With support from the National Science

Foundation.

• This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. 0733303.

• Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Support also provided by Commonwealth

Connections Academy.

Table of Contents• About This Template

• Connecting to Big Ideas & Overarching Questions

• Download the Most Recent Version!

• One More Thing...

• The Template (or click on the image in the lower left)

• The effects of water on the landscape

• Are there valleys, mountains or hills?

• What do you think the climate is like here? Why?

• What types of rocks are there?

• Do the rocks seem to form a sequence?

• What effects have humans had on the landscape?

• Suggestions for improvement are welcome!

• Suggestions that hav en ’t been worked in as yet...

About this template...• This is a template for creating one sort

of virtual fieldwork experiences (VFEs) of sites that are interesting from an Earth systems science perspective.

• It is not intended to be the only sort of VFEs, but rather might be thought of as an “entry level VFE.” The kinds of explorations learners can do in this format are real and valuable but somewhat limited.

• For more information about VFEs, and to download the most recent version of this template as a PowerPoint, Keynote or html file, see virtualfieldwork.org. Assessment materials are also available on the site.

• The pictures used in the template were taken in the Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma in July of 2009 or at Chickies Rock County Park in Columbia, PA in June of 2011.

• The questions are intentionally written in such a way that they can be asked about any site.

More about this template...• This is not intended as a

presentation, but rather as something for learners to work through individually or in small groups. Teachers may adapt as they see fit, however.

• To use this as a template, simply replace the photos from the Arbuckles with photos from your own field site. All the arrows are hyperlinked. Click on them to go to a page with more on the question in the arrow.

• Blue boxes are hyperlinks. Links should work in all formats (html, PowerPoint and Keynote).

• Some pictures and text box are also linked. Move the cursor around the different slides to find links.

Still more about this template...• The template is a living document.

We’re always looking for input to improve it.

• Comments in yellow boxes are either seeking feedback on the draft or suggesting ways slides are expected be changed.

• Please send suggestions for additions and other improvements, including suggested photos of the Arbuckles, to:

• Don Duggan-Haas at: dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org.

Those yellow boxes look like this.Those yellow boxes look like this.

Connect to Big Ideas &

Overarching Questions• The next slide offers

one (carefully developed) take on what are the most important ideas to understand about Earth.

• For more on big ideas and overarching questions, see: http://virtualfieldwork.org/Big_Ideas.html

Overarching Questions:How do we know what we know? How does what we know inform our decision-

making?

The Earth is a System of Systems.

The Flow of Energy Drives the Cycling of

Matter.

Life, including human life,

influences and is influenced by the

environment.

Physical and chemical

principles are unchanging and

drive both gradual and

rapid changes in the Earth system.

To Understand (Deep) Time

and the Scale of Space,

Models and Maps are

Necessary.

The Earth System is composed of and part of a multitude of systems, which cycle and interact resulting in dynamic equilibrium (though the system evolves). The Earth is also nested in larger systems including the solar system and the universe. However there is an inherent unpredictability in systems, which are composed of an (effectively) infinite number of interacting parts that follow simple rules. Each system is qualitatively different from, but not necessarily greater than the sum of its parts.

The Earth is an open system – it is the constant flow of solar radiation that powers most surface Earth processes and drives the cycling of most matter at or near the Earth’s surface. Earth’s internal heat is a driving force below the surface. Energy flows and cycles through the Earth system. Matter cycles within it. Convection drives weather and climate, ocean currents, the rock cycle and plate tectonics.

Photosynthetic bacteria reformulated the atmosphere making Earth habitable.  Humans have changed the lay of the land, altered the distribution of flora and fauna and are changing atmospheric chemistry in ways that alter the climate.  Earth system processes affect where and how humans live. For example, many people live in the shadow of volcanoes because of the fertile farmland found there, however they must keep a constant vigil to maintain their safety. The human impact on the environment is growing as population increases and the use of technology expands.

Earth processes (erosion, evolution or plate tectonics, for example) operating today are the same as those operating since they arose in Earth history and they are obedient to the laws of chemistry and physics. While the processes constantly changing the Earth are essentially fixed, their rates are not. Tipping points are reached that can result in rapid changes cascading through Earth systems.

The use of models is fundamental to all of the Earth Sciences. Maps and models aid in the understanding of aspects of the Earth system for which direct observation is not possible. Models assist in the comprehension of time and space at both immense and sub-microscopic scales. When compared to the size and age of the universe, humanity is a speck in space and a blip in time.

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VFEs Are Question Driven•Ultimately, we want learners to be able to read the landscape: by looking at it’s shape, and the rocks and other materials that compose and move through it, a story can be unearthed.

•“Why does this place look the way it does” is the driving question for the project.

•Sub-questions vary in size, scale and purpose. Some questions may have a one or two word answer, but those questions should be followed with questions of how we know and what those simple answers imply.

For all of these For all of these questions:questions:

•How do you know? How do you know? (What evidence is (What evidence is there?)there?)•What does it tell you What does it tell you about past about past environments?environments?•What does it imply What does it imply about the future?about the future?

Download the most recent version!•This version was posted

June 14, 2010.

•If you are viewing the online version, you are looking at the most recent version.

•URLs for download:•as html:

•http://virtualfieldwork.org/pp/customizableVFEgraphicorganizer.htm

•as PowerPoint:

•http://virtualfieldwork.org/pp/customizableVFEgraphicorganizer.ppt

•As Apple Keynote:

•http://virtualfieldwork.org/pp/customizableVFEgraphicorganizer.key

One more thing...• Virtual fieldwork is not a

substitute for actual fieldwork!

• If you’re a teacher, use the creation of a VFE as a stepping stone toward taking your students (perhaps not this year’s) into the field, and as a way to both prepare for and process the completion of fieldwork.

•Consider having your students create VFEs so that they might teach other learners around the country and around the world about your environment.

And now...onto the actual template!

What effects has

life, including

human life, had on

the landscape?

Describe the types

and arrangements

of rocks and

sediment and what

they indicate about

past environments.

Describ

e th

e

eco

syste

m.

Wha

t eff

ect ha

s th

e

clim

ate

had

on the

life

and

land

scap

e?

Describe the shape of the land.

Why does this place look the way it does?

For all of these questions:

•How do you know? (What evidence is there?)•What does it tell you about past environments?•What does it imply about the future?

• Are there mountains, valleys, or hills?

• What are the valley shapes?

• What can form valleys?• What can cause

mountains or hills to form?

• Are the mountains or hills young or old?

• What role do tectonics play in shaping the site?

• Is water depositing material, eroding material, or both?

• Is the action of water primarily chemical, primarily physical, or both chemical and physical?

• Was the past climate different?

• What factors may have been affected or caused by climate?

• Why do living things in the envi-ronment look the way they do?

• How do living things shape the environment?

• See questions on the next page.

Sediments & Sedimentary Rocks•Is it clastic or organic/chemical?•If clastic, what is the grain size?•If organic, what minerals is it made out of?•Are there fossils or sedimntary structures? Metamorphic•Is it foliated or non-foliated?•What was the parent rock?

Igneous•Did the rock form above or below ground?•Is it felsic or mafic?

• How have plants shaped the landscape?

• How have animals generally, and humans in particular, changed the landscape?

• On what scale?W

hat e

ffects

has

wat

er

had

on li

fe a

nd th

e

land

scap

e?

What effects have

humans had on the

ecosystem?

Describe the types and

arrangements of plants

and animals and what

they indicate about past

environments.

Describ

e th

e ro

le ro

cks

and so

il pla

y in th

e

eco

syste

m.

How

has

clim

ate

shap

ed the

ecos

yste

m?Desc

ribe th

e role of

water i

n the

ecosy

stem

.

Describe how life shapes the land.

Why does this place look the way it does?

For all of these questions:

•How do you know? (What evidence is there?)•What does it tell you about past environments?•What does it imply about the future?

• Need new questions…

• In what ways does water serve habitats?

• Another question or two…

• How is the climate reflected by living things at the site?

• More questions…

• Why do living things in the envi-ronment look the way they do?

• How do living things shape the environment?

• New questions needed

Plants•New question

Animals•New question

Other•New question?

• How have plants shaped the landscape?

• How have animals generally, and humans in particular, changed the landscape?

• On what scale?

DRAFT

What effects has water had on the landscape?

• Is water depositing material, eroding material, or both?

• Is the action of water primarily chemical, primarily physical, or both chemical and physical?

What effects has water had on the landscape?

Link to a ZoomImage of this photo. It is a high resolution photo that you can zoom in and pan around. Create your own

ZoomImage here.

• What can cause mountains or hills to form?

• Are the mountains or hills young or old?

• What is the valley’s shape?

• What can form valleys?

• What is the role of plate tectonics in shaping the land?

Describe the shape of the land.

Would benefit from:• a picture of those nice folds near the base of the falls.•Embedded links like on rock hammer pictures (in rock type slides ahead).•Add embedded tombstoning pictures.•Are these mountains or hills? How do you know?•Embedding panorama

Would benefit from:• a picture of those nice folds near the base of the falls.•Embedded links like on rock hammer pictures (in rock type slides ahead).•Add embedded tombstoning pictures.•Are these mountains or hills? How do you know?•Embedding panorama

What do you think the climate is like here? Why?

•What factors influence the What factors influence the climate?climate?

•Identify features shaped or Identify features shaped or determined by climate.determined by climate.

•Was the past climate Was the past climate different? How can you tell?different? How can you tell?

•How is climate change likely How is climate change likely to affect this place?to affect this place?

This would benefit from:•More pics•swiss cheese rock•travertine•Is the overarching question the right one?•Carbon sequestration & GHG world...

This would benefit from:•More pics•swiss cheese rock•travertine•Is the overarching question the right one?•Carbon sequestration & GHG world...

What do the rocks indicate about past environments?

SedimentarySedimentary•Is it clastic or Is it clastic or organic/chemical?organic/chemical?•If clastic, what is the If clastic, what is the grain size?grain size?•If organic, what If organic, what minerals is it made out minerals is it made out of?of?•Are there fossils?Are there fossils?•What do the rocks What do the rocks indicate about past indicate about past environments?environments?

MetamorphicMetamorphic•Is it foliated Is it foliated or non-or non-foliated?foliated?•What was What was the parent the parent rock?rock?

IgneousIgneous•Did the Did the rock form rock form above or above or below below ground?ground?•Is it felsic Is it felsic or mafic?or mafic?

In this template, there is at least one page for In this template, there is at least one page for each general rock type (metamorphic, igneous, each general rock type (metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary)and sedimentary)•Many field sites have only one of these three Many field sites have only one of these three types of rocks. types of rocks.

A common question for all rock types:A common question for all rock types:•What do the characteristics of the rock tell you What do the characteristics of the rock tell you about past environments?about past environments?

Chart of common rock Chart of common rock texturestextures

Common Rock Textures

Chart by Jim Ebert, SUNY Oneonta

What types of rock are there?Metamorphic

What types of rock are there?Igneous

What types of rock are there?Sedimentary

SedimentarySedimentary•Is it clastic or Is it clastic or organic/chemical?organic/chemical?•If clastic, what is the grain If clastic, what is the grain size?size?•If organic, what minerals If organic, what minerals is it made out of?is it made out of?•Are there fossils?Are there fossils?•What do rock What do rock characteristics tell you characteristics tell you about past environments?about past environments?Scheme for Sedimentary Scheme for Sedimentary Rock IDRock ID

What types of rock are there?Sedimentary

Do the rocks seem to form a sequence?

•Where would you find the oldest rocks?

• Youngest rocks?

• Are there different kinds of rocks at different outcrops?

This would benefit from:•Folded stuff•tombstone•Is there tilting? If so, what does that imply?•What direction was the camera “looking?” The pictures here were taken on opposite sides of the road. The tilting shown is all in the same direction.•Panorama -- looking west•Right -- looking east (double check that)•Link to GE file with all pics•Picture measuring dip and strike

This would benefit from:•Folded stuff•tombstone•Is there tilting? If so, what does that imply?•What direction was the camera “looking?” The pictures here were taken on opposite sides of the road. The tilting shown is all in the same direction.•Panorama -- looking west•Right -- looking east (double check that)•Link to GE file with all pics•Picture measuring dip and strike

What effects have humans had on the landscape?

•On what scale?

•Were the human impacts on the site done intentionally or were they done without thinking about consequences?

This would benefit from:•Another question or two. (I just added the second one and it could stand editing)•A garbage shot. which is more what q2 is about.•Rephrase second bullet.•Note that the curve is a result of the photostitching, not a curve in the road. •unintended consequences... cost/benefit analysis... •"What are the unintentional consequence of the human impact?"

This would benefit from:•Another question or two. (I just added the second one and it could stand editing)•A garbage shot. which is more what q2 is about.•Rephrase second bullet.•Note that the curve is a result of the photostitching, not a curve in the road. •unintended consequences... cost/benefit analysis... •"What are the unintentional consequence of the human impact?"

Suggestions for improvement are

welcome!

• There’s ample room for improvement!

• Please send suggestions for additions and other improvements, including suggested photos of the Arbuckles, to:

• Don Duggan-Haas at: dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org.

Suggestions that haven’t been worked in as yet...

• What would this place look like if ______________ (some process or event) hadn’t happened?

• Please send suggestions for additions and other improvements, including suggested photos of the Arbuckles, to:

• Don Duggan-Haas at: dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org.