovatory nature of OU teaching
(i)
The introduction of a number of fields of study, any
one of which could be specialised in later. The
second level OU Earth sciences courses are of this
type; for example, 8236 contains introductions to
mineralogy, petrology, stratigraphy, palaeontology
and structural geology; and deals with each in more
depth and, perhaps, in a more fundamentally
appealing way than most broad introductory
geology courses.
(ii)
Interconnections can be made between discipline
areas and the OU interdisciplinary third level
courses; 8334, Oceanography, and 8364, Evolution,
are of this type. 8334, Oceanography, analyses
biological, physical and chemical aspects of the
oceans as well as the geology of the ocean basins.
8364, Evolution, is an almost unique example of an
integrated bio-geo approach to palaeontology and
fossils as previously livin.g systems.
It will be clear that Earth sciences at the Open University
are not taught in the conventional way, by lectures,
supervised laboratory and field-work. The dimensions of
innovation involved are now analysed in more detail
under three headings: (a) Philosophy of the courses; (b)
Dpsign and production; and (c) Presentation.
a) Philosophy of the courses
There are four aspects of the philosophy of teaching
Earth sciences at the Open University which are, in
general, different from conventional teaching.
(i)
Courses are undertaken largely through individual
learning, rather than through group study.
(ii)
Students are working towards a non-vocational
qualification, rather than a largely vocationally
oriented one. This means that courses are not based
on an assumption of the need for "benchmanship" or
a' craft apprenticeship' in the laboratory or the field.
(iii) Less dogmatic, more relativistic attitudes may be
encouraged by encountering different modes of
thinking. For example, like some economic geology
courses in other institutions, 8238, The Earth's
Physical Resources, introduces the perspectives of
planning and environmental considerations as well
as the technical aspects of economic geology and
mineral processing.
(iii) Conscious decisions were made that courses should
concentrate on teaching principles rather than
details.
(iv) The Earth sciences profile of courses (in common
with those of the other sciences) is restricted by the
University and the Science Faculty to four credits.
This means that all students have to include courses
from other disciplines within their degree, and each
department recommends combinations which create
coherent degree profiles.
(iv) The avoidance of the prejudices associated with deep
specialisation into a single discipline.
The disadvantages of broad courses most frequently
mentioned are:
(i)
University courses have tended, generally, to be
vocationally oriented, with a strong tradition of content
and skills, and taught by individual subject specialists to
groups of students in lecture theatres, laboratories and in
the field (Burwell, 1981; Hunt, 1981; Perkins, 1979;
Whitehead, 1979). Only recently has there been much
discussion of how specialist areas interconnect and,
perhaps justifiably from a professional viewpoint, there is
a tendency for most teaching effort to be aimed at the
small proportion of students who will eventually become
practising or academic geologists. Providing service
courses, for example, for engineering students. is usually
regarded as a slightly peripheral activity though some
emphasis is often placed on introductory (first year)
geology courses for large groups of students following
different vocational courses. Innovation on a large scale
has often been associated with the establishment of a new
organisation, for example the cross-discipline contextual
study of the Schools of Study at the University of Sussex
and the Schools of Environmental Sciences at the
Universities of Lancaster and East Anglia.
Only
exceptionally can a Head of Department or ViceChancellor revolutionalize teaching on a large scale,
because of the inertia contained in pre-existing units.
The integration of various subjects may not be
explicit; content is merely juxtaposed. The Open
University Course Team approach to the
development of courses helps to ensure that there is a
clear plan for the integration of the course content,
media and components. This involves thorough
discussion of the material from early draft stages
until it is handed to the printer, and the frequent
problem has been to ensure sound academic
integration rather than false juxtaposition.
(ii) Teachers may not orient their teaching to integrated,
interdisciplinary or broader courses. Although this is
less of a problem in the development of OU courses
where several specialists serve on a Course Team,
finding suitably qualified tuition and counselling
staff to tutor the courses in the regions is more
problematic.
The innovative nature of the
interdisciplinary courses in Oceanography and
Evolution, means that few other institutions teach
similar material and people willing and able to tutor
the wide range of content are sometimes rare, or
concentrated in a few, widely-spaced locations.
(iii) Courses may be considered to be and/or may be
generally 'shallow'.
In the case of the Open
University, all course texts are subject to rigorous
external academic assessment to ensure that good
standards are maintained. The philosophy is that a
mixture of a large number of broad·based and a
small number of specialist courses should be
available for any student to make a conscious choice
A much-debated issue in many geology departments has
been whether broadly-based or in-depth specialist courses
should be taught at BSc level and traditionally most
departments have veered towards the latter case. But
advantages have been put forward for broader courses:
141
commended for examination by many traditional
institutions. Perhaps it is not surprising that Swift (1979)
has shown, using criteria such as determination and
tenacity, that many employers value the traits that an OU
degree implies.
on how to orient his or her degree profile depending
on the perceived outcome.
It is in the belief that the OU's prime function is to provide
a broad education that many of the Earth sciences second
level courses have been developed, with the implicit
assumption that this is more appropriate for adult
learners. Their experience demonstrates the need for
alternative educational systems, using non-traditional
methods.
In this way there is a strong case for
maintaining the OU philosophy within the framework of
higher education in general.
b) Design and production of the courses
There are several crucial ways in which the design and
production of OU Earth sciences courses differ from
those in conventional settings.
An underlying, but unproved contention is that a general
education may produce a more adaptable, flexible, and
academically 'broad-minded' individual and that
increasingly these traits will be at a premium in a society
where technology is changing so fast that one of the only
certainties is change. Part of the philosophy ofa broader
education dictates that a bench apprenticeship of craft
skills, handling apparatus, examining in great detail large
numbers of specimens, is as outdated for most students as
the Victorian gentleman-scientist from whom the method
developed. Broader principles should enable connections
to be made more easily, which may be a more valuable
skill than the intellectual 'tunnel vision' of detailed study
(GRIHE, 1976; Black and Ogborn, 1979). For example,
S236 introduces fossils through functional morphology
and the ecology of living communities rather than as
systematic palaeontology, fossil drawer after drawer. The
main reason for this approach, which as a specific
example is now widely practised, is the belief that it
promotes understanding in ways that rote learning does
not.
It is clear that in other disciplines, too, there are moves
away from the reductionist stances of, for example, atom
smashing and detailed biochemistry to understand
structure, towards holistic approaches, of superstring
theory and whole-body development of biology; these
new areas involve cross-discipline groups of academics,
each bringing different perspectives, approaches and
knowledge structures to the problems under study.
(i)
Courses are designed by a group, the Course Team.
(ii)
There is a long development period, usually two to
five years.
(iii)
Academic contributions are commented upon by
colleagues.
(iv)
The Course Team's job is to produce printed
materials, home and summer school laboratory
work, television and other audio-visual media.
(v)
The student goals, aims and objectives are highly
specified.
(vi)
Tb.e material is highly student interactive, in order
to maintain student interest and for them regularly
to check their own progress. The devices used are
ITQs (in-text questions), SAQs (self-assessment
questions), other activities (such as the integrated
practical work) and assignments. There is frequent
reinforcement
through
the
answers
and
explanations provided for these SAQs, ITQs and
activities.
(vii) Extensive planning and development goes into OU
courses so that the package presented to students
has a clear structure and overall coherence.
Students are provided with an Introduction and
Guide to the Course, and each Block or Unit and
Section has its own Study Guide which serves as an
'advance organiser' (Ausubel and Robinson, 1969).
When considering the underlying philosophy of the
courses, there also arises the question of exactly how
much learning actually takes place in group situations
compared with work done individually, in one's room, the
laboratory or the library? If, as I suspect, the latter mode
of individual learning is prevalent, then the Open
University is merely formalising a situation which exists,
unacknowledged, in the university sector at large. The
advantage of the Open University system is that the
situation of the 'lone learner' is acknowledged and
decisions are taken as to what geology can be learned
independently, with text, kit, and television at home, and
what is best learned in a group situation, through tutorials
or summer schools. Where the conventional student does
have a distinct advantage is that once a problem is
encountered, staff and other students are close at hand to
supply help. A sense of isolation when in trouble is
probably one of the worst Open University student
problems and it is here that the tutorial and counselling
systems in the Regions provide support.
Each in extenso draft written by individual authors is
commented upon and discussed by the Course Team.
Similarly, the content and approach of the other
components, such as television, are discussed at length.
Discussion helps to ensure a consistent approach, using a
uniform 'house style' of hierarchies of headings, structure
of the text, positioning of self-assessment questions, and so
on. This structured approach is felt to be most important
for the introductory courses at second level, to give
inexperienced students a sense of reassurance and
familiarity with a format across these courses. The more
specialised courses at higher levels deviate from this
structure, as part of the development of more
independent learning strategies.
The message is that the Open University teaching
philosophy has an important innovatory role in a mixed
higher education teaching strategy, a role which is
The definition of clear and explicit course aims and
objectives, and teaching structure and strategy discussed
and planned by a team are inevitably part of an
(viii) Assumed knowledge for second-level science
courses is only the Science Foundation Course and
some general knowledge.
142
'industrialised' form of education (Peters, 1973; Keegan,
1980) which mitigates against student autonomy in
learning (Moore, 1972, 1983). However, science courses
in general tend to be more structured than, say, social
science ones, (Schwab, 1964) and it has been suggested
that this is a function of the characteristics of scientists'
perception of knowledge structures (Rowell, 1982) and of
science students (Head, 1979). The rationale for the
rather heavy amount of structure in the second-level
Earth sciences courses at the OU is that students are still
relatively inexperienced learners when they study these
courses and that autonomy is more appropriate to
experienced learners, so is best deferred to courses which
are studied later in the student's career. In the third and
fourth-level courses students are introduced to original
literature and they experience more independence in their
learning through, for example, project work.
In this way the more
dimensional interpretation.
theoretical, intangible concepts are introduced last and,
arguably, learning is improved. Other authors are now
using similar approaches in texts intended for student use.
In a similar way the extensive use of fossil casts,
pioneered by the introductory geology course, instead of
the traditional real specimens, is expected to be adopted
first at the school level, where the large numbers of
students and the need for the best possible, identical
teaching specimens parallel the needs of our Course
Teams. An interdisciplinary and conservation-aware
approach to teaching fossils as previously living systems
is particularly appealing for its application in the
classroom.
Clearly, the OU Course Team approach has much to
recommend it but is not without its problems and there is
a cautionary note. Other institutions in Britain and
overseas have used the Course Team approach for
preparing courses (GRIHE, 1975; Roach and Hammond,
1976; Crick, 1980) but the experience at the Open
University is probably the most extensive. However, it is
also clear from articles in the University's journal
Teaching at a Distance (recently renamed Open
Learning) and elsewhere (Newey, 1975; Mason, 1976)
that high . quality integrated teaching materials are
produced at the cost of considerable stress to some
members of the team. The trend towards conflict and
confrontation after the first years of heady innovation is a
cautionary one for other institutions who may attempt to
produce courses in similar ways.
Television, radio and audio cassettes are innovative
features of the OU courses which are integral to the
design and production stage. Television, in particular, is
regarded as an essential part of the teaching strategy as it
is an efficient way of taking students to field locations that
they could not otherwise visit.
In this way Open
University students can 'see' many classic geological
locations, most of which would otherwise be denied
through costs. Like the teaching texts, these programmes
are known to be widely used by other educational
institutions (Moss and Brew, 1981), and oil companies use
them during their training programmes. This illustrates
that the staff in such organisations acknowledge the
usefulness and value of these programmes, and suggests
that our multi-media approach has been well received.
c) Presentation ofthe Courses
Course design must also take into account that the
amount of time spent in the field by Open University
students is usually very much less than their conventional
counterparts.
The compulsory summer school week
corresponds roughly to the Easter field class of other
institutions, and this is supplemented by optional fieldtrips organised as part of the tutorial programme, or by
the
Open
University
Geological
Society
(the
undergraduate society, OUGS). It may be that field
geology is a declining art; the British Geological Survey is
undertaking far less field mapping in this country, and
overseas work increasingly relies on technical
innovations such as remote sensing. However, and in our
view quite rightly, specialist vocational geology students
at most institutions in Britain have a six week mapping
exercise and are expected to undertake an independent
project in their final year. The Open University cannot
match the length of these experiences; at present the only
provision is the project based course, S431, where a long
weekend of fieldwork is followed up by laboratory studies
at home. So to the extent that the old saying 'The best
geologist is the one who has seen most rocks' is true, OU
students cannot compete except, perhaps, in theoretical
terms. This is the reason why the OU does not attempt to
provide vocational training.
The essential factors in presentation of the OU geology
courses which differ from those elsewhere, as they affect
the students and tutors are:
(i)
there may be little contact between students;
(ii) there may be infrequent contact between students
and their tutor;
(iii) students have some choice of time, place and pace of
study;
(iv) students receive extensive written comments on the
work submitted to their tutor, compared with the
emphasis on oral comments at conventional
institutions;
(v)
students receive a grade and notes on the answers to
computer-marked assignments (CMAs);
(vi) students receive reinforcement and feedback during
study through in-text and self-assessment questions
and practical activities;
(vii) continuous assessment has, since the first courses in
1971, always counted equally with the end of course
examination towards the grade of pass (subject to
certain thresholds designed to protect the quality of
grade), and this is becoming a more common
practice in conventional institutions.
At a smaller scale OU courses have innovatory design
features which contradict conventional teaching practice.
For example, mapwork begins using geological maps of
the whole country and moves to those of progressively
smaller areas. The logic of this sequence is that students
are introduced through landscape (what they know and
can see about them) to 'broad brush' geology of outcrop
patterns and then, last of all, to schematic maps and three-
The infrequent organised contact between groups of
students, and between students and their tutors, cannot be
regarded as an academic advantage of the OU system,
143
teaching many aspects of the courses, particularly in
mineral and rock identification.
For students who
experience difficulty visualising the third dimension in
mapwork and geological processses, rotating computer
animations might well be a significant improvement over
Earthquake foci and wave
block model diagrams.
propagation analysis in three dimensions may also be
taught more easily using some of the available
commercial software; there are undoubtedly many other
applications of the potential use of this medium which are
yet to be discovered. Against this would have to be set the
expense of the equipment required (micro-computers,
video-disc players) and the expense and expertise
required to provide the material. For example, recent
estimates suggest that video disc production costs at
around £lOOk for the master disc and two years of
academic time.
although some students state that they positively prefer to
study alone. After the weekly meetings with the tutorcounsellor at foundation level, face-to-face contact
declines to about three to four times a year for relatively
high population courses. The tapering of tutorial support
for students at higher levels is part of the University's
strategy for the development of the independent learner
but this has been accelerated by the recent cuts in resource
for tutorials. Thus one of the emphases in rewriting of the
third level Earth sciences courses has been the explicit
encouragement of enhanced study skills, through the
interactive activities presented in the teaching texts.
The OU also undertakes evaluation of its courses in an
effort to improve their teaching, particularly after about
eight years when each of the courses is remade. The
better the quality of the courses, the less that students who
cannot attend tutorial sessions should feel disadvantaged.
Students are, however, encouraged to form· self-help
groups and the OUGS calls itself the largest self-help
group in the University, with over one thousand
members. In order to compensate for the infrequency of
face-to-face reinforcement and feedback, emphasis is
placed on the teaching role of the written comments that
all students receive on their submitted work. Students in
conventional institutions rarely receive such detailed
comment on paper, or a breakdown of how the marks
were awarded, so the teaching potential of such
assignments may not be maximised elsewhere. The
University has invested in various aspects of training
tutors for this specialised role (Clennell et al., 1977), and
Earth sciences has devised a self monitoring experiment
which provides valuable information to tutors on how
their grading compares with that of other tutors and the
Course Team (Edwards and Williams, 1985).
A less expensive alternative would be to supply material
on floppy disc for use with home micros. Although about
one third of OU students say that they have access to a
home computer (Grundin, 1983) , graphics packages for
three dimensional diagrams take a lot of RAM and it is
only recently that suitable machines have been available
cheaply for home use. An additional problem is that the
range of disc formats and languages means that the
logistics of supplying the software would be huge. Within
the next five years this will be a viable medium and
thought is being given to providing teaching materials in
geology using micro-computers. Some software has been
developed in the USA (Apple Macintosh, 1985) but there
appears to be very little development of computer-aided
instruction in university geology teaching in Britain,
though subjects such as geophysics regularly use
computers as tools.
Quite apart from the introduction of New Technology, the
process of continuous evaluation and re-organisation of
both course profiles and content every eight to ten years
allows for changes in the subject and in perceived student
5. The future: What lies ahead?
We are all teaching in uncertain times: staff morale in
schools has been lowered by the industrial action of the
past two years and the upheaval involved in the
introduction of GCSE on a short timescale. Minority
subjects, such as geology, are being squeezed from the
curriculum at all levels; in schools by the 'core curriculum'
and in Universities by schemes of rationalisation such as
those arising from the Oxburgh Report. Yet, as we all
know, it is the unifying, global themes of Earth sciences
which can be used as convenient 'hooks' to teach the more
theoretical topics in physical science and Earth sciences
can inspire both brilliant students and those who have not
previously been enthusiastic about science. It is surely the
natural inquisitiveness and enthusiasm of children which
need to be encouraged if we are to produce future
generations who are scientifically literate, willing and able
to work in our increasingly scientific and technological
world.
needs. In addition, there is an increasing demand for
short courses tailored to the needs of industry and,
perhaps, for the general populace under the umbrella of
the Open University's Continuing Education Programme.
To date the Earth sciences department has provided only
three to five day face-to-face in-service industrial training
courses, on a variety of themes from remote sensing to
carbonate petrology, but- these reveal an enormous scope
for future developments, partly in the production of
purpose-made courses, and partly in converting materials
already
generated
through
the
undergraduate
programme. Future innovations and developments of
this nature are an important part of the University's role
in society which requires that it maintains both the
breadth and depth of its teaching programme. Moreover,
this programme must respond to technological and
scientific as well as to educational change if the Open
University is to pursue its academic adventures with
dedication and enthusiasm into the 1990s.
At the Open University we have started thinking about
whether we should be offering different types of courses
in the future; having rewritten our earliest courses, should
we be presenting revamped 1970s material in the 1990s?
Should we abandon optical microscopy, mapwork and
fossils in favour of world systems approaches? Could OU
Earth sciences teaching be more innovative? In this
technological age there is tremendous scope for further
initiative, for example, by using interactive video disc for
Dr. Dee Edwards,
Department of Earth Sciences,
The Open University,
Walton Ball,
Milton Keynes,
MK76AA.
144
References
Newey, C. 1975 On being a Course Team Chairman.
Teaching at a Distance (Open University), 4, pp. 47-51.
Apple Macintosh, 1985 Wheels for the Mind,!, (1) Boston:
Boston College.
Perkins, J. 1979 Geology in Adult Education.
Geologist, 5, (3), pp. 73-74.
Ausubel, D. P. and Robinson, F.G.1969SchoolLearning:
An Introduction to Educational Psychology. New York,
Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
British
Peters, O. 1973
Die didaktische Structur des
Ferunterricts. Untersuchungen zu einer industrialisierten
Form des Lehrens und Lernens. Weinheim, Beltz.
Black, P. J. and Ogborn, J. 1979 Laboratory work in
Undergraduate Teaching, in: McNally (ed.) Learning
Strategies in University Science.
Cardiff, University
College Press pp. 161-201.
Roach, K. and Hammond, R. 1976 Zoology by SelfInstruction. Studies in Higher Education, 1,(2), pp. 179196.
Rowell, J. A. 1982 Images of Science: an Empirical Study.
European Journal of Science Education, 4, pp. 70-94.
Burwell, D. 1981 What sort of geology degree would
employers of geologists prefer? British Geologist, 7, (3),
pp. 72-75.
Schwab, J. J. 1964 Structure of the Natural Sciences, in:
Ford and Pugno (eds.) The Structure of Knowledge and
the Curriculum. Chicago, Rand McNally, pp. 6-30.
Clennell, S., Peters, J. and Sewart, D. 1977 Teaching for
Open University Press, Milton
the Open Universitv.
Keynes.
Swift, B. 1979 Satisfied Expanded Happier and Maybe
Promoted as wel1. Outlook, (OU graduate magazine), 4,
Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Crick, M. 1980 Course Teams: myth and actuality.
Distance Education, 1, (2), pp. 129-141.
Whitehead, P. S. 1975
Geology teaching and the
profession. British Geologist, 5, pp. 71-72.
Edwards, D. and Williams, D. 1985 An experiment in selfmonitoring amongst tutors at the Open University: the Mr
Dummy scheme.
British Journal of Educational
Technology, 16, (1), pp. 21-33.
Wilson, R. C. L. 1973 Philosophy amd Methodology of the
Earth Science Courses at the Open University, 5, pp. 2533.
GRIHE (Group for Research and Innovation in Higher
Education) 1975 Course Teams. London, The Nuffield
Foundation.
carnBRfao
GRIHE (Group for Research and Innovation in Higher
Education) 1976
Breadth and Depth. London, The
Nuffield Foundation.
-t=felv SLaV&,
Grundin, H. 1983 Audio-visual media in the Open
University: results of a survey of 93 courses. lET papers
on Broadcasting No 224 (unpublished). Milton Keynes,
The Open University.
For specialist GCSE and Alevel GEOGRAPHY and
GEOLOGY field courses in Mid - Wales.
Head, J. 1979 Personality and the Pursuit of Science.
Studies in Science Education, 6, pp. 23-44.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hunt, B. 1981 Should the Institute of Geologists be
concerned with education? British Geologist, 7, (4), pp. 1724.
Keegan, D. 1980
On Defining Distance Education.
Distance Education 1,(1), pp. 13-26.
Mason, J. 1976 Life inside the Course Team. Teaching at
a Distance (Open University), 5, pp. 27 -33.
any length of course
fully tutored
complete follow - up
hypothesiS testing format
pre -course planning and visits
competitive prices
resource packs
in -service training
A complete syllabus based field study service
tutored by qualified teachers.
Moore, M. 1972 Learner autonomy: the second dimension
of independent learning. Convergence, 5, (2), pp. 76-78.
Moore, M. 1983 The individual adult learner, in: Tight
(ed.) Adult learning and education. London, Croom
Helm.
J. Wallace, Cambrian Field Study. Rhiwfelen, Goginan,
Aberystwyth, Dyfed, SY23 3PF.
Moss, G. D. and Brew, A. 1981 The contribution of the
Open University to innovation in higher education.
Higher Education, 10, pp. 141-151.
Tel. Aberystwyth (0970) 84226
145
Mineral deposits - current concepts on their formation
David Roberts
of up-dating teachers on the subject, but instead confront
them with jargon and comments which would have
required resorting to textbooks for clarification if these
were available. The article failed in two respects - it was
both too long (it would have filled one issue of Geology
Teaching by itself) and too concentrated. I sent the rough
manuscript to the editor for comment with my own
feelings clearly stated, but at the same time with the
suggestion that I forget trying to write up a lecture but
instead produce a series of articles, each covering a
different aspect of mineralisation, which could be used as
class notes by teachers. The editor's view concurred with
my own on the original article, and she agreed that I
should produce an OIl-going series of articles on current
concepts of mineral genesis.
A few days after I gave a lecture on the relationship of
mineral deposits to plate tectonic settings at the 1986 ATG
conference in Bath, Reg Bradshaw, the then president of
the ATG, came to see me in my office. He told me that he
had come to talk about my lecture. 'Oh dear!' I thought,
'Was it that bad? - did I bore them stiff?' because one can
never be sure that topics oneself finds fascinating will
have the same degree of appeal to others. Fortunately,
however, the contrary proved to be the case and he was
quite complimentary about it.
'Now, what is this
undeserved flattery leading to?', I thought, and then the
purpose of his visit became known.
The editorial
committee of the ATG had asked him to approach me to
write up my lecture for Geology Teaching as a means of
providing a more permanent record of my summary of
current ideas on the formation of mineral deposits for
ATG members.
Then came the problem of how to package the articles
and several options were available.
I immediately
dismissed the idea of taking one commodity at a time
since copper, for example, occurs in deposits formed from
a wide variety of processes and a subsequent account of
zinc or lead would overlap with some of them. This
would result in repetition. I was really left with two
alternatives, one being a mineral deposit/rock association
approach and the other being my original lecture format
of integrating mineral deposits to the plate tectonic model.
For the former approach the textbooks of Evans (1987),
Edwards and Atkinson (1986) or the more rigorous
approach of Guilbert and Park (1986) are excellent texts
to study, whereas for the latter those of Mitchell and
Garson (1981), Sawkins (1984) and Hutchinson (1983)
would be useful further reading.
I said that I would be happy to oblige if that is what they
wanted, but at the same time I thought that perhaps
reference by geology teachers to some of the recently
published excellent textbooks on mineral deposits would
be a better means of up-dating than the very brief
summary which is all that I would be able to produce. For
those teachers who would like to spend some (if not all!)
of their text book allowance on a good reference, I have
listed below those books which I think are good value and
would be worthy additions to the school reference library.
Whilst I could still strongly recommend that reference be
made to some of these texts, I realise that the knowledge
that is contained in them is far beyond that which any Alevel student of geology is required to know and it would
take teachers quite a long time to abstract and simplify the
relevant parts for the A-level syllabus. At the same time I
became aware that not all school teachers of geology have
degrees in that subject, many of them having followed
honours courses in geography with subsidiary geology
and may have a weak basis from which to attack those
texts. Unfortunately, in many British university geology
departments, mineral deposit geology does not form as
important a part of the course as some of us would like it
to be and is often included as an option course which
subsidiary students do not take. Those departments
where the study of mineral deposits forms a major part of
the course (e.g., The Royal School of Mines and the course
in Mining Geology at Leicester) do not normally turn out
graduates who are attracted to the teaching profession.
All this made me realise that there could well be a demand
for the article, particularly when one considers the
relevance of a study on mineral deposits to the now
favoured integrated science courses in schools. So I set
about writing it and discussed some of my ideas on
presentation with the new editor Dr. Joan Brown. Then
disaster!
I had written about forty pages of very
condensed information without diagrams and concluded
that the end result was not going to have the desired effect
I decided to adopt the latter approach for this series of
articles though for my undergraduate courses I prefer the
former since it can be related better to exploration
programmes. The first reason I chose the plate tectonic
association approach was to some extent influenced by
the way in which plate tectonics inspires and stimulates
the person new to geology and I would hope to build on
that enthusiasm. Secondly, I would like to emphasise that
the processes of mineral deposit genesis are no different
to those which have operated in other areas where no
mineral deposits of any significance occurs. It just so
happens that under favourable conditions, with the right
elements available in trace quantities in the rocks of the
immediate area, abstraction and concentration of those
valuable elements in sufficient quantities to be
economically extracted have occurred.
This can be
readily demonstrated in the plate tectonic context.
Thirdly, many rock associations with or without mineral
deposits are related to specific plate tectonic settings and
this will enable the two approaches to be integrated into
one.
As an introductory article I intend to give a brief historical
146
review of the classification of mineral deposits and some
of the early theories on their genesis. I would then like to
turn my attention to some of the techniques which have
been developed and applied to the study of mineral
deposits over the last twenty years or so, namely fluid
inclusion studies and the evidence afforded by stable
isotope studies, particularly those of oxygen, hydrogen
and sulphur. Although I will introduce the various plate
tectonic settings I will not discuss the plate tectonic theory
itself - it will merely become a vehicle by which to convey
and package a study on mineral deposits. Throughout I
will adopt a process-oriented approach and keep the
description of individual deposits to a minimum.
Unfortunately for us
(both academically and
economically!) most of the important deposits are in
distant parts of the world and while I will have to refer to
them I shall try also to identify similar types of deposit
within the British Isles or mainland Europe even though
they are inferior in many respects, since there is a great
possibility that students could visit them.
the journal may never wish to visit either. If, on the other
hand I was asked to mention something about, for
instance, the occurrence of gold in Arhaean greenstone
belts, particularly in view of the present high level of
exploration activity in such areas as Western Australia,
then I would be happy to do so. Finally, please bear in
mind that the restrictions on space and time will mean
that the articles cannot be all embracing - they are not
intended to be.
Dr. David Roberts,
Department of Geology,
University of Bristol,
Wills Memorial Building,
Queen's Road,
Bristol,
BS8IRJ.
Reference Texts
So far I have carefully avoided using the term 'ore' and
this is for a good reason. Ore is not a geological term but
an economic one.
Ore is mineralisation (normally
metallic) which can be mined at a profit or with the hope
and intention of making a profit. An exploration geologist
may notice evidence of mineralisation and may, after
some costly drilling, define a mineral deposit. It is not
until that mineralisation has been fully appraised with
reserves clearly defined (total tonnage and grade) and
shown to be mineable and marketable at a profit that it
actually becomes ore. So I make a plea to all teachers of
geology to encourage their students to use the term ore in
its correct sense and not to refer to specimens of galena,
and sphalerite etc., found on old dumps as lead 'ore' or
zinc 'ore' respectively. It is true that they are 'ore-forming'
minerals but a few hand specimens certainly do not
constitute ore.
Edwards, R. and Atkinson, K. 1986 Ore Deposit Geology
and its Influence on Mineral Exploration. Chapman and
Hall. 466pp.
Evans, A. M. 1987 An Introduction to Ore Geology (2nd
Edition). Blackwell. 358pp.
Guilbert, J. M. and Park, C. F. 1986 The Geology of Ore
Deposits. Freeman. 985pp.
Hutchinson, C. S. 1983 Economic Deposits and their
Tectonic Setting. Macmillan. 365pp.
Mitchell, A. H. G. and Garson, M. S. 1981 Mineral
Deposits and Global Tectonic Settings. Academic Press.
405pp.
Sawkins, F. J. 1984 Metal Deposits in Relation to Plate
Tectonics. Springer-Verlag. 325pp.
Throughout the articles I will refer primarily to mineral
deposits (not ore) since I would like to use British
examples, most of which have now either been worked
out or are too small or lean to be economic at the present
time, and certainly cannot be termed ore deposits.
Perhaps we should not refer to the mineralisation in the
Mendip Hills or the Pennines as Ore Fields any more
since the only product of economic importance that
comes from the Mendips at the present day is limestone
and it is the non-metallic or industrial minerals (e.g.,
fluorite) and rocks that are of economic importance in the
Pennines.
Conference 1988
Conference 1988 will be held at
Cheltenham again. Anyone who
is interested in mounting an
exhibit at this Conference should
contactJohn Collins,460akfield
Road, Frome, Somerest, Tel.
0373 62371 as soon as possible
for details.
Now, I make a request to the readers of Geology Teaching
for some feed-back and suggestions. The articles are
intended to be of use to school teachers and if it is found
that they are either too basic, too high powered, too full of
jargon (although there will be a glossary of terms to
accompany each article) or are just not fulfilling the
function they are intended to, please let either the editor or
me know. Any requests, however, should be related to the
general and not to the specific. All I could say in reply to a
request from, for example, a teacher from Llangefni to
give a detailed account of Parys Mountain, or a teacher
from Shrewsbury for something specific on Snail Beach
Mine, because those are areas where they take their
students, is to refer to the most recent work on those
deposits themselves, because the rest of the readership of
147
The sedimentary structure: can it be useful to the
geologist?
Colin Howard
Introduction
The study of any sedimentary structure is of great use to
the geologist. Structures enable a more precise evaluation
and description to be made of the prevailing conditions at
the time of sediment deposition and may, therefore, be an
invaluable aid in the reconstruction of any palaeoenvironment.
One of the most useful of these palaeoenvironmental
indicators is the desiccation mudcrack. It suggests that an
area may have suffered periods of submergence and
emergence (marine or otherwise). During emergence
wet sediments were dried by exposure to the wind and
sun thus leading to a gradual drying out of the sediments
and the development of desiccation mudcracks. These
cracks were, in turn, preserved by the submergence of the
area beneath sediment-laden waters. Initially the new
sediment deposited filled in the cracks, but eventually it
formed a layer covering the once subaerial region with a
new sedimentary deposit.
It is unfortunate that when mudcracks are found in the
field they are often preserved as a mirror-image of their
normal depositional selves. This is because mudcracks,
by definition, form in fine grained, clay-rich sediments
whereas the sedimentary infill and overlying deposit is
often coarser grained. The coarser sediment usually
proves more resistant to erosion than the muds and thus a
cast of the original structure is preserved on the outcrop
in the field. This may well confuse pupils when teachers
try to explain the significance of mudcracks.
Consequently the following suggestion may aid pupils in
the full identification of mudcracks, and also to
understand their origins and preservation.
A method for reproducing desiccation
mudcracks in the classroom
148
Classroom work arising directly from
the mudcrack casts
Differential erosion: the reason you are able to preserve
the mudcracks as a cast is because the plaster is more
resistant to erosion (i.e., the running water used to wash
the cast) than the dried soil. In outcrop it is the coarser
sediment infilling the mudcracks, and overlying the
desiccation surface, that usually proves more resistant to
erosion than the underlying desiccated muds, hence a cast
of the desiccated surface is usually found in the field.
It is now possible for children to see the difference
between the appearance of mudcracks when they are first
formed (Figure 1), and how they look now they are
preserved (Figure 2). However, this. can be the starting
point for several other investigations as well.
Further work using sedimentary
structures
Interpreting environments:
pupils might talk about
where they have seen mudcracks formed in their own
experience; for example, in a dried out roadside muddy
puddle, the edge of a pond or river bank, even a flower
bed after a period of drought. From this they might think
about mudcrack formation on a broader environmental
scale, and so consider what use they are to us when we
observe them in the field.
In this example I have chosen to examine, and develop
work around, desiccation mudcracks. However, it takes
little imagination to see that other sedimentary structures,
for example rain-pits, could be used. It is also possible to
work on organic structures, for example trace-fossils, by
creating your own and initiating discussions about how
they could have been formed, and in what sort of
environment. Alternatively, you could try methods of
creating traces that help to explain trace-fossils actually
found in the sedimentary record.
Way up structures: by drawing pupils' attention to the
reversal of curvature of the desiccation discs, in other
words from the formation of concave surfaces on the
original desiccation surface to convex ones on the plaster
cast, the use of mudcracks to the geologist as a way up
indicator can be introduced. This can be very helpful in
determining whether a sedimentary sequence has been
inverted.
Colin Howard,
Slate Cottage,
Vowchurch,
Hereford.
Rndalusian Sierras
Peak National Park Centre
Losehill Hall
Rambling, naturalism, pony-trekking amid
magnificent karst scenery.
Geology Courses 1988
Itineraries in 3 spectacular National Parks.
Caves of the Peak
September 23-25 1988
Full board in pictureseque white villages,
excursions to Ronda, Granada, Sierra
Nevada, fiestas, local crafts ...
Minerals, Rocks & Fossils
October 28-30 1988
2 weeks from £285
Summer 1988 brochure: Lindsay Chapman, 6 Kipling
Place, Eaton Ford, Cambs., PE19 3RG.
Tel: (0480) 212540
For further details contact: Peter Townsend, The Principal,
Peak National Park Centre, Losehill Hall, Castleton,
Derbyshire, 530 2WB. Tel: Hope Valley (0433) 20373.
149
Volcanic hazards
The following wide ranging worksheet on volcanic hazards has been submitted
by Mike Tuke.
Imagine that you have been employed as a geological
consultant by the Far Eastern state of Harimau, a small
area of which is reproduced as Figure 1.
Reference
Keller, E. A. Environmental Geology (or any other book
on volcanic activity)
The state lies close to the Philippines at latitude 15°N and
longitude 120oE. The climate is tropical with a high
annual rainfall and high annual temperatures. The
principal difference between the seasons is that the wind
blows from the southwest between May and October and
from the north from November to April.
The capital city of Harimau, Sri Pantai, lies close to the
volcano of Sri Berapi which, oral tradition says, last
erupted violently in the 17th century. Since then there has
been some emission of steam and sulphurous gas and a
small andesite cone has been built up in the crater.
Recently there have been some small earth tremors and
much emission of steam.
Your task is to list and describe the possible volcanic
hazards and to say what effect they may have on the
economy and lives of the inhabitants both of the city and
of the surrounding areas. You should also produce maps
showing the danger zones for each type of hazard. (A
wide variety of hazards is likely if you examine the map
closely.) The additional notes below should help you
evaluate the extent and significance of these hazards, but
you will need to use all the information provided in the
map.
1. The area is self-sufficient in food because it has a large
fishing fleet and much fertile land.
2. The only industries are copper mining and hardwood
forestry, the products of which are exported by sea.
3. The low lying land along the shore and valleys is
mostly used for padi (paddy) fields and for grazing;
the higher slopes, above two hundred metres, are all
jungle and are only used for timber.
4. There are two centres of population. Sri Pantai, which
is the administrative and commercial centre, has a
population of about thirty thousand and lies around
the harbour, and Mersing which has a population of
nine thousand, lies inland and houses most of the mine
labour force. In the built up areas the buildings are
mostly brick and concrete, some with flat roofs and
some with tiled roofs. A large number of people live in
small villages in the countryside and their houses are
mostly timber with thatched roofs.
Mike Tuke,
Waterloo Farm,
Great Stukeley,
Cambridgeshire.
150
Gunong Meranti
~J
KEY
main road
~
GunongBau
Belerang
contour in metres ~
-)('---.-power lines
built up area
water
' --'
bridge
,-....
o
@
N
rc,oO
>-'
01
>-'
_ _ _ _ _ 200 _ _ _
~
..-
-~
---
-- .....
100-----------------
---
---~
o
I
Pacific Ocean
Figure 1. Location of Sri Berapi volcano and surrounding settlements and economic developments.
lkm
I
Letter from California No. 3
Melanie Rutter
geomorphological phenomena available for study,
particularly in the National Parks. The Grand Canyon in
Arizona provides a fine example of river erosion and
displays the strati graphic column from the Precambrian
Vishnu schists to Permian sediments. Many horizons are
fossiliferous, furnishing a valuable study in evolution.
This is the final article of the series sent to us by Melanie
Rutter; from December Melanie hopes to be teaching in
Ireland, having moved there with her husband who now
has a post at University College Dublin.
ALD
Meteor crater, also in Arizona, is an impact crater where
astronauts have trained for the Apollo landing and
billboards proclaim it to be the nation's 'most penetrating
natural attraction'
A chance to reassess teaching practices
In my last article I mentioned the semester transition at
the beginning of February. In this I exchanged students
with the physical science teacher and repeated the Earth
sciences course with a second set of six classes. This
provided the opportunity to smooth out some of the
mistakes I made the first time around. I found that I was
somewhat less ambitious, particularly with 'hands on'
classes, and so minimised theft and damage. I also used
fewer independent practical classes, monitoring the
students more carefully, and structuring classes more
obviously.
The nearby Petrified Forest displays remarkable
Carboniferous trees with their internal structure intact,
having been buried and preserved in volcanic ash.
Hoodoos, rock pinnacles formed by weathering and
erosion, can be seen at Bryce canyon in Utah and glacial
features including U-shaped and hanging valleys,
moraines and corries, are well exposed in the Rocky
Mountain National Park in Colorado.
One can walk through lava tubes, fumeroles and craters
at the 'Craters of the Moon' in Idaho,whilst geysers, hot
springs and mud volcanoes can be heard, smelled and
admired at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Having found during the first semester that in teaching,
for example, the properties of rocks and minerals, a
student would often remember clearly what shelhe had
done in a lesson but would frequently fail to grasp what
shelhe was intended to learn from a particular practical
exercise, I benefitted from a course on 'Clinical
Instruction'
which my employers provided on
Wednesday afternoons.
To my surprise and disappointment very few of my
students had travelled outside Los Angeles, even fewer
outside California. I was, therefore, anxious to take
photographs of these localities and to gather maps,
sections and geological guides to use in the classroom.
•
From this I learned the importance of a clearly stated
objective and every morning I would write the objective
on the board - such as 'To practise seven ways of
identifying a mineral'. I would also start the lesson by
emphasising this objective verbally, so that students knew
exactly what was expected of them. A few minutes of
'closure' at the end of the lesson then enabled them to tell
me how successfully they felt the objective had been met.
Earthquakes, a local geological
phenomenon.
Los Angeles is situated in a low lying basin enclosed by
mountains and the sea. The city covers some four
hundred and sixty-five square miles and has a population
of three million and thirty-eight thousand. The buildings
are low and widely spread and one can go twenty-five
miles from the downtown area in any direction and still
be within the city limits. There is virtually no public
transport, everyone has to drive. Many children grow up
and spend their lives among apartment complexes, gas
stations and freeways without any realistic conception of
the natural world in their vicinity.
All this may seem obvious, but it proved extremely useful
in my situation where every lesson tends to be a selfcontained unit, not necessarily following on from those of
the previous day.
One other advantage of teaching a second semester with
the new students was that I had gained a grasp of the
local vernacular and had been able to adapt my
pronunciation of scientific and geological terms to make
them meaningful for my students - basolt (basalt),
pirroxene (pyroxene), and aloominium (aluminium).
The fact that I could honestly tell pupils that they were in
danger from earthquake activity in Southern California
provided a sound and relevant basis for a study of
earthquakes.
The potential for geological fieldwork
The town of San Bernadino, less than an hour and a half
from the school is expected to suffer from the next major
earthquake in the area. The San Andreas fault can be seen
Anyone who has travelled in the western United States
will have noted the wide variety of geological and
152
by driving to the northern slopes of the San Gabriel
mountains, a few miles from the school.
Several months ago we experienced a magnitude 6
earthquake whose epicentre was on the Banning fault
near Palm Springs, about one hundred miles east of the
school. The earthquake could be felt clearly. Two or three
times each year the local schools hold earthquake disaster
drills. A bell sounds and the students must take cover by
diving under desks or tables.
Certain pre-selected
individuals pretend to be part of a first aid squad whilst
others have to feign death or severe head, back or leg
injuries. These latter are wheeled or carried out on
makeshift stretchers. Classes are evacuated and students
assemble on the field. We have to imagine that obstacles
between classroom and field, such as fallen ceilings,
prevent direct passage.
After such drills I found the students inspired and
excitable.
I showed pictures of serious earthquake
damage in Chile or Alaska and asked them to visualise
how their town might look in the aftermath of an
earthquake. Terms such as epicentre, focus, Richter,
seismograph and magnitude soon became part of their
vocabulary.
Graduation
The end of the school year was marked by a graduation
ceremony for all but a small number of the eighth
graders. Only those who had unsatisfactory academic
reports and/or excessively poor conduct were prevented
from attending this. Every individual was presented with
a certificate. Jefferson Junior High is a small school,
housing only twelve to fourteen year olds, seventh and
eighth graders, and is a stepping stone between
elementary and high school.
Despite this a significant amount of attention is given to
the ceremony; parents hire limousines to bring their
children to school for graduation, boys wear tuxedos and
girls high heels and ball gowns. They march across the
courtyard to the outdoor stage to the tune of 'Land of
hope and glory' and it seemed to me to lend a false air of
finality to their schooling. Nevertheless, watching these
streetwise teenagers walk across the stage aroused
feelings of pride at their success and sadness at the
thought of my own departure.
Melanie Rutter
153
Drawing and Understanding Fossils: A Theoretical and
Practical Guide for Beginners with Self-Assessment. E.
W. Nield, Pergamon Press, 1987. 134pp 297 x 210 mm.
85 illustrations. ISBN 0080339409, £8.95 flexicover; 8.08
033941 7, £16.50 hard cover.
parts of Nield and Tucker (op. cit.) are reprinted with little
or no modification. This is ironic especially since Nield
and Tucker (op. cit.) is a work that is marred by
ridiculously small illustrations, many of them about the
size of postage stamps. Many of the diagrams are
credited to, or modified from, other authors but no
reference list is given. Considering that Nield is described
as a 'science writer' in the New Scientist, this is a
singularly unscientific way of proceeding.
As its title suggests, this book presents an introduction to
the main groups of macrofossils, with particular
emphasis on technique for their illustration and
description.
The examples used in this work were
selected because they are mentioned by name in the
syllabuses of British examination boards; however, the
book seems to be more appropriate to undergraduates
than to beginners.
The account of the Mollusca contains several controversial points. I disagree that all bivalves are filter
feeders; for example, Protobranchs such as Nucula feed
on detritus using pal ps. Nield illustrates a 'typical' bivalve
when he means a generalised one; we are told that
belemnite shells were completely covered with soft tissue
without a mention of the hypothesis that the guard may
have been exposed in some cases (see, e.g., Seilacher, in:
Clarkson, 1986) and reference is made to SCUBA divers
having been stung to death while transporting the conch
shell, Conus, in their swimming trunks. Now, whereas
some species of Conus can, indeed, deliver a fatal sting,
Conus is the Cone Shell and not the conch. Conchs are
large herbivores, the shells of which are used as trumpets
in all stock 'B' movies set on tropical islands and I cannot
envisage how anyone could get a conch shell in his
swimming trunks ifhe tried.
A chapter is devoted to each major fossil group and
contains a useful factsheet which summarises the salient
points. Within each chapter, selected topics appear in
boxes where they can be discussed without disrupting the
main text. The appendices comprise multiple choice, selfassessment questions and answers and suggested further
reading. The text is written in a lively, chatty style and is
interspersed with comments and anecdotes in an
endeavour to avoid a dry, academic approach. Although
it is purely a matter of individual taste, I found the style
irritating. For example, I do not like to see words like
'amazing', 'astonishing' and 'spectacularly' used in a piece
of scientific prose.
The appendices also present problems. In the selfassessment questions there are errors. Question 12 in
Chapter 7 has the wrong answer given. A pallial line is
said to be entire if it has no indentations (answer 12b)
whereas the answer given (12c), if it has a sinus
posteriorly, is erroneous. The questions on Chapter 10
(Echinoids) are confusing because question 5 is missing,
thus putting some of the remaining questions and
answers out of sequence. I am not even sure that I like the
application of multiple choice questions to palaeontology
since it is so difficult to make generalisations that can be
answered satisfactorily by a simple statement. Where
there is more than one correct answer to a question I feel
that a beginner could become confused.
.
In addition to a description of graphical techniques,
advice is given on the general presentation of drawings
incorporating such information as scale, age and
provenance. The author rightly stresses the importance
of underlining Latin names but makes no mention of
recording the authors of species. Where only the genus is
known I much prefer to see sp. following the generic
name. Where a generic name (e.g., Spirifer) has been
selected by an examining board and has to be used in a
broad sense, there is no reason why inverted commas
cannot be used, e.g., 'Spirifer' sp.
The advice on the presentation of drawings has not been
followed consistently by the author himself: many of the
illustrations are far too small and lack information
regarding age, horizon and provenance. In particular the
brachiopod drawings are miniscule and are surrounded
by acres (hectares?) of empty space.
Students are
continually being urged to make large sketches. I was
staggered to see that scales are omitted in some cases. I
quote: "Where scale is important, scale-bars are included
in the figures. Where these do not occur, the figure is not
to scale." Scale is always important and there is no
justification for any omissions.
The lack of a reference list has already been mentioned;
however, Appendix 3 is entitled 'Suggested further
reading'. On examination it comprises only two titles:
Clarkson (1979), which is described as an advanced (sic)
textbook and Nield and Tucker (1985) which is modestly
described as "the most comprehensive introd~ctory text
available" .
To summarise, this work could make a useful booklet by
publishing, for example, the drawing guidelines along
with the factsheets but, as it stands, its usefulness is
diluted by the recycled text and it has the appearance of a
pot-boiler, being little more than an extended 'plug' for
Nield and Tucker (1985). Schools are unlikely to be able
to indulge in a specialist palaeontology textbook, let alone
Several diagrams are credited with having been
reproduced from Nield and Tucker (1985), which is
reasonable as Nield is an author common to both works.
What is not so reasonable is the lack of credit where large
154
papers by Schmid (Microfabric Studies) and Ramsay
(Rock Ductility) are exceptions.
a work on drawing fossils. However, undergraduates
may find it useful to complement Clarkson (1979) or
Black (1973).
Mountain Building Processes is a book for the specialist,
and is targeted at final year undergraduates, course
planners and researchers. However the majority of the
papers are not beyond the comprehension of the reader
with a broad but unspecialised knowledge of geological
science, who would like to know more about this complex
subject.
Dr. K. M. Evans,
Huish Episcopi School,
Langport,
Somerset.
References
Black, R. H. 1973 The Elements of Palaeontology.
Cambridge University Press.
Cliff Petzing,
Bishop Wordsworth's School,
Salisbury,
Wilts.
Clarkson, E.N.K. 1979 Invertebrate Palaeontology and
Evolution. George AlIen and Unwin.
Nield, E.W. and Tucker, V.C.T. 1985 Palaeontology - An
Introduction. Pergamon Press.
How to Make a Geological Map.
A D. Stewart.
University of Reading Geology Department, 1987. 28 pp.
ISBN 0 7049 058,09
Mountain Building Processes. Edited by Kenneth J. Hsii
Academic Press, 1986.
ISBN 0 12 357981 3, £20
paperback.
This is an excellent little booklet by a very experienced
field geologist which addresses most of the problems that
a beginner, young or old, might have in trying to make his
or her own map in the local area. Plenty of simple, sound
advice is given with respect to making one's own
equipment (map case, clinometer) and exemplars are
given of a finished field slip (scale 1:10,560), a fair copy of
the map (comparable with the 'standard' map produced
by BGS) and a variety of graphic logs made within the
area concerned. The booklet ends with an account of how
to compile a report on the area depicted by the map and
how to carry out one's responsibilities with respect to the
conservation of the countryside and collecting. "The field
geologist should discreetly traverse the countryside like a
lynx, all seeing, but unseen, leaving residents, cattle and
game undisturbed, and hopefully walls and fences
undamaged. Lynxes leave no litter." Amen to all that!
When we consider mountain building, we come face-toface with an immediate problem. Mountain systems are
the most complex of geological environments to study.
Unravelling mobile belts and gaining an understanding of
mountain building processes has required the efforts of
just about all branches of the Earth sciences. It is not
surprising, therefore, that there have been few attempts
by anyone person to write a comprehensive text on the
topic.
To overcome this problem, and to take account of recent
thinking about orogenesis in the light of plate tectonics,
Kenneth Hsu has compiled a book containing
contributions by twenty-seven authors, each of whom is
an expert on a specific aspect of mountain building.
D. B. Thompson
The book is in two parts.
Part one provides a
comprehensive coverage of mountain building processes.
These include a review of geosynclines in the setting of
plate tectonics, volcanism, granites in mobile belts,
seismicity, forearc deformation, deformation mechanisms, rock ductility and driving mechanisms.
The second part of the book presents a series of case
studies to illustrate mountain building processes. These
studies are mainly Alpine and Mediterranean based, but
include studies from the Himalayas, Andes and the
Appalachians of North America.
The great advantage of this kind of book is that each
contributary paper stands in its own right. The abstracts
provide a useful, quick guide to content, and the reader
can dip into the book according to need and interest. The
extensive lists of references are of great value to anybody
with a view to greater depth of understanding, course
planning, or who may be contemplating research.
All the papers contain a wealth of high quality maps and
diagrams, but unfortunately the photoreduction of those
illustrations that contain great detail has made them
difficult to study without a magnifying glass. There is
also a dearth of photographic illustration, although the
155
Books
Maps
Many teachers remain confused about the way in which
books are priced and this is hardly surprising when you
consider the current state of affairs. Put simply, books are
put into two camps by the publishers 'net' or 'non-net'.
The latter category usually comprises school textbooks
and for these the quoted price is usually for the purchase
of sets. As the Cambridge University Press publicity
material puts it: "School books are generally priced for
supply in quantity. Parents and teachers wishing to
purchase single copies of non-net books may be charged a
higher price by the bookseller or educational contractor to
cover the high handling costs of single copies."
Never let it be said that we didn't warn you! As expected,
the new year has seen some further large price increases
in the cost of geological maps. Most basic maps, such as
those at 1 :50 000 and 1 :25 000, have been increased by
£1.00 to £7.50, but the 1:250 000 UTM maps have gone up
a massive £2.50 to £10.00.
Equipment
There is some exciting news on several fronts in this issue
of Grapevine, with, it is hoped, the answers to a few, of
your prayers.
Although, in theory, it is possible for a bookshop to give a
discount on the quoted non-net price, few can afford to do
so as the almost universal trade discount on non-net titles
is only 1 7 .5%.
After what seems like an eternity the nylon stacking
sieves from Geo-Supplies have at last appeared. Priced at
around £30.00 they consist of six different sieves with
mesh diameter 2mm, Imm, 0.5mm, 0.25mm, 0.125mm
and 0.063mm, together with a lid, base unit and storage
container. They use the mesh developed for many
exacting applications by Henry Simon of Stock port. The
Geo-Sieve is currently available from Geo-Supplies and
MJP.
Books in the 'net' category are covered by the 1956
Restrictive Trade Practices Act. This Act fixed net prices
for many items; however, now its scope has been
drastically reduced with only books and medicines as
major items still covered. Books in this category cannot
normally be sold for less than the list price. Under certain
circumstances libraries can obtain a discount, usually of
10%. With trade discounts having fallen in many cases
and several publishers being forced to increase prices well
beyond the levels of inflation, the scope for discounts is
not large.
To go with the sieves MJP has developed a software
package which enables students to process, plot and
analyse the data collected by sieving sediments and soils.
The program entitled Sediment Analysis costs £13.95 for
BBC and £16.95 for Nimbus plus £1.00 postage and
packing and VAT.
There are two ways in which large discounts on net books
can be obtained. Firstly, publishers 'dump' books which
are not selling fast with remainder merchants who are
then free to sell them at any price they like to booksellers
who are, in turn, equally free to sell them at any price. It
is a sad fact that more profit is made by booksellers on
these books than any others. Secondly, once a year in
January, there is a Book Sale in which publishers place
their special offers and booksellers can dispose of shopsoiled items. At the end of the sale period publishers
usually withdraw their special offers and the price goes
back to normal.
Mike Jay ofMJP has also informed me that he is working
on the production of a low cost stream table and a
turbidity current tank. Both products should be available
before the end of the year.
One of the dilemmas which always faces teachers in
school when purchasing equipment is that, almost
invariably, robust 'pupil proof products don't come
cheap. A case in point is the clinometer. Profes~ional
instruments are very expensive, plastic instruments fall
apart. Now I've found what I believe to be the perfect
solution - a robust metal instrument at a realistic price.
The product in question is the Rabone Chesterman Angle
Finder which looks ideal for GCSE and sells for around
£3.95 including VAT.
If you are still confused, spare a thought for the bookseller
who, after all, has to make a living. Most booksellers are
only too pleased to give you the best deal that they
(legally) can.
Many of you will recall that in the battle for the
compass/clinometer market, it has been Suunto who have
been stealing the thunder of SiIva with an almost identical
model to their 15TD/CL for much less money. Now Silva
have struck back! The price of the 'new' 15TD/CL has
been slashed to about the same as the Suunto MCl and the
clinometer needle is now inside the capsule as with the
Suunto. The choice is very definitely yours!
Talking of the January Book Sale, the recently published
Introduction to Geology, Lee, Crowood Press, formerly
£9.95 has been reduced to around half price, so watch out
for copies.
The long awaited Open University Handbook The
Mapping of Geological Structures, McClay is now
available, ISBN 0335150969 at £7.95.
CJD
156
Some thoughts on the
challenges facing
geology teachers in 19871988.
2.
The forms, transfer, transformation and conservation of energy.
3.
Waves, wave motion and the spectrum and general
characteristics of electromagnetic radiation.
4.
Photosynthesis and its role in sustaining life.
5.
The reaction of selected elements and compounds
using symbols and balanced equations where
appropriate;
6.
The diversity of life illustrated by considering the
range of organisms in a habitat.
7.
The formation of new substances including the
making and breaking of bonds and the associated
energy changes and speeds of reaction.
8.
Chemical patterns and classifications, including the
reactivity series, families of elements, metals and nonmetallic materials and acids, bases and salts.
9.
The states of macroscopic properties of matter, the
kinetic model of matter.
An edited version of a talk given by Patricia Wilson at the
ATG Conference in Hull, September, 1987.
Originally, the title of my talk was An Introduction to the
Problems of Curriculum Development and Assessment,
and I was going to talk about practical help in teaching
GCSE geology. However, in view of what has been
happening during the late summer, it is more appropriate
to talk about the future than the present; and it seems to
me that the word 'challenges' sums up the theme of what
we will all have to face next year. In fact I could also
replace the idea of a single GCSE in what I am going to
say with the 'national currciulum' because this is with us,
whether we like it or not, and it is certainly not going to go
away. From readers' points of view I see the national
curriculum as only one of the three challenges we face in
the Earth sciences.
10. The uses of materials as related to their properties,
the properties of materials as related to their
structure and bonding.
At the moment there are three strands to curriculum
development that everyone needs to be aware of, and
they all have crucial dates attached to them: the
consultation on the Sciences: Double Award (November,
1987), the proposals for a National Curriculum (Autumn,
1987) and the Higginson Review of A-level examinations
(Easter,1988). Each ofthese presents a challenge to us, as
I propose to show. The message for the future appears to
be definitely 'science for all' up to 16, but the question is
where do the Earth sciences fit into the pattern?
11. The processes which characterise living organisms
including respiration, nutrition, reproduction,
excretion, sensitivity and response.
12. The development and
inheritance and selection.
growth
of
organisms;
13. Forces and their effects; electromagnetic interactions; work and power.
The Sciences: Double Award
14. The exploitation of natural resources including
minerals, fossil fuels, atmospheric gases and water.
Challenge No. 1
15. Ecosystems, including energy flow, cycles of matter
and population.
With the idea of 'science until 16' in mind, working parties
of both the Joint Council for GCSE and SEC, together
with the DES and HMI, have produced draft criteria for
this award. There was no geologist on the working party
that produced the criteria, but work has been going on in
the background to see how geology might be
incorporated into the overall framework, before the
examination groups begin to develop the science
syllabuses to meet these criteria.
These very general elements are to form seventy-jive per
cent of the core of The Sciences: Double Award. The
remaining twenty-five per cent can be used either to
expand the core content in depth, or to add new material,
so Earth sciences could be added as an option. Obviously
the people who are producing the material in the various
examination groups, sub-committees and working parties
have got to know how Earth sciences can be used to give
depth to existing elements, or how to add them on. There
are possibilities: there is a very strong thrust towards the
social, economic, technological and environmental
aspects of science and the Earth sciences lend themselves
There are fifteen core elements to the double award as
follows.
1.
The particulate nature of matter, the structure ofthe
atom and radioactivity.
157
curricular time, leading to a double GCSE award.'
to this particular development. So, this is the first
challenge: if Earth sciences are to appear in school up to
age sixteen and this is where they are going to come in,
how do we make sure they do so?
'There are a number of important subjects, themes
and skills which can be taught and developed
through the foundation subjects (listed earlier). I
(Kenneth Baker) look to you to consider the place of
such aspects within the science curriculum and to
cover them within your consideration of attainment
targets and programmes of study... Subjects such as
astronomy and Earth sciences may provide suitable
contexts in which important scientific concepts can
be developed.'
The National Curriculum
Challenge No. 2
Legislation for a National Curiculum will almost certainly
be passed in the pre-Christmas session of Parliament in
1988 and will become law by the end of1988, and the two
subjects which are currently going forward in the
vanguard are mathematics and science. However, there
is a proposal for a core of three subjects: mathematics,
science and English, from primary school through to
sixteen. In addition, there are several other subjects
classed as foundation subjects; namely history,
geography, technology, music, art, physical education
and (for secondary pupils) a modern foreign language.
However, proposals in the Education Bill did not include
percentage allocations to subjects, as did the consultative
document.
National working parties are being set up to produce
attainment levels at the ages seven, eleven, fourteen and
sixteen, but at the age of sixteen the attainment levels will
almost certainly equate with GCSE. The science working
party is chaired by Professor Thompson, who hosted the
ATG Conference at Bath in 1986. It is worth noting that
he is from the Science Education Department at Bath
University which has an Earth sciences section: any
members who have interesting Earth sciences material
and activities which they would like fed into the working
party, please send it to me and I'll try to ensure that it
reaches them.
The general terms of reference for the working groups
have appeared in the national press but some of the more
detailed terms are given below to give you a flavour of the
way the groups have been directed:
'Each group will have a small membership
composed largely of professionals: head teachers,
teachers, teacher trainers, academics, experts in
assessment and LEA advisers. The groups will also
have members from LEA administration and from
the world of business.'
'The groups will advise, in their respective fields, on
the knowledge, skills, understanding and aptitudes
which pupils should be expected to have acquired at
speCific ages, taking account of differences in ability.
The groups will also advise on the essential content
which should be covered to enable pupils to reach
agreed attainment targets.'
The second paragraph makes it crystal clear where the
groups must put their energies. With specific reference to
the fourteen-plus age group:
This, again, makes it very clear that it is 'science' and not
the individual sciences that will be studied up to age
sixteen. There are a lot of topics currently being taught in
the curriculum as discrete subjects which can equally well
be taught through subjects designated in the foundation
list and I think geology comes very much into that
thinking. So the second challenge is to ensure that the
Earth sciences are used in the science syllabuses to
However, the
develop important scientific concepts.
working group cannot do this unless it is told exactly what
contribution the Earth sciences can make in the context of
science.
The working party is already underway and there is
certainly a hope that we will have GCSE science tied to
attainment levels at least by about 1993.
The Higginson Review
Challenge No. 3
The preamble to the terms of reference of this review saw
A-levels as "an essential means for setting standards of
excellence with the aim of maintaining or improving the
present character and rigorous standards of these
examinations."
The review had two terms of reference:
1.
to recommend the principles that should govern
GCE A-level syllabuses and their assessment, so that
consistency in the essential content and the
assessment of subject is secured.
2.
to set out a plan of action for the subsequent de~ailed
professional work required to give effect to these
recommendations.
In one sense geology is fortunate in that it is one of the
original A-level core subjects that we developed at the
beginning of the 1980s. However, the A-level cores have
not been very effective since they have been developed
and used very differently from subject to s\.l.bject and,
certainly, I think there is a very strong feeling that the
cores of all the mainstream A-level subjects must be
revised. There should also be some consistency in cutting
down the subject content, too, with much more emphasis
on skills and applications. For example, the subject
content of the biology core is enormous, and geology is
not far behind.
'In the fourth and fifth years we think the majority of
pupils, and especially those capable of studying one
or more of the separate sciences beyond age sixteen,
My personal view is that I think it unlikely there will be
should take a balanced science course, occupying no
more
than
twenty
per
cent
of 158
any significant changes in what we know, love?, and
recognise as A-level, but there will be an attempt to
achieve more comparability of practice across subjects
and examination boards. However, the review is being
careful in its collection of evidence and it is sifting through
the submissions very thoroughly indeed before drawing
any conclusions.
to make explicit the criteria they were using to decide the
crucial border-lines between grades AlE, B/C and EIN.
This was a step towards
comparability between
particular subjects. As I understand, progress is being
made in this very difficult task. We look forward to
hearing more in 1988.
In summary, then, I didn't feel I could let the opportunity
of the Conference at Hull go by without saying something
about the three challenges that face geology in the next
couple of years. First, the proper place of geology in The
Sciences: Double Award. Second, the position of geology
in The National Curriculum. Third, the appropriate place
of geology at A-level.
So our third challenge concerns A-level geology, and
particularly the drop in the numbers of students being
examined across the boards (see Report of the Syllabuses
and Examinations Group, Geology Teaching, 12(3) ).
At the moment, I cannot see the idea of 'balanced science'
going upwards into A-level: I believe that the individual
science subjects will stay, although there may be attempts
towards more rationalisation and the drawing up of
guidelines for the production of A-level syllabuses, but
perhaps not the very tight criteria that there are for
GCSE. At the moment the variation between subjects at Alevel in my own briefis considerable.
They all, in their various ways, will make considerable
demands on all of us in the year ahead, but which,
hopefully, we should all be equal to.
Patricia A Wilson,
Principal Professional Officer,
Secondary Examinations Council.
This year, as a consequence of the revised A-level
grading, examination boards asked their chief examiners
159
The universities Earth sciences review:
its implications for sixth formers
applying through UCCA
To: Mr. R.J.B. Kenna,
Joint Education Committee, etc.
28th October, 1987.
(Printed by permission of Ray Kenna)
Dear Mr. Kenna,
Members may be interested to know of the following
exchange of letters between the Chairman of the Joint
Education Committee of the Geological Society and the
Institution of Geologists, and the Secretary of the
University Grants Committee.
Earth sciences review
Thank you for your letter of 19th October, about the
concern felt by school teachers and students because of
the impending reorganisation of university Earth
sciences.
To: Mr. Norman Hardyman,
Secretary, University Grants Committee,
14, Park Crescent,
London, WIN 4DH.
19th October, 1987.
The committee intends to keep to the timetables set out in
the Oxburgh report.
This means that restructuring
should begin in October 1988, and the first generation of
undergraduates will arrive in restructured departments
in October 1989. Because universities have an obligation
to provide the courses that they advertise, there can be no
overnight change. Instead, we intend that the new
structure will be phased in over a period of three years in
England and Wales, and four years in Scotland.
Dear Mr. Hardyman,
At the last meeting of the Joint Education Committee of
the Geological Society and the Institution of Geologists
held on the 7th October, I was asked to write to you for
clarification and comment on the following three matters
arising from the Oxburgh Report and the continuing
deliberations arising from it.
With regard to your comment that able sixth formers
might be deterred from studying Earth sciences because
of restructuring, we can only hope that this will not be the
case. I cannot pretend that change will not bring its
problems, but as the new structure comes into operation
these should be more than offset by the greater
opportunities for students that will result from
restructured departments.
1. Because of the impending changes affecting the status
and numbers of university Earth sciences
departments, it is very clear that school teachers are
concerned and uncertain as to how they can best
advise sixth formers as regards their choice of
department.
I hope that this reply will enable you to give some
reassurance to school teachers and careers advisers.
2. Unless the final reorganisation and restructuring is
known fairly soon it is felt that able sixth formers may
actually be deterred from studying Earth sciences at
universities.
Yours sincerely,
N.T. Hardyman,
Secretary, University Grants Committee.
3. By what date is the reorganisation and restructuring
expected to be completed?
Ray Kenna and David Thompson
I might add that I, too, am being asked by schools Careers
Advisers what advice they should give to people filling in
UCCA forms.
Brownend Quarry, Staffordshire
After long, protracted discussions, the Staffordshire
Nature Conservation Trust has purchased this superb
teaching site at Waterhouses in northeast Staffordshire.
This is the first geological site for the Trust, and only the
forty-sixth such county trust geological site in Britain.
There is much conservation work to be done' at the site
and the plan for such a conservation programme is being
prepared by the North Staffordshire Group of the GA for
consideration by the Trust. This plan is fairly ambitious in
its scope, including safety work on the quarry faces, the
clearing of some overgrown sections and the provision of
some facilities for visiting parties.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely.
R.J.B. Kenna,
Chairman, Joint Education Committee,
Institution of Geologists and Geological Society,
Burlington House,
Piccadil1y,
London WIV9HG.
160
Dr. Pat Cossey, Department of Ceramic Technology and
Geological Sciences has provided the following
1 OOm from the quarry access.
infonnation.
'Brownend Quarry is a Lower Carboniferous
(Dinantian) site of national and international
importance. It is situated three quarters ofa kilometre
east of the centre of Waterhouses village,just north of
the A523 at SK 091 502, on the southwest margin of
the Peak National Park. There is an outstanding
succession of steeply dipping beds belonging to the
Mill dale (B2m) and Hopedale (Bm) Limestone
fonnations. So good are the exposures that the site has
been designated as the type locality (in part) for both
fonnations. There is still uncertainty about the exact
age of parts of the succession but the current view is
that the sequence is essentially of Chadian age.
2. Access to the quarry is gained by crossing the bridge
at SK 090 502 over the River Hamps and taking the
track into the quarry which has a line of boulders
across to prevent vehicle access. The main track leads
to the nearby farm, and under no circumstances
should this track be obstructed by parked
vehicles.
The Milldale Limestones contain a rich and varied
assortment of sedimentological and palaeontological
features, including:
5. There is also conservation interest in the flora on this
site, so please avoid damage to this as well.
3. Some of the quarry faces are potentially hazardous at
present.
4. As an SSSI, great care should be taken not to damage
the site.
Alistair Fleming
*
fine grained crinoidallimestones with currentoriented stem lengths and calices with threedimensional preservation,
*
occasional massive grainstones,
*
possible turbidites,
*
bioturbated shales rich in Zoophycus caudagalli,
*
'Waulsortian' fades carbonate mud mounds (one
detached and inverted),
*
a transported coral-brachiopod fauna with rare
trilobites and the (?) holothuroid echinodenn
(sea-cucumber) Hampsancora brownendensis.
The response of the Association for
Science Education Tutors (ASET) to the
DES consultation document on Charges
for School Activities.
Members of the Association will be interested to hear of
the response by ASET to the DES document. Your
President contributed a good deal to the comments on
behalfof the geological education community.
The Association for Science Education Tutors welcomes
the attempt to clarify the position over charging for
school activites. This response is particularly concerned
with those parts of the document which relate to field
studies and to visits. The potential effect of charging
policies on schools' willingness to undertake field studies
and visits is of particular significance given the value of
both for GCSE work in the sciences and the emphasis
placed on economic, technological and environmental
applications of the science subjects at GCSE level. Visits
may be of benefit in all science courses but field studies
are of particular importance for work of a biological or
geological nature.
Field work gives valuable
opportunities for course work assessment in biological
aspects of science.
For geology, fieldwork is a
requirement which can rarely be achieved close to the
school because of the need to visit a variety of special
geological features.
The Hopedale Limestones contain more massive,
coarse graded and laminated units and these, too, may
be turbidites.
The quarry lies in the heart of the Widmerpool Gulf.
The available evidence suggests that the Milldale
Limestones of Brownend Quarry were marine
sediments deposited at depths of250m and 300m. It is
likely that sedimentation took place downslope from
the Waulsortian "reef' complexes of the Dove daleManifold Valley areas to the east, near the foot of a
carbonate ramp dipping gently to the west. This ramp
was founded upon a similarly oriented tilted fault
block in the underlying basement.
We would generally support long established charging
policies. We would, however, be disturbed if individual
schools within an LEA could adopt different practices in
tenns of charging (paragraph 7, iv). It would also
concern us as to whether governing bodies (many
members of which will themselves have had'limited
experience of living on marginal incomes) would be
sensitive to needs of families who were not in receipt of
income support or family credit, but who, nonetheless,
would find it difficult or impossible to support their
children on activities such as field weeks (paragraph 7, v).
We have in mind low income families with, say, three
children where the cost for a field week (minimum £65)
would be impossible to meet. The unfortunate element
here is that it is just the children from such families who
would benefit most from such experiences. In summary,
our concern would be over the sensitivity of governing
The Hopedale Limestones here probably represent
"inter-reefs" in the Widmerpool Gulf at a time when
the area was clearly separated from the shallower
waters of the North Staffordshire and North
Derbyshire shelves through the development of
"apron-reefs" .'
Teachers proposing to visit the site should note the
following:
1. Car parking is available at the Peak Park car park to
the south of the A523. Access to the car park is found
by taking the minor road to Caul don by the pub in the
centre of the village, and turning left immediately
after passing under the (disused) railway bridge. A
path leads from the car park onto the A523 about
161
minimum of 7 or 10 days in the field"). Other science
subjects would benefit from visits, particularly to
industry, and one of the four themes in GCSE biology
relates to studying the interaction of organism with
environment. Visits and field work are not compulsory
but are highly desirable in these subjects. But, good
practice would also include outings at a younger age, as a
preparation for the work for external examinations. An
effort should be made to provide support and
encouragement for initiatives of this kind on the part of
schools, preferably within the vicinity of the school.
bodies in establishing remISSIOn arrangements for low
income families not in receipt of Family Income
Supplement or Supplementary Benefit. In any case, the
governors would be placed in an invidious position in
deciding who should be supported. Above all, we would
wish to avoid unnecessary discrimination between
individuals as to their need for support.
If fieldwork is obligatory as part of a taught scheme, it is
often possible and desirable that such field work be
undertaken in the local environment. Such a policy would
reduce the need for charges to be levied and would also
distribute the pressure on the environment more widely
than is at present the case. As has been mentioned
already, it is nearly always necessary for those studying
geology to undertake fieldwork further from the school,
and residential periods of as much as ten days may be
required. There are also arguments for all children
having some opportunity for fieldwork away from the
home environment in order to enrich their experience. It
would be very unfortunate, for instance, if no children
from urban areas in the centre of the country could be
supported for fieldwork in other terrains or at the coast.
Where fieldwork is obligatory we would argue that there
is an overwhelming case for no charges being required.
In such situations parents may be asked to contribute but
not required to do so. However, it would be most
unfortunate if fieldwork and visits were in future
restricted for some because financial support would only
be available if they opted for courses in which there was a
statement that such activities were obligatory.
In paragraph 19, the suggestion that LEAs should publish
their policies on charges and remission arrangements is a
good one. It is highly desirable that such policies should
be made clear to the teaching staff of the LEA and to the
public. It would be of great value if LEAs made available
to each school an allowance per capita which could be
used towards expenses of activities which were additional
to that regarded as basic education. This allowance
would be available to all, not merely those from families
with low incomes.
There were strong feelings among ASET members that
the suggestion in paragraph 23 that parents might be
allowed to withdraw pupils from activities because they
were charged for would result in a highly undesirable
outcome.
Charges in kind (paragraph 24a) needs great care in its
wording. It would be unfortunate if much voluntary
support of school activities should disappear because of
legislation. At present, it is common practice for children
to provide items for lessons without any compulsion; such
action can lead to greater involvement in school work on
the part ofthe pupil and is to be encouraged.
With regard to paragraph 9, it is considered that the cost
of insurance for all activities outside the school should be
included as an item for which it is unlawful to charge. In
addition, equipment which is required because of safety
(such as hard hats and goggles for geology) or which is
specialised and essential for the field activities (for
instance, compasses, clinometers and measuring tapes)
should be provided without charge.
Apparel and
footwear might be excluded from this list because of its
more general use.
Any discussion of these points should be directed to
the Editor and/or Mrs. Tessa Carrick, Faculty of
Education, University of Birmingham, p.a. BOX
363, Birmingham, B15 2TT.
DBT
The purpose of the transport referred to in 9h needs to be
more clearly defined. At the same time it would be
valuable to include a similar item on transport for visits to
study centres within the LEA.
Mineral Industry Tour· Australia, 1988
A tour of some mineral industry operations in Australia is
being planned for a small party in August, 1988. The tour
will start from Sydney in early August and last about
three weeks. The plan is to use a campervan to tour sites
in the south and east of Australia, with possible extensions
elsewhere before or after the main tour. The route is
likely to include much of geological and general tourist
interest. The basic cost of the main tour is likely to be
about £500 (covering transport, sites, self-catering) but
excluding air fares.
In paragraph 13, under section b, it would be useful if the
position regarding museum charges were clarified. As
far as 13d is concerned, for compulsory fieldwork board
and lodging might be chargeable up to a point equivalent
to that which it might be supposed it would cost to keep
the child at home. Residential courses often cost far in
excess of the normal cost of keeping a child. Insurance
(13e) is regarded as of great importance and should be
included as one ofthe items listed in paragraph 9.
The "'adequate" materials and equipment' (paragraph 16)
for fieldwork can be decided on the basis of safety and the
essential and specialised requirements of the activity
involved (see the earlier discussion of paragraph 9).
Anyone interested in JOInIng the tour should contact
Alistair Fleming, 1 Teanhurst Close, Lower Tean,
Stoke-on-Trent, STIO 4LN (0538·722443) as soon
as possible.
With regard to special arrangements for trips which
contribute to external examination courses (paragraph
18), it has already been indicated that geology requires a
certain length of field experience (specified in various
ways, such as "3 days in the field for a GCSE course" or "a
Alistair Fleming.
162
Open Days at the British Geological
Survey: 1988
TM282
Modelling with mathematics: an
introduction
Following the overwhelming success of these events in
1985 and 1986 (at Keyworth in 1986 over ten thousand
people attended the public Open Day alone!) further
Open Days are planned for 1988. The dates, where
known, are as follows:
M245
Probability and statistics
MDST242
Statistics in society
MST204
Mathematical models and methods
Aberystwyth
Thursday, Friday and
14th,15thand16thJuly
Science
Edinburgh
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 28th,
29th and 30th October
Exeter
Thursday, Friday and
12th, 13th and 14th May
Grays Inn Rd.
Friday and Saturday, 20th and 21st
May
Keyworth
Newcastle
Saturday,
Saturday,
SI 02
Science foundation course
S271
Discovering physics
S256
Matter in the universe
Technology
T101
Living with technology (foundation course)
Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 5th,
6th and 8th May
ET217
Living with technology: a course for
teachers
Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 5th,
6th and 8th May.
ET887/897
Teaching and learning technology in schools
(ET217/887/897 form the Advanced
Diploma in technology in schools)
A281
Technology and change 1750-1914
T281
Basic physical science for technology
T283
Introductory electronics
T263
Design: processes and products
T241
Systems behaviour
T252
Engineering materials: an introduction
T232
Engineering mechanics: solids
T292
Instrumentation
The Open University has been given £1.5 million to help
alleviate teacher shortages in maths, science and
technology. As part of its response the OU is making
available twenty-four courses in its Undergraduate
Student Programme at a 45% fee discount.
Any
secondary school teacher in England, Wales and Scotland
is eligible for the discount. These courses (listed below)
include three of the foundation courses which are
normally available only to students wanting to embark on
a full degree programme.
T234
Environmental control and public health
T274
Food production systems
The twenty-four courses
Examples of course discounts
The BGS Open Days have been described as "a splendid
example to the general public of geology in action" and as
"immensely valuable· for the profession as a whole" while
the exhibits have been described as "magnificent" and
"helpful", for example to museum curators in the
preparation of new geology galleries.
The co-ordinator for the Open Days (who
performed much the same role in 1985 and 1986) is
Dr. Brian J. Taylor who can be contacted at
Keyworth (06077 6111 X3392).
New opportunities for teachers in
maths, science and technology
Course discounts
The special discount is equivalent to at least £144 off the
normal Associate Student tuition fee on a full credit course
and £126 on a half credit course.
Mathematics
M101
Mathematics foundation course
M203
Introduction to pure mathematics
MS283
Introduction to calculus
MA290
Topics in the history of mathematics
163
Course
Code
Nonnal
Associate
Student
Tuition fee
Science foundation
course
S102
£310
£166*
£144
Design: processes
and products
T263
£210
£84
£126
Special
Scheme
fee
Saving
*Not including summer school fee. In 1987 this is £103
but there may be an increase in 1988.
schemes run by advisers or other LEA staff responsible
for INSET work in this area. Funding for this package,
which will be available later in 1988, is being provided
jointly by the DES and British Petroleum.
Study packs
Additionally, the OV is bringing out a range of new
teaching material which can be used by individual
teachers, LEAs and teaching institutions as part of their
updating and retraining programmes.
Technology: Advanced Diploma and study packs
Advanced Diploma in technology in schools: this new
diploma, developed with the aid of a grant from the MSC,
is designed mainly for secondary school leavers who wish
to introduce technology teaching into the curriculum.
The course is in two parts, each entailing a year's parttime study. Both parts qualify for discount.
Mathematics study packs
Study packs are freestanding learning packages on
specific topics and do not include any tutor support. The
following packs are available now:
Study packs available now
PM644
Secondary mathematics: classroom
niques (video) and three booklets:
tech-
An investigative approach to teaching and learning
mathematics
Practical work in the secondary mathematics
classroom
Discussion in the mathematics classroom
PM641
Routes to algebra
PM646
Statistical investigations in the secondary
school
PM643
Calculators in the secondary school
PM640
Visualising mechanics
PM645
Girls into mathematics
*
Mathematical structure
*
Space at work (video). This video, with supporting
notes, has been specially made for showing in schools
and gives a glimpse of what it would be like to work in
space technology.
These courses offer geology teachers, especially those
who have entered geology through teaching geography,
the opportunity to broaden their perspectives of maths,
physics and aspects of technology, thus enriching their
understanding of geophysics, and science in the world of
technology.
At a time when geology is under threat in many schools,
to have a new skill up your sleeve is a wise move. Anyone
who enjoys the experience of studying an OV course so
much that they would like to register for a degree will find
that their qualifications in any of the twenty-four listed
undergraduate courses can be transferred to the
undergraduate degree programme and count towards
their degree.
* Learning and doing mathematics
Expressing generality
Technology in schools: focus on design. This pack is
ideal for those who want to introduce technology into
their teaching. It complements work associated with
GCSE.
Benefits to geology teachers
The following packs will be available early in 1988:
*
*
* Functioning with functions
measurement, ratio, etc.
If you would like more information about the courses and
packs, and about how to apply, please write to: Associate
Student Central Office, PO Box 76, The Open
University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AN
and ask for a copy of the comprehensive brochure
Opportunity Areas for Teachers: Maths, Science,
Technolog"
*
Exploring our number system
JEB
*
Probability and simple statistics
*
Modelling the world
*
Geometrical loci
*
Controlling infinity
These will be followed during 1988 and 1989 by:
* Preparing to teach a topic: examples drawn from
New members
The following new members have been admitted to
membership of the ATG since November, 1986. If you
notice anyone new living in your area we hope that you
will make contact with them, and make them feel
welcome.
Science: a new physics package
This new package, 'Physics for science teachers', will
consist of six major blocks and demand about three
hundred hours of study in total, although the blocks will
be available individually. It is designed explicity for use in
November, 1986
The following members from the School of Education, Bath
University, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY:
164
1XT.
Mr. M.F. Brooke, Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne
Minster, Dorset.
Mrs. M.K Callow, Cronk Garrow, Sulby Glen, Isle of Man.
Mrs. Enid Connick, 1 Bryntirian Close, Bridgend, Mid
Glamorgan, CF31 4BZ.
Mr. R Coulson, 18 Minehead Grove, Sutton Leach, St. Helens,
Lancs. WA9 4PB.
Mrs. G.P. Crowther, Five Acres House, 60 Chase Road,
Lindford, Hants. GU35 ORR
Mr. Jon Daniels, 1 08A Capworth St., Leyton, London, El 0 7HE.
Mrs. L.A. Duffy, Hymers College, Hymers Ave., Hull HU3
1 LW.
Mrs. Jeannette Fagan, 27 Ruby Road, Walthamstow, London,
E174RE.
Mrs. M.A. Fretwell, 37 Pennine Ave., Riddings, Derby, DE55
4AE.
Miss Mary Gibbons, Brook Orchard, High Drive, New MaIden,
Surrey, KT3 3UG.
Mr. David Gibson, 31 Lawnswood, Houghton-Ie-Spring, Tyne
and Wear, DH5 8JB.
Mrs. KJ. Herbert, Willowgarth High School, Brierley Road,
Grimethorpe, Barnsley.
Mr. D. Hibberd, 5 Hazel Mount, Egerton, Bolton, Lancs. BL7
9US.
Mr. V.B. Hitchman, Swiss Valley C.P., Swiss Valley Park,
Felinfoel, Llanelli, Dyfed, SAl4 8DS.
Ms. Linda Hodgkinson, Wimpey 2, The Open University,
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA.
Mr. P.W. Jackson, Brigshaw Comprehensive School,
Brigshaw Lane, Allerton Bywater, Castleford, W. Yorks.
Mr. RobertJones, 85A Neath Road, Resolven, W. Glamorgan.
Mrs. RA. Linse, Sycamores, Plantation Road, Liss, Hants.,
GU337QB.
Mrs. B. Livingston, Marblers, Acton, Langton Matravers,
Swanage, Dorset, BH19 3JS.
Mr. Gerald Lucas, 3 The Ridgeway, Meols, Wirral,
Merseyside, L47 3RY.
Mrs. C.J. Markham, 28 Balliol Close, Woodbridge, Suffolk,
IPl24EQ.
Mr. D.W. Milner, Northfield School, Thames Road,
Billingham, Cleveland.
Mr. G.M.A. Parsons, 9 Pentney Road, Wimbledon, London,
SW194JE.
Mr. A.D. Priestley, St. Peters High School, Burnham-onCrouch, Essex, CMO 8QB.
Dr. C.N. Rodgers, Aylesbury Grammar School, Walton Road,
Aylesbury, Bucks. HP21 7RP.
Mrs. E. Ryder, 1 Ford Terrace, Broomhaugh, Riding Mill,
Northumberland, NE44 6EJ.
Dr. T. Sloan, Geology Dept., Blackpool Collegiate, Blackpool
Old Road, Blackpool, FY3 7LS.
Ms. Jillian Thomas, 23 Ings Mill Ave., Clayton West,
Huddersfield, W.Yorks., HD8 9QG.
Mr. S.J. Tinkler, Heathfield Senior High School, Durham
Road, Low Fell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
Mr. Christopher Turner, Flat 2,1 OOA Wood St., Walthamstow,
London El 7 3HX.
Mrs. A. Aglow, 35 Hull Road, Cottingham, Humberside.
Mr. Peter York, 346 Middlewood Road, North Oughtibridge,
Sheffield, S30 3HF.
Mr. Paul Bold, Mrs. Lucy Gardner, Mr Christoper
Griffiths, Mr. Philip Irwin, Ms. Clare Millington, Mr.
Anthony Peachey, Mr. John Petfield, Mr. Derek Seatt, Mr..
PaulYates.
Mr. Roy Dyson, 52 Normanton Lane, Keyworth, Notts. NG12
5HA.
Mrs. Janet Feather, 82 Hillport Ave., Porthill, Newcastle under
Lyne, Staffs., ST5 8QT.
Mr.I.D. Charlesworth, 18 Marcus Way Mount, Huddersfield,
WestYorkshire,HD33YA.
Miss Louise Page, Badric, Park Lane, Beaconsfield, Bucks.,
HP92HR.
The following members from the Department of Education,
Keele University, Staffs., ST5 5BG;
Mr. Richard Griffin, Ms. Donna Jones, Miss S.J. Stewart,
Miss Karen Mahoney, Mr. Andrew Williams.
December 1986
Mr. J.V. Berrington, 52 HillwoodRoad, Madeley fleath,
Crewe, Cheshire, CW3 9JY.
Mr. Chris Cornford, Hallsannery Field Centre, Bideford,
Devon, EX39 5HE.
Miss Lynne Eastcott, 40 Prospect St., Aberystwyth, Dyfed, SY23
1JJ.
Mrs. L.J. Gorham, 5 Balliol Close, Titchfield, Fareham,
Hants., P014 4RF.
Mr. Arthur Greaves, Department of Education, Keele
University, Staffs., ST5 5BG.
Mrs. Catherine Helm, 21 Seaton Close, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1
3XH.
Mrs. Bronwen Hopkins, 4 Butterfield Lane, St. Albans, Herts.,
AL12HJ.
Mr. Alan Jones, 9 Eglington Hall, Woolwich, London SE18
3PG.
Ms. Angela Robson, 10 Wickmore Close, Luton, Beds. LU2
7AW.
Ms. Melanie Rutter (new address in Dublin not yet known)
Miss J .M. Scull, 3 Carleton Rd., Dartford, Kent, DAl1 SS.
Mr. Geoffrey Sherlock, 49 Plantation Road, Amersham,
Bucks., HP6 6HW.
Mr. Timothy Sparrow, 30 Bridge Street, Aberystwyth, Dyfed,
SY231QB.
Mr. John Twist, Penlan Boys Comprehensive, Hoel Gwyrcwyed, Penlan, Swansea SA5 7BU.
Mr. Michacl W right, 41 Devon Ave., Twickenham,
Middlesex.
January - February, 1987
Mrs. M.E. Albon, 27 Western Hill Close, Astwood Bank,
Redditch, Worcs. B46 6BY.
Mr. S.A. Baugh,l1 Crockford Drive, Four Oaks, Sutton
Coldfield, West Midlands, B75 5HH.
Mr. S. Caldwell, 2 Onslow Street, Leicester, LE21GA.
Miss Sharon Down, 5 Oakley House, East Road, Bromsgrove,
Worcs. B60 2NN.
Mrs. Sandra Graham, 3 Camp Terrace, North Shields, Tyne
and Wear, NE29 ONE.
Mr. Steven Holland, 23 Bankside Crescent, Sutton Coldfield,
West Midlands, B 742HZ.
Mr. N.J. Howells, 9 Station Road, Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend,
Mid Glamorgan, CF33 6EP.
Mr. D.A. Lewis, 39 Earlsfield Road, Hythe, Kent CT21 5PF.
Mr. B. Pennington, 4 Church Road, Duffus, Moray, N30 2QQ.
Mrs. Wendy Scaife, 89 Manderville Road, Hertford, SG13 8JJ.
Mr. N.J. Tate, Falmers School, Lewes Road, Brighton, East
Sussex BN1 9PW.
Prof. W.H. Yoxall, Printers, Fore St., Stratton, near Bude,
Cornwall.
July 1987
Mrs. Pat Attard, Rolle College, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 2AT.
Mr. KM.P. Armstrong, Librarian, Walbottle High School,
HexhamRoad, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 9TP.
Mrs. J.F. Booth, Henry Fanshawe School, Chesterfield Road,
Dronfield, near Sheffield, S18 6XD.
Mrs. Patricia Byrne, 25 St. Andrews Road, Heald Green,
Cheadle, Cheshire, SK8 3ES.
•
Mr. Paul Chapman, Winchmore School, Laburnum Grove,
Winchmore Hill, London, N21 3HS.
Mrs. J anet Clarkson, 34 Goldington Ave., Huddersfield,
W.Yorks., HD3 3PX.
Mrs. Susan Fielder, Little Orchard, Loudhams Wood Lane,
Little Chalfont, Bucks., HP8 4AR.
Mr. John Freeman, Head of Geography, Pendleton College,
Dronfield Road, Salford, M6 7FR
Mr. G.H. Hurrell, 43 Churchill Road, Stamford, Lincs., PE9
1JG.
Ms. Maggie J arman, Dulwich College, Dulwich, London, SE21
7LD.
March - June, 1987
Miss Melanie Aircy, Abbots Bromley School, near Rugeley,
Staffs. SW15 3BW.
Mr. Stuart Baker, Chingford School, Nevin Drive, London E4
7LT.
Mrs. Elizabeth Bone, Innisfree, 10 IvyDartford, Kent, DAl
165
Mrs. JoanKirk, 22 The Drive, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE34AH.
Mrs. H.E. Leighton, 2 GlengormAve., Coleraine, Co. Deny,
BT521 TF, N. Ireland.
Mr.J.D. Le Seve, Mount St. Joseph School, Hawthorne Road,
Bolton, Lancs. BL3 4HT.
Mr. J. Rosser, South Craven School, Holme Lane, Cross Hills,
Keighley, Yorks., BD20 7RL.
Mr.A. Stewart, Glengormley High School, 134 Ballyclare
Road, Newton Abbey, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland.
Mr. J.M. Stonebridge, The Old Post Office, Burgh-by-Sands,
Carlisle, CA56AN.
Volume2(2),June, 1977
Volume 2(3), Sept., 1977 (photo)
Volume 2(4), Dec., 1977 (photo)
Volume 3(1), March, 1978 (photo)
Volume 3(2), June, 1978 (photo)
Volume 3(3), Sept., 1978 (photo)
Volume 3(4), Dec., 1978 (photo)
Volume 4(1), March, 1979 (photo)
Volume 4(2), June, 1979
Volume 4(3), Sept., 1979
Volume 4(4), Dec., 1979
Volume 5(1), March, 1980
Volume 5(2), June, 1980
Volume 5(3), Sept., 1980
Volume 5(4), Dec., 1980
Volume 6(1), March, 1981 (photo)
Volume 6(2), June, 1981
Volume 6(3), Sept., 1981 (photo)
Volume 6(4), Dec., 1981 (Index)
Volume 7(1), March, 1982
Volume 7(2), June, 1982
Volume 7(3), Sept., 1982
Volume 7(4), Dec., 1982 (photo)
Volume 8(1), March, 1983
Volume 8(2), June, 1983
Volume 8(3), Sept., 1983
Volume 8(4), Dec., 1983
Volume 9(1), March, 1984
Volume 9(2), June, 1984
Volume 9(3), Sept., 1984
Volume 9(4), Dec., 1984
Volume 10(1),March, 1985
Volume 10(2), June, 1985
Volume 10(3), Sept., 1985
Volume 10(4), Dec., 1985
Volume 11 (1), March, 1986
Volume 11 (2), June, 1986
Volume 11(3), Sept., 1986
Volume 11(4) Not yet printed
Volume 12: back issues are available at the cover price of
£2.50
Volume 12(1),1987
Volume 12(2), 1987
Volume 12(3), 1987
August - September, 1987
Mr. A.C. Benfield, 24 Gascoigne Avenue, Barwick in Elmet,
Leeds, LS154LW.
Mr. Charles Cattell, 3 Arles Ave., Wisbech, Cambs., PE13 2SR.
Mr. R. Edwards, Tudor Grange School, Dingle Lane, Solihull,
West Midlands.
Ms. Helen Huber, 32 Countess St., Heaviley, Stockport, SK2
6HD.
Mr. Mark Leighton, 35 Newport Road, Burgess Hill, West
Sussex, RH15 8QG.
Mrs. C. Moffatt, Selwyn Jones High School, Ashton Road,
Newton Le Willows, Merseyside.
Mr.J.T.Morgan, 7 Norton Close, Wash Common, Newbury,
Berks., RG13 6SR.
Ms. :;lara Morrissey, Shelley High School, Huddersfield Road,
Shelley, Huddersfield, HD8 8NL.
Mr. T.J. Morse, 19 Thorngate, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham,
DL128QB.
Mr. D.M. Price, 80 Sissinghurst Close, Worth, Crawley,
Sussex, RH10 4FY.
Mr. A. Robertson, Colchester Co. High School, Norman Way,
Colchester, Essex.
Mr. S. Singleton, Sacred Heart Comprehensive, FenhamHall
Drive, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 9JM.
Mr. Robert Smith, 151 Forest Road, Walthamstow, London El 7
6HE.
Mrs. Anne Spink, Kylemore, 47 Barrells Down Road, Bishops
Stortford, Herts.
Dr. E.G. Spinner, 3 Mountford Croft, Totley, Sheffield, S17
4EB.
Mr. M. Taggart, Christian Brothers Grammar School,
Greenporth, Armagh, N. Ireland.
Mr. J. Walker, Wilmslow Co. High School, Holly Road,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK91 LZ.
To order back numbers or photocopies please write to
John Reynolds, 18 Gardiner Drive, Longton, Stokeon-Trent, ST3 2RQ.
Prices for originals and
photocopies include postage as follows:
October, 1987
Miss Anne Griffin, 10 Northland Drive, Londondeny,
N.Ireland, BT48 7JS.
Mr. R. Setchell, Richard Huish College, South Road, Taunton,
Somerset, TAl 3DZ.
One copy at
Two to four copies at
Five to nine copies at
Ten or more copies at
Volume 12
All plus 35p postage and packing.
Back issues of journals
£1.50 each
£1.40 each
£1.20 each
£1.00 each
£2.50 each
Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to
The Association of Teachers of Geology. Receipts
will be issued only if requested.
Educational
establishments may order in advance and an invoice will
be sent with the journals.
The following issues of the journals of the ATG are
currently available. Those marked 'photo' are out of stock
but photocopies may be made to order at the prices listed
below.
Geology annual volumes:
John Reynolds.
Volume 1, 1969 (photo)
Volume 2, 1970 (photo)
Volume 3, 1971
Volume 4, 1972
Volume 5, 1973
Volume 6,1974
Geology Teaching quarterly:
Volume 1(1), March, 1976
Volume 1(2), July, 1976
Volume 1(3), Sept., 1976 (photo)
Volume 1(4), Dec., 1976 (photo)
Volume 2(1), March, 1977 (photo)
166
Tom tells ....
v. testily
y. witheringly
The following item was spotted by Alun Thomas from the
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, in an edition of
Geotimes. We have adapted the original article a little but
feel it might be an amusing (and testing) end of term
activity for a sixth form group.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
The following delightful evolutionary illustration was
submitted by Paul Garner, a student of Mike Tuke's at
Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology. We
should welcome more contributions from pupils and
students.
Calcite certainly has good cleavage, Tom ...
And, ifit effervesces, it must be calcite, said Tom ...
These are pyroclastic rocks, ...Tom
We're studying how to extract oil from shale, Tom ...
And what about the batholiths? ...Tom
Its de dolomite, Tom ...
This sandstone has large particles, Tom ...
These beds sure look aeolian to me, said Tom ...
These beds dip in different directions, said Tom ...
There's very little structure to the rocks round here,
said Tom...
This must be an overturned fold, said Tom ...
These echinoids are well preserved, said Tom ...
They're fossil hen's teeth, Tom ...
Hyracotherium used to be called Eohipp us , said
Tom ...
I am the spirit of a Great Lake, said Tom ...
Mudcracks indicate periods of desiccation,said
Tom ...
Ephemeral streams flow swiftly, Tom ...
The meanders are cut into an old peneplain,
observed Tom ...
The geothermal business is picking up steam, said
Tom ...
Maybe we should run some seismic profiles, mused
Tom ...
This is where subduction occurs, said Tom ...
Acid rain is killing our forests, said Tom ...
These microfossils are Radiolaria, announced Tom ...
Aren't these big springs magnificent, ...Tom
Where did these names 'Ordovician' and 'Silurian'
come from?, Tom ...
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
acidly
babbled
breezily
cackled
crossly
dryly
eerily
h. embulliently
i. exploded
j. flatly
k. flippantly
1. gritted
m. gushed
n. hoarsley
x. wailed
Reproduced by kind permission of Geotimes, 1985-86 and
adapted from The Geologic Column, Robert Bates.
Each of the statements 1. to 25. was made by our
geologists friend, Tom, while out in the field. Being a
somewhat emotive fellow, he always manages to find the
correct way in which to express his observations. The
aim of the exercise is to find the verbs or adverbs from the
list a. to y. which best describe the way Tom made each
observation. Each verb/adverb is used only once and, as a
clue, a gap has been left in each statement to show where
the missing word fits in. The best fit answers are given at
the end of Geofun.
1.
w. trenchently
o. incisively
p. intruded
q. reflected
r. reflectively
s. retorted
t. sharply
u. stuttered
'Evolution' of a dinosaur into a car.
167
Details of the cover photos
Answers to Tom tells ...
1,q
6,u
ll,k
16,f
21,w
2,a
7, I
12, t
17,b
22,y
3, i
8,e
13,d
18,0
23,v
4,s
9,e
14,n
19,h
24, m
5,p
10,j
15,g
20,r
25,x
The story of the statue of Hercules, including his
operation and restoration and the need to know the type
of stone used and the statue's height (in order to complete
an Open Day competition) ensured that this massively
muscled figure became a favourite collecting point for
eager schoolchildren of all ages.
A cut-away version of a Ford Sierra, together with parts
of other cars and b/w prints of mainly American 'gasguzzlers' by freelance photographer Male Birkett, formed
part of an extremely popular exhibit entitled 'Metals and
the Motor Car'.
Answers to Crossbeds No. 3
Across
2. i-e-e 8. bi-O-tit-E 9. (& 13 D.) Green Tea 11. Fig-tree
14. Lim(it)-PO-PO 16. Dinosaurs 19. Andes (anag.) 21.
field (anag. file plus d) 22. Bo-Ron 24. tremolite (toiletrem, anag.) 28. spotted 32. trapped 36. horse (gee-gee)
37. plaster 38. bed
Down
1. argil (anag.) 3. Con-go 4. roof 5. ring 6. bee-R 7.
seam (anag.) 8. blood 10. tension 12. ino 13. (see 9 A.)
15. i-O-n 17. inert (anag.) 18. USSR 19. apatite 20. dyK-e 23. ore 25. map 26. lee 27. esker (anag.) 29. ochre
(anag.) 30. Tert(iary) 31. dress 33. Alps (anag.) 34. peat
35. date
There were no correct answers to Crossbeds No. 2 but two
members achieved all but one correct answer: Mr. J.
Barfoot of Keighley, West Yorks. and Mr. P. L. Brannlund
of Upper Beeding, West Sussex. A £5.00 book token is on
its way to each.
In view of the generally disappointing response to
Crossbeds (and the length of time it takes to compile a
crossword), the series is being discontinued.
168
GRAIN SIZE SCALE
Plastic cards specially printed for ATG (6 x 9 cm credit card size).
They show grains from coarse sand down to silt.
20peach
15p each for 20 to 99 copies
100 copies or more £15
1000 copies £100
(plus 20p P &p)
(plus 20p P & p)
(post free)
(postfree)
pm 375
500
750
III
I
SLIDE SETS
MAPS AND WALLCHARTS
1.
1.
INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS FIELD RELATIONSHIPS
by D. Linnington and P. Harrison
SEISMIC SECTIONS
by P. Harrison and Western Geophysical Company
2.
This is a set of 14 slides with notes and a seismic profile. The
slides show types of oil traps, methods of seismic surveying and
seismic sections.
£4.00 per set
(plus 25p p & p)
t---------------------t
3.
FILM STRIPS
2.
PALAEOECOLOGY by Prof. D. V. Ager
24 frames and notes on aspects of palaeontology. They
illustrate:
"Life orientations" e.g., coral reefs
"Death orientations" e.g., random crinoid stems
"Fossil associations" e.g., Brachiopod and coral
"Trace fossils" from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic
£3.00 per unmounted strip
(plus 20p p & p)
3.
MODERN SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS OF THE
BAHAMABANKSANDTHEARA~ANGULF
by Roger Till and Chris Wilson
30 frames and notes show environments like sandbanks, reefs
and sabkha as well as the rock types forming in the Bahamas
and Arabian Gulf today. They include photomicrographs of the
sediments.
£3.50 per unmounted strip
(plus 20p p & p)
******Nautilus HOLOGRAM**********
This is a self adhesive hologram of a cross-section of a Nautilus.
The septa and siphuncle can be seen in 3-D. (Size 6 x 6 cm).
£1.35
(plus 20p P & p)
i
I
TARR'S WORLD SEISMICITV MAP
WORLD OCEAN FLOOR map by Heezen & Thorp
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF GREAT BRITAIN
published by the Geological Society of London
The chart consists of a full colour tectonic map of Britain and the
surrounding seas and twenty small block diagrams showing the
detailed structure of specific areas. (Size approx. 87 x 106 cm).
£3.50 for folded chart
(plus 50p p & p)
ROCK TEXTURES IN THIN SECTION
by Neil Bowden
Nine 'split image' frames show plane polarised light and cross
polarised light thin sections of common rocks such as
sandstone, granite, gabbro and schist.
£0.80 per unmounted strip
(plus 20p p & p)
?OOO~"11
Coloured map showing topography of the ocean floor and land
relief. (Size 100 x 50 cm)
£6.00 for folded chart
(plus 50p p & p)
(These are available as unmounted strips)
1.
1500
This is a large map (size approx. 90 x 120 cm). It shows the
distribution of the worlds major earthquakes divided into shallow,
medium and deep focus earthquakes. The magnitude and date of
some earthquakes is given.
£5.00 for folded map.
(plus 50p p & p)
This is a set of 10 slides with notes. Dykes, sills, a vent and
major intrusions are shown.
£3.00 per set
(plus 25p p & p)
2.
1000
phi
1
0'5
0
-1 'phl
medium Sand
coarse Sqn<i
v. coarse S~nd
Granules
4.
NEW! - MAP OF THE PUYS OF THE CENTRAL MASSIF
IN FRANCE published by the Volcanological Society of
France.
Scale 1:25 000. The map is in full colour, illustrating the northsouth chain of Quatemary volcanoes. Relief is shown by
shading as well as contours. (Size 90 x 120 cm).
£6.50
(plus 50p P & p)
NEW!
EXPERIMENTS IN EARTH SCIENCES
A compilation of articles from Geology Teaching 1968-
1987.
£1.20
(plus 30p P & p)
DOWN TO EARTH IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL
A compilation of articles from Geology Teaching
£0.50
(Plus 30p P & p)
NEW!
SCIENCE OF THE EARTH
A series of Units for use in GCSE Geology and Science
courses - see inside front cover for full details.
ORDERS TO: Fran Stratton, Sandbourne, Clophill Road, Maulden, Beds., MK45 2AA .
• Official orders will be Invoiced.• Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ATG Promotions Group.
I·