HR: 08:30h
AN: ED51C-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Conceptualizing ¬the Abstractions of Earthquakes Through an Instructional Sequence Using SeisMac and the Rapid Earthquake Viewer
AU: Taber, J
EM: taber@iris.edu
AF: IRIS Consortium, 1200 New York Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005, United States
AU: * Hubenthal, M
EM: hubenth@iris.edu
AF: IRIS Consortium, 1200 New York Ave. NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005, United States
AU: Wysession, M
EM: michael@seismo.wustl.edu
AF: Washington University, One Brookings Drive Campus Box 1169, St. Louis, MO 63130, United States
AB: Newsworthy earthquakes provide an engaging hook for students in Earth science classes, particularly when discussing their effects on people and the landscape. However, engaging students in an analysis of earthquakes that extends beyond death and damage, is frequently hampered by the abstraction of recorded ground motion data in the form of raw seismograms and the inability of most students to personally relate to ground accelerations. To overcome these challenges, an educational sequence has been developed using two software tools: SeisMac by Daniel Griscom, and the Rapid Earthquake Viewer (REV) developed by the University of South Carolina in collaboration with IRIS and DLESE. This sequence presents a unique opportunity for Earth Science teachers to "create" foundational experiences for students as they construction a framework of understanding of abstract concepts. The first activity is designed to introduce the concept of a three-component seismogram and to directly address the very abstract nature of seismograms through a kinesthetic experience. Students first learn to take the pulse of their classroom through a guided exploration of SeisMac, which displays the output of the laptop's built-in Sudden Motion Sensor (a 3-component accelerometer). This exploration allows students to view a 3-component seismogram as they move or tap the laptop and encourages them to propose and carry out experiments to explain the meaning of the 3-component seismogram. Once completed students are then asked to apply this new knowledge to a real 3-component seismogram printed from REV. Next the activity guides students through the process of identifying P and S waves and using SeisMac to connect the physical motion of the laptop to the "wiggles" they see on the SeisMac display and then comparing those to the "wiggles" they see on their seismogram. At this point students are more fully prepared to engage in an S-P location exercise such as those included in many state standards because they have a physical sense of what the wiggles indicate. As a result students are better positioned to identify S and P arrivals within the complexity of real data available through REV rather than using the canned or artificial data normally associated with a location exercise. REV provides easy access to recent and noteworthy earthquake data via a simple Web interface. Earthquake locations and near-real time ground motion data are accessed via the IRIS Data Management System, and data are automatically processed and selected so that only events with "good" data are presented within REV. Once students have completed the learning sequence using SeisMac, they will be better able to relate the trace of a seismogram to the physical motion of the ground. This can then lead to better understanding of more advanced exercises including detecting the core and finding the Moho. Building on an understanding of the basics of a seismogram, SeisMac can next be used to help student further understand earthquakes by provide a kinesthetic experience to model how hard the Earth shakes during earthquakes. Through another guided exploration students discover that the SeisMac display is calibrated in units of acceleration and can be related to the Modified Mercalli scale. They then compare shaking during an earthquake via video clips and ground shaking maps from the USGS "Did you feel it" Web site to the shaking of personal objects and the laptop.
UR: http://www.iris.edu/edu/lessons.htm
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 7200 SEISMOLOGY
DE: 7294 Seismic instruments and networks (0935, 3025)
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting