7 Chapter 1: Time to Apply
The JOIDES Resolution website has an entire collection of Classroom Activities that include lesson plans, data exercises, digital interactives, posters, and career information. Below are some highlighted materials to support teaching and learning about scientific ocean drilling that connect to the content in this chapter. We also encourage you to explore the Resources for Educators page in this OER for links to additional exercises and assessments.
Learning about marine sediments using real data — This exercise set explores marine sediments using real core photos and composition data from the scientific ocean drilling programs DSDP, ODP, and IODP in an inquiry-based approach. This activity is in NAGT’s Teach the Earth portal and is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Collection.
Virtual marine sediment core collection — A primary objective of marine science classes is to learn the location and formation of ocean sediment types. Nearly 50 years of scientific ocean drilling has produced a tremendous scientific collection of cores from the global ocean floor. In addition, there are large online databases and related publications that have a wealth of associated information to supplement physical cores. Here we created a virtual marine core collection that provides exemplars of the primary ocean sediment lithologies, along with links to expedition reports and datasets, and tips for making requests for real core samples to use in education. This activity is in NAGT’s Teach the Earth portal and is part of the GEODE (Google Earth for Onsite and Distance Education) collection.
Density of oceanic crust — Students will be able to calculate the density of samples from a single core, determine the relationship between density and depth in a given core, and measure, calculate, and compare continental rock samples. This activity is in the For Educators section of the JOIDES Resolution website.
Exploring seafloor data — Present students with this data set of microbial phyla from the deep biosphere and guide them to identify patterns then form and test multiple hypotheses about the questions they generate. Then they reflect on the elements of “doing science” they experienced and use the Science Flow Chart to document the process they engaged in and share what they would do next. This activity is in the For Educators section of the JOIDES Resolution website.
Inquiry into sediment cores — This activity serves as an inquiry-based introduction to description of sediment cores and to primary types of marine sediments, their distribution on the sea floor, and the controls that determine their distribution. This activity is in the For Educators section of the JOIDES Resolution website.
Secrets of the sediments — During this activity, students will graph and analyze data from sediments collected off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, during ODP Leg 146 (Hole 893A) to determine whether this information can be used to study historical climate change. This activity is in the For Educators section of the JOIDES Resolution website, with a Digital Adaptation in the IODP School of Rock 2020 collection.
Plate Tectonics: scientific ocean drilling contributions — Students use original data from an early leg (DSDP Leg 3) in the history of scientific ocean drilling to participate in the excitement of original discovery from authentic data. This activity is in the For Educators section of the JOIDES Resolution website. A similar activity with DSDP Leg 3 data is in the IODP School of Rock 2020 collection.
How do scientists conduct research on ancient environments? — In this activity, students will sequence a series of captioned photographs to determine the scientific process of one scientist, Dr. Tracy Quan. This activity is in the For Educators section of the JOIDES Resolution website.
