Quantitative And Mathematical Concepts/ Skills/ Competencies

nciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesQuantitative and mathematical concepts/skills/ competencies2nd Summit on the Future of Undergraduate GeoscienceEducationGeocomp.CourseChuck ConnorUniversity of South FloridaQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

s/competenciesIncrease quantitative literacy, mathematical competency andalgorithmic thinking among geoscience studentsA schema of schemas.ObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

QL in Geology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.Course To address issues in quantitative literacy generally, a structureand format for modules called spreadsheets across thecurriculum (SSAC) was created by Len Vacher (USF) for amaterials development project in geoscience education of thesame name SSAC modules are highly formatted, stand-alone,computer-based activities, each designed to engage students ina problem-solving activity that invokes their interest. EverySSAC module is a PowerPoint presentation, usually consisting of12–18 slides, with embedded Excel spreadsheets, and perhapsincluding supplementary slides with ancillary information. The core of a module consists of slides that lead the students toidentify a quantitative problem, consider how to design asolution to the problem, and build their own spreadsheets tosolve the problem.Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

QL in Geology competenciesFor the physical volcanology collection of SSAC modules, eachproblem is developed to parallel disciplinary course material. Eachmodule has: A title slide that notes the quantitative concepts and skills introducedby the moduleObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.Course One or more slides that present volcanological backgroundOne slide that clearly states a volcanological problemA set of slides dedicated to designing a plan for solving the problemA set of slides for carrying out the solution to the problem (usingExcel) A slide that allows students to reflect on the solution to the problemand that provides additional reference material An end-of-module-assignment slideAll are freely available on the SERC website(Google: SERC physical volcanology collection)Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Physical Volcanology competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseSo far, these 9 modules have been used in 11 physicalvolcanology sections at USF and, in some form, at 15 otheruniversities in North America and Europe.Lessons learned: Modules help students avoid “short cuts” in problemsolving Most students find the modules to be highly challenging(time consuming) Student performance improves when they encounter thesame module format in multiple courses (geophysics,hydrogeology) Qualitatively, alums report “learning excel” and “learningto solve problems” as most important course outcome Modules are time-consuming for faculty to develop (sharedmodel needed, e.g., SERC)Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

A dedicated geocomputation course at thesophomore / junior mpetenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseCourse objective: To enhance computational skills and increasequantitative literacy in the context of geology. To increasecomfort with geological-mathematical problem solving andcommunication about quantitative material. Now a required course at USF Little new math is introduced – mostly places math ingeoscience context Dedicated to problem solving Pathway to scientific computing and relatedproblem-solving skills required in grad school and industry.Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

A dedicated geocomputation course at thesophomore / junior mpetenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseCourse topics: Introduction to quantitative literacy and problem solving Numbers and number sense – finding your way around a mapSets, Venn diagrams, and graph theory – learning aboutdata sets, databases, and coding an outcropQuantities, units, and dimensional analysis, significantfigures and errorProportion and percentages, sums, averages and integralsLogs and log scalesCircles and angles, distance and direction, vectorsProbabilityAlgorithmic thinkingQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Problem solving competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseA laser rangefinder is an instrument that sends out a pulse oflight and senses time required for the light to reach an object,like an outcrop, reflect off the object and return to the laser.Suppose the flight time for one measurement is 210nanoseconds. Light travels 0.299792458 meters in onenanosecond.How far does the light pulse travel?Often the speed of light is approximated as 1 foot pernanosecond. How many feet does the light pulse travel usingthis approximation and what is the percentage error comparedto the more accurate speed given in meters per second?Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Problem solving competenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesLots of natural processes involve diffusion. Diffusion can be expressed in one-dimension as: C t α 2C x2This is a partial differential equation, in which C is concentration (such as the concentration of a pollutantin groundwater, or the concentration of sediment in a stream), t is time and x is distance. The symbolrefers to “change in”, like the symbol , and so has no units. In words, the equation says that the change inconcentration with respect to time is equal to a proportionality constant, α, times the rate of change inconcentration with respect to distance, x. Although partial differential equations can be complicated tosolve, it is easy to check their dimensionality. In checking the dimensionality, just ignore the , or “changein” symbol. Taking it one step at a timeGeocomp.Course C t kg 1m3 s ML3 Tand 2C x2 kg1m3 m2 ML5What are the SI and fundamental units of the proportionality constant α, which is called the diffusivity, andalso called the diffusion coefficient?Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

A dedicated geocomputation course at thesophomore / junior mpetenciesObjectivesMath inGeoscienceCoursesGeocomp.CourseSome lessons learned: Students are challenged by problem-solving in geologycontext necessary to revisit lots of basic math in geology context students need to solve lots of problems Word problem format and presentation limits cognitiveload most problems worked with pencil and paper / some Excel start problems as a group discuss solutions as a group Word problem development is time-consuming for faculty create an open-access model (Wiki) challenge students to create their own geology wordproblemsQuantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies

Quantitative and mathematical concepts/ skills/ competencies Objectives Math in Geoscience Courses Geocomp. Course QL in Geology Courses To address issues in quantitative literacy generally, a structure and format for modules called spreadsheets across th