This lab studies glacial deposits to determine where glaciers come from, how they deposit material, and what glaciation records tell us about glacial processes. Building a context for its use, including links to related field labs, this website details the learning goals of this lab. It includes teaching notes and materials, as assessment recommendation, and links to additional resources and references. ... Full description.

Through a higher-order integration of concepts and observations, students can combine information from several field labs, all discussed in the Starting Point collection, to construct an overall geologic history of the local region. This site details the learning goals, teaching notes and materials, method of assessment, and context of use of this lab. It also provides links to additional references ... Full description.

Starting Point's introduction to the use of field labs in entry level geoscience classes. The page is a portal to lab examples, a discussion of the benefits of a lab curriculum, and an exploration of the logistical and pedagogical considerations of using field labs. Includes a bibliography and relevant articles from the Journal of Geoscience Education. Full description.

This website is the portal homepage for the Starting Point collection. This site is designed for faculty and graduate students teaching undergraduate entry-level geoscience, environmental science, or related courses. Each section describes a teaching method, why/when it is useful, how it can be implemented, and a set of examples spanning the Earth system that can be used in your class. Users can follow ... Full description.

This Starting Point webpage describes a ConcepTest question that asks students to carefully examine the relative positions of lettered arrows on timeline and estimate the geologic ages represented by each arrow. Students must identify which letter corresponds most closely to the age of the oldest known rock on Earth. The website includes the question, typical student responses before and after discussion, ... Full description.

This Starting Point webpage describes a ConcepTest question that asks students to address the question, which location (rock unit) would have the potential for the best groundwater production? They are to address a given diagram to answer the question. The website contains additional notes and references as well as statistics for typical student answers before and after discussion. Full description.

This Starting Point webpage describes a ConcepTest question that asks students to answer a question about how the rainfall at a given location will be affected by the erosion of an adjacent mountain. The website includes typical student responses before and after discussion, additional notes and references. Full description.

This Starting Point classroom activity prompts students with questions during a lecture on quicksand. Their answers can be collected with classroom response systems or through a think-pair-share activity. This activity allows an instructor to review the answers with the class and immediately address any points of misunderstanding or content areas that need clarification. The details of this exercise ... Full description.

This exercise is a complex puzzle that begins with a description of a stratigraphic section from a deep-sea core. Students are asked to explain the sequence of rock and sediment types and to devise an experiment to test this hypothesis. The Starting Point website describes the learning goals, context, teaching notes and materials, recommended assessment methods, and additional resource links for this ... Full description.

This activity asks students to place 6-10 events in Earth history on a timeline, first working in small groups and then as a class. Then, through questions, important points such as how certain events are dated, where humanity fits in, and so forth, can be brought up. The Starting Point website builds a context for the exercise by detailing the learning goals, teaching notes and materials (downloadable), ... Full description.