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I would like to provide a very small note that may be a rather different perspective from most. I teach a 200-level (i.e.
not really introductory, but not upper level either) course called Map Interpretation and the Visualization of Space. It
is designed to help students (mostly geology and environmental science majors, but including some urban studies,
environmental studies, biologists, anthropologists, and assorted masochists) to use things like maps, aerial
photographs, satellite images, etc. to understand and visualize the surface of the earth: what it looks like, why it looks
like that, and perhaps even how it is likely to change. I haven't found a decent textbook for this course, so I put the
lectures onto a multimedia format accessible from our departmental LAN. All of the information is available in the
lecture, and the students can "attend" the lecture as many times as they want in order to get the material. There are
lots of graphics and written stuff as part of the multimedia. It was my intent to put as much information into the
multimedia as students would need to carry out the exercises, and I honestly believe that I have succeeded. But one of
the most common complaints of students is that they want a textbook. I really don't think that they need it, but they
want it -- and this is from a student population in a definitely "blue collar" university where textbook costs are a real
issue.
Perhaps the problem is that students come to CSU believing that "learning" means "memorizing", when the delivery
system for this course emphasizes critical thinking. But the theme of "I want a textbook" is one I would not have
expected in a class like this.
Perhaps some of you have had similar experiences.
Pete Clapham
Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences
Cleveland State University
Cleveland, Ohio, 44115
Voice: [216] 687-4820
Fax: [216] 523-7200
pclapham@mail.bges.csuohio.edu
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I am a secondary English and Art teacher, however have worked with scientists and science for over ten years at the Alaska Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Facility (ASF) in the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks where we download, process, archive and distribute satellite data from international satellites, primarily SAR data. I met John Butler at AGU a few years ago. Currently, I am working on a Ph.D. attempting to correlate and integrate Alaska Native culture with western science utilizing our data sets along with AVHRR, LANDSAT, and perhaps others. SAR data have been used successfully to track flooding, volcano deformation, forest fire burn scars and vegetation re-growth, glacier movement, sea ice freeze-thaw cycles, and more. I am curious to find out if you use SAR data in your class and, if so, how? Your approach sounds good.
In Alaska we are working to develop on-line distance education courses. Life is different here. For instance, of all the Native villages along the Yukon River, not one is accessible via road. Many of our distance education courses do have textbooks, however there are some that are purely distance delivery, i.e. over the web via satellite links. Even those, though, will usually have some "hands-on" reading (not textbooks). Students must send for materials via mail and then they can "visit" the class when they are ready. Classes often have their own chat-room for participating students. We are looking into software called WebBoard for our Yukon River secondary course development. Our distance delivery folks also use TopClass. Are you familiar with these programs?
Perhaps a combination of multi-media and hands-on materials might meet students half way? I guess I'm not clear if you are just using the multimedia lecture or if you are using it as a supplement to the classroom? We developed a middle school multi-media curriculum supplement on glaciers: http://www.asf.alaska.edu:2222
to be used as a classroom resource. Some reduced-resolution SAR imagery of glaciers is available for educational use at this site.
Students of all ages learn in different ways but are often trained into a stereotypical way of learning that, while excellent for some, may short-change others. Using a variety of materials and methods may be the best. What do you think?
Donna Sandberg, M.A.T.
Alaska SAR Facility, Geophysical Institute
- It seems to me that serious students may want textbooks for future
reference. I have kept nearly all my textbooks, and over the years I have
referred to most of them at one time or another. Also, I don't like reading
for long periods on the computer screen and I know many people feel the
same way. A textbook is much easier on the eyes. Finally, I write notes in
my textbooks. In sum, I think it is unrealistic to think that most or all
students will prefer electronic to written materials for a course. The
written materials don't have to be an actual book. I think you can get by
with a bunch of handouts that could be put into a notebook.
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Head, Ground Water Section
Geological Survey of Alabama
PO Box 869999
Tuscaloosa AL 35486-6999
(205) 349-2852
FAX (205) 349-2861
GSA web site: http://www.gsa.state.al.us
- From surveying and interviewing students in an introductory physical geology
class (for which I was not the instructor), I've found that very few
actually read the textbook - or if they do, most say that they don't learn
from it. On the other hand, there are 15% who say that they learn more from
their text than from any other aspect of the class. This is a typical large
lecture with small lab sections. Of the students who don't regularly read
the text, most say that they use the textbook as a reference, primarily for
lab assignments and before exams in order to make sense of their notes. I
don't think this is necessarily inconsistent with development of critical
thinking skills. Students may not read their text ahead of time, but if
assignments and directed discovery exercises require them to "produce" they
suddenly become more motivated to read the applicable parts of the text.
The key, of course, is to avoid assignments that merely require
regurgitation of the text without requiring synthesis and understanding.
Chris Brick
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Science Education
Geology Department
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
406-243-5778
- I do use a textbook as the primary form of information in my sophmore level
Earth Materials course, but I supplement it with resources like the
Smithsonian Global Volcanism Project web pages. I'm thinking about not
using one, but so far, the task of identifying suitable primary sources for
such a broad course has been too daunting.
I owe a debt to Fred Heck, who inspired me to change my use of homework
questions. I post assignments to an on-line discussion space
(http://sln.lasalle.edu/Academics/A&S/GEO/GEO204.nsf) that are to be
answered by one hour before class. I review those answers in my prep time
just before class and know where to go from there. Students get credit for
each homework completed, whether or not the answers are correct and for
each comment they post on the homework answers of others. Asking
additional questions counts as much as posting answers - I'm just trying to
get them to read and to think a little before class. I have found that
this method gives them the responsibility of learning the easy material
from the text and then working on the hard stuff in class activities and
discussions. Since I don't lecture on the material and the questions count
for credit, I find that students actually do the reading.
Dave Smith
La Salle University
- I have been teaching Environmental Geology to non-majors for nearly
20 years. About a dozen years ago we found a text that seemed to work
fairly well - at least, it was better than anything else on the market at the
time. But over the years, and subsequence editions, the book changed,
to the point that we no longer use it.
The problem we found is that the book has been dumbed down to a
considerable extent. The first and second editions explained things
reasonably well. The third and fourth editions merely tell students
things. There is little structure to the discussions. In effect, no arguments
are presented; the text is just a list of factual statements.
I have been telling the sales representatives of the course this for several
years, and I even documented the matter by comparing a couple of editions.
But of course, the publisher is not going to make a book "harder to read,"
because students would complain and fewer faculty would use the book.
I am not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg. Are the books dumbed
down because students do not like to read, or have students gotten out of the
habit of reading because they find little of interest in what they are assigned?
So I keep changing books, hoping that some day I will find the holy grail.
Pat de Caprariis
Dept of Geology
Indiana-Purdue Univ
Indianapolis IN 46202
pdecaprr@iupui.edu
