Journal of Geoscience Education back issues from January 2004:
2003 Outstanding Earth-Science Teacher Awards
Jan 01, 2004; ... Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) awards are given for "exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth Sciences at the pre-college level." Any teacher or other K-12 educator who covers a significant amount of earth science content with their students is eligible ....
Teaching Mineralogy from the Core to the Crust
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT Mineralogy is commonly the first difficult geology course that a student major encounters. To provide a solid foundation and context for learning mineralogy, and, in an effort to enhance retention of information and facilitate learning, the 'typical' sequence in our mineralogy ...
Increasing Diversity in the Earth Sciences
Jan 01, 2004; ... The Joint Society Conference on Increasing Diversity in the Earth & Space Sciences was held from June 10-12, 2003 in College Park, MD. Pranoti Asher (NAGT Councilor-at-Large) participated as a member of the Planning Committee and as NAGT's representative to the conference. Information about ...
Mineral Museums as Alliance Partners in Teaching Mineral Sciences
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT Mineral museums are gradually replacing their traditional, passive displays with more interactive, attractive, and informative forms of education. Museums are usually considered to provide informal learning opportunities, but projects can be designed to cover the whole range of ...
Optical Mineralogy in a Modern Earth Sciences Curriculum
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT Optical mineralogy is a subject firmly integrated into geoscience programs that offer mineralogy and petrology modules. Polarized-light microscopy remains a powerful and cost-effective analytical method, both at the educational and the professional level. It is the ideal ...
The Polarized Light Microscope: Should We Teach the use of a 19th Century Instrument in the 21st Century?
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT The polarizing light microscope (PLM) has no doubt contributed more to our knowledge of minerals and rocks than any other single instrument. Then why is the use of the PLM, and the teaching of optical mineralogy in general, decreasing? Probably one of the main reasons is ...
Using Inquiry-Based Methodologies to Ease the Pain of Learning Mineral Formulae and Analytical Techniques
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT Learning (memorizing) mineral formulae and analytical techniques and procedures can represent two of the more odious tasks facing students in Mineralogy courses. Yet, familiarity with mineral formulae facilitates the assimilation of many concepts dealing with mineral structures, ...
Teaching Process Mineralogy in Australia
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT The increasing complexity of ores processed today necessitates more detailed mineralogical characterisation than in the past. To ensure that metallurgists have the skills and knowledge required for this the Minerals Council of Australia is funding the preparation of curriculum ...
A Strategy for Teaching an Effective Undergraduate Mineralogy Course
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT An effective undergraduate mineralogy course provides students with a familiarity and understanding of minerals that is necessary for studying the Earth. This paper describes our strategy for integrating the disparate topics covered in a mineralogy course and for presenting them ...
Errata
Jan 01, 2004; ... The following appendix was inadvertently omitted from Kawula, J.D., 2003, v. 41, n. 5, p. 512-520. APPENDIX 2: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EARTH SCIENCES SERIES The Encyclopedia of Applied Geology / by Charles W. Finkl, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, (Vol. 13), 1984. The ...
Using the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database in the Classroom
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT The American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database is a compilation of every crystal structure potentially of mineralogie or geologic interest. The database, seen as an outreach service, is funded and maintained by NSF, the Mineralogical Society of America and the ...
Characterization and Identification of Mineral Unknowns: A Mineralogy Term Project
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT It is possible in a single term undergraduate mineralogy course to complete a project involving the characterization and identification of mineral unknowns. These identifications are based on physical properties, unit cell parameters or d-spacings determined from powder X-ray ...
Integration of New Methods into Teaching Mineralogy
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT Mineralogy is usually the first geology course taken by students above the 100 level, and as such it is a vital building block for geology curricula. In recent years the number of mineralogists has declined, the relevance of the field has been questioned, and as a result the ...
Laboratory and Homework Exercises in the Geochemical Kinetics of Mineral-Water Reaction: Rate Law, Arrhenius Activation Energy, and the Rate-Determining Step in the Dissolution of Halite
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT This exercise for mineralogy/geochemistry courses uses optical microscopy to measure the grain sizes of equant halite crystals, and the time for complete dissolution of each grain. The required equipment is readily available in most science departments: microscopes, ...
Crystallography in the Classroom-Modeling Silicates without Silicate Models
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT I propose two alternatives to the traditional ball-and-stick model for teaching silicate chemistry and crystallography in the classroom. The first model uses fresh fruits of varying sizes to demonstrate the basic silicon-oxygen tetrahedral structure, and to show how covalent and ...
Using Poetry to Teach about Minerals in Earth Science Class
Jan 01, 2004; ... ABSTRACT Incorporating poetry in science teaching expands the curriculum beyond content knowledge or process skills and enhances learning in creativity and affective skills. A high school earth science teacher and a college education professor team-taught a lesson to ninth graders on ...