HR: 0800h
AN: ED51B-0424    [Abstracts]
TI: Fostering Inquiry and Scientific Investigation in Students by Using GPS Data to Explore Plate Tectonics and Volcanic Deformation
AU: * Olds, S E
EM: olds@unavco.org
AF: UNAVCO, 6350 Nautilus Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
AU: Eriksson, S
EM: eriksson@unavco.org
AF: UNAVCO, 6350 Nautilus Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
AB: The Education and Outreach program at UNAVCO has developed free instructional materials using authentic high-precision GPS data for secondary education and undergraduate students in Earth science courses. Using inquiry-based, data-rich activities, students investigate crustal deformation and plate motion using GPS data and learn how these measurements are important to scientific discovery and understanding natural hazards and the current state of prediction. Because this deformation is expressed on Earth's surface over familiar time scales and on easily visualized orders of magnitude, GPS data represent an effective method for illustrating the geomorphic effects of plate tectonics and, in essence, allow students to 'see' plates move and volcanoes deform. The activities foster student skills to critically assess different forms of data, to visualize abstract concepts, and to evaluate multiple lines of evidence to analyze scientific problems. The activities are scaffolded to begin with basic concepts about GPS data and analyzing simple plate motion and move towards data analyses for more complex motion and crustal deformation. As part of assessment, students can apply new knowledge to explore other geographic regions independently. Learning activities currently include exploring motion along the San Andreas Fault, monitoring volcano deformation and ground movement at the Yellowstone Caldera, and analyzing ground motion along the subduction zone in the Cascadia region. To support educators and their students in their investigations, UNAVCO has developed the Data for Educators portal; http://www.unavco.org/edu_outreach/data.html. This portal provides a Google-map displaying the locations of GPS stations, web links to numerical GPS data that illustrate specific Earth processes, and educational activities that incorporate this data. The GPS data is freely available in a format compatible with standard spreadsheet and graphing programs as well as visualization and analysis tools such as the Integrated Data Viewer (IDV). After becoming familiar with the data available through the Data for Educators portal, students are more prepared to use the full UNAVCO data archive to conduct their own independent investigations.
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 1209 Tectonic deformation (6924)
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting