An Activity to Introduce the Geoscience Perspective

From the introduction: This exercise is intended to connect students to geology and to remind them of the diverse ways in which people, including geoscientists, relate to rocks. On the first day of class, sort the students into groups and give each one a different rock specimen and a different role to examine it from. Possible roles include a sculptor considering the rock as material to work with, a landowner wanting to put in a well on an estate underlain by that rock type, and a preacher who will use the rock as part of a sermon. The groups study the rock, and then prepare a relevant list of observations and questions. Finally, the students need to summarize the perspectives presented and each writes a one-minute paper saying what they have learned and to evaluate the activity.