Journal of the Association of Teachers of Geology

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NEWS 2 SHOPFLOOR 26 A New ATG Working Group, Annual Course A Geological Laboratory for Nowt, and Conference, ATG - ASE Curriculum A Comprehension Exercise in Applied-Initiatives, the ASE Conference, A and Half A, Economic Geology, Converting Microscopes the Balanced Science Curriculum, for use with Polarizing Light OU Television Programmes. FIELDWORK 31 REVIEWS 4 LETTERS 35 ARTICLES COMMENT 36 Geology in the Public Eye 9 School Fieldwork Survey }) . C;ccl-t 12 Teaching of Geology Maps II 15 Budgeting for Volcanoes 20 The Crusta I Evolution Education Project 21

A NEW ATG WORKING GROUP FOR FIELDWORK PROBLEMS

At the Council Meeting on Saturday 9th February, it was agreed to try to form a new working group in order to deal with problems of access, conservation and curation, and to formulate policy guidelines for the Association. Members who are interested in working in this area should write to Dr. D. Gobbett, Solihull Sixth Form College, Widney Manor Road, Solihull, West Midlands. It is expected that the group would work via correspondence at first.

ANNUAL COURSE AND CONFERENCE 12-14TH SEPTEMBER 1980

The Council hoped that it would be possible to run the course and conference at Oxford this year, but despite the fact that the Geology Department were quite willing to co-operate in hosting ATG, it proved impossible to find sufficient accommodation either in the colleges or the polytechnic. At a relatively late stage, Professor Gilbert Kelling, vice-president, was able to find sufficient accomo­dation at Keele but only for the weekend 12-14th Septem­ber. At the Council meeting on 9th February, this venue was accepted and attempts are being made to find a conference secretary and a working committee. Any offers of help from members within easy travelling distance of Keele will be welcomed.

ATG - ASE CURRICULUM INITIATIVES

The joint working party of the ATG and ASE held its first meeting at Birmingham University on Saturday 9th December 1979. Dr. R.C. L. Wilson (ATG) agreed to be chairman of the project. Three representatives of each organisation explored the problem of how best to proceed. It was agreed, that a , rationale of the project should be put together whilst at the same time an attempt be made to discern areas where local groups of interested ATG and ASE te~cners would be able to meet to discuss and produce geological-earth science cur~iculum materials designed or introduction into a common science programme in the 11 - 14 age range.

If any member of ATG feels that he or she belongs to a viable teachers' group which would be able to invest oceans of time, enthusiasm and expertise in writing and trialling curriculum materials for use in lower secondary schools then they should please write to Dr. R.C.L. Wilson, Depart­ment of Earth Sciences. Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA.

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THE GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES AT THE ASE CONFERENCE AT HULL

At the annual conference of the Association for Science Education held at Hull University between January 3rd and 5th, the interests of geological education were well represented. A symposium session was devoted to an open forum discussion of how the joint ATG-ASE curriculum project (mentioned above) could best be tackled. The symposium was guided by R.T. (Terry) Allsop for ASE and David Thompson for ATG. Curriculum materials already available for this age range in UK, USA, Australia, New Guinea and Israel were displayed. The audience of 40, consisting of one geology teacher and only four members who taught some geology - earth science in combined science courses, were full of ideas concerning the possible needs of teachers in trying to add a leaven of this kind to present courses. It was encouraging to hear the comments of an HMI (from Scotland!) and the two LEA science advisers present.

Elsewhere at the Conference an ATG display, replete with our new continuously running tape-slide show, was manned by the assistant treasurer Peter Williams who sold a great many back issues of our journal, whilst another ATG member Professor Ansell Durham (University of Hull), drawing upon his long experience of how to humour and enthral extra mural classes, lectured with great success on the usefulness of the geological sciences in winning material and energy resources by modern means. Dr. Brian Waugh (Hull) followed this two days later by explaining how the study of the diagenesis of sandstones by modern techniques, including the use of the scanning electron microscope, can greatly increase our knowledge of the ways in which oil migrates, is trapped and can be produced from North Sea reservoirs.

THE DEMISE OF NAND F - THE RESURRECTION OF A AND HALF A

As a result of the recent ministerial decision to abandon N and F, the joint Committee of the Geological Society, the Institution of Geologists Ltd., and ATG, which had produced and distributed widely Normal and Further level syllabuses in the Geological Sciences, had been asked by the sponsoring organisations and the Royal Society Solid Earth Sciences Education Committee to recharge its batteries and tackle the job of writing aunt-sally guidelines syllabuses for Advanced Level and half-Advanced Level. The group has so far decided to produce a half A-level core syllabus (somewhat like N­level). In addition, the group decided to try to produce, in addition to the same core, a series of 10 optional topics, from which it is envisaged that a choice of five or so topics would make up a balanced A level offering.

GEOLOGICAL CONSERVATION COMMITTEE

The Geological Society of London has formed a Geological Conservation Committee which will take over responsibility for dealing with current matters which were, until recently, the concern of the Society's Education Committee - for example the possible banning of fossil collecting in Dorset, the possible closure of footpaths at Lulworth and in the Isle of Wight. In future years the committee will be responsible for an ever-widening area in which the activities of the geological profession will increasingly interact with those of the public, the local authorities, the ministries, the landowners, industry and commerce.

VIEWS OF THE CHIEF HMI FOR SCIENCE ON THE BALANCED SCI ENCE CURRICULUM

John Whinnerah, Chief HMI for Science, includes the following paragraphs in a recent article in Education in Science 86, p. 24-6 entitled "Balanced Science Approaches".

"What science should be taught? There is no need to go into this in detail but I imagine that most of us can agree that pupils should be helped to understand, as far as their abilities permit, the physical and technological world around them, their own bodies and their biological environment. Can we indeed afford any longer to have an adult population which is largely ignorant of most or all of these things? Therefore I define balanced science as science which includes the basic elements of physics, chemistry and biology. In addition, there are strong arguments for the inclusion of some geology and pstronomy. There are also strong argu­ments for school science to be linked much more closely with technology than it has been hitherto.

Much is made these days of the processes of science. One can argue for all citizens being able to use the skills and processes of science in everyday life as a means of solving many pro­blems which arise at home, in the garden and in the garage. Therefore balanced science, as already defined, should include a balance between the processes and skills of science and the content which is taught ... " (ibid p.24).

THE WI NSTON CHURCHI LL MEMORIAL TRUST

This Trust allows men and women who might otherwise never have the chance to visit countries overseas to gain a better in­sight into the lives and work of people in other countries. Fellowships are available equally to all U.K. citizens but can­didates must be able to show that they can make effective use of the opportunity and the information they gain. To apply, send your name and address only on a postcard to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, 15, Queens Gate Terrace, London SWl 5PR. Completed applications must be in by 1 November 1980.

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OPEN UNIVERSITY TV TRANSMISSIONS

S101 Science : Foundation Course (first transmission 18-30, second 08-05) Rocks and magnets 4 Mar Drifting Continents 11 Mar Spreading Oceans 18 Mar

S23 - Geology (first transmission 07-05, second 17-15) Crystals 7 Mar Crystals and optical properties 21 Mar - introduction to mapwork Rock classification· 11 Apr introduction to palaeonto-logy - unconformities Zone fossils - unconformities 25 Apr (overstep and overlap) Volcanoes and volcanic rocks 9 May Granite and the plutonic association 23 May - mapwork (folds) Metamorphism and meta-morphic rocks - mapwork (faults) 6 June

S335 Earth Science Topics and Methods Part A (first transmission 11-00, second 17-15) Borehole logging 15 Mar Conceptual models in stratigraphy Microfossils and their uses Landslips

12 Apr 3 May

24 May

9 Mar 16 Mar 23 Mar

11 Mar 25 Mar

15 Apr

29 Apr

13 May

27 May

8 June (0715 Sun)

21 Mar

18 Apr 9 May

25 May (0805 Sun)

S336 Earth Science Topics and Methods Part B (first transmission 11-00, second 17-15) Skye: the field evidence 1 Mar Isotopes 22 Mar Granites and granites and granites Porphyry copper deposits Mineralization in Cornwall

S334 Oceanography

19 Apr 10 May 31 May

(first transmission 06-40, second 07-30) Project FAMOUS 29 Feb Deep sea drilling project, site 167 Water masses Waves Currents Hydrothermal plumes Where the river meets the sea: a visit to the Tay Estuary

14 Mar 28 Mar 18 Apr

2 May 16 May

30 May

S266 The Earth's Physical Resources (first transmission 11-00, second 17-15) Coal 8 Mar Oil 29 Mar Uranium 26 Apr Mining: a case study part 1: exploration 17 May

7 Mar 28 Mar

25 Apr 16 May

8 June (0805 Sun)

6 Mar

20 Mar 10 Apr 24 Apr

8 May 22 May

5June

14 Mar 11 Apr

2 May

23 May

THE GEOLOGICAL FIELD NOTEBOOK P.C. Ensom, 1979 Dorset County Museu(rl, Dorchesrer, 6 pp. 15p per copy plus 10p postage; ten copies 12p each plus 10p postage for every £5.00 or part pound.

This leaflet explains the need for keeping a field notebook and gives introductory advice on how best to do it. There is no indication of the ability level for which the advice is intended, but one would guess that it would be for the amateur or the beginner at school rather than an honours undergraduate at the beginning of training.

The introduction sets the tone of the article quite we": a facsimile of one of the pages of John Woodward's celebrated book of 1728, a reminder of the need for discipline in going about the day's work, and a succinct explanation of the value of the field notebook: "that it should enable others to find the exact spot where an observation was made and a specimen collected, or at worst to make a reasoned guess when a site has been backfi"ed or altered".

The advice which follows is standard, and is generally we" and simply explained. It might have helped, however, if a number­ing system for specimens had been recommended and exemp­lified which would serve equally we" for the field and labor­atory. Later on it would have been useful if reference was made to the place of the standard rock description chart, the graphic logging sheet, and a simple palaeontological or palaeo­ecological questionnaire for use in the field, for it is debate­able whether a" the information gained in the field should be recorded, even at the beginner's stage, in a field notebook alone. The reviewer has always found that the charts, logging sheets and questionnaires help the beginner to ask the right questions at outcrop and provide a most convenient organised record of the subsequent observations and measure­ments. A major improvement to the leaflet could be made if examples of pages of good field notebooks were included­preferably those compiled in areas of signally different terrain.

The leaflet could provide an interesting focus for a university seminar or two on the virtues of different systems of recording data in the field, and on what part a field notebook could or should play in that overall system.

The section at the end concerning the keeping of field note­books for use by other persons in later years is very sensible. "Remember that the family inheriting your handiwork may not appreciate how valuable it is. Museums and Environmental Records Centres will often welcome this type of documentary material. Give your notebooks a future; act in good time."

As a final thought I am reminded of the student who lost 3 years field notes on a plateau basalt outcrop halfway across the Central Ring Complex of Arran. He discovered this whilst in cloud and rain at the summit of Ard Bheinn and was refused permission to leave the party to go back down to search. His notebook contained only his name: no addresses, telephone numbers, no indication of the indispensable nature of the note­book, or an explanation of its purpose which would encourage a finder to return it as a matter of urgency. There is no advice in this pamphlet regarding this eventuality.

David Thompson, Education Department; Keele University.

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READING THE ROCKS. AN INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCI ENCE. BOOK 2. P.S. Whitehead Publisher:- Walsall Blue Coat Foundation

The publication is a typescripted, A4 sized booklet of 48 pages in a soft manila cover profusely illustrated with simple, monochrome line diagrams, sketches, maps and charts. First impressions indicate a neatly laid out, though wordy, docu­ment which would have benefitted greatly from professional help with the diagrams etc.

The front cover illustration is of a dinosaur called Rocky Rex. He figures prominently in the text and acts as the communi­cator, fa" guy, funny man and general stooge in the interplay between the reader and the textual matter. Rocky Rex does indeed soften the factual information presented and bearing in mind the series is aimed at the middle or secondary school Earth Science element of a General Science course this soft approach is eminently successful. I would be quite happy to use some of the ideas in a third year geology course in the secondary school.

The booklet is divided into ten chapters with a final section dealing with answers to questions which have been set in the earlier chapters. A short credits paragraph at the very end reveals some of Peter Whiteheads sources and indicates the very real effort and research which has gone into producing the booklet. One important feature of the book is the way that the local environment, in this case the limestones of Walsa", has been used as a starting point for many 'of the ideas and concepts put forward in the text, perhaps we could a" take example from this.

The text is informative and detailed and consists mainly of a narrative between the author and Rocky Rex. The dinosaur asks questions and makes other suitable interjections. The first two chapters introduce the reader to rocks in general, where they are found, how they are formed, how to describe them and so on. By focussing attention on the geology of the local area and the industries associated with it Mr. Whitehead uses the Walsall area as a general springboard to launch into the concepts of faulting, folding and earth movement. Chapter 5 deals with fossils from the Willsall area and gives identifications at generic level. All the fossils are illustrated with adequate sketches. The following chapter illustrates the life span of the main fossil groups with the aid of a large chart.

By the seventh chapter Mr. Whitehead has begun to involve the reader in processes and he must be congratulated for giving the details of some quite simple and yet effective experiments demonstrating sedimentary deposition and vulcanicity. There is a fascinating section on Charles Lyells discoveries and observations of volcanoes in Sicily. The principles of stratigraphic dating are rounded off by a convincing section on radioactive dating. For those teachers with access to laboratory equipment the Radon gas experiment could prove interesting and stimulating.

The last chapter in the book does suggest that further avenues of knowledge and investigation remain. These could be pursued by obtaining further books in the series viz. Rock, Life, Earth, and Heavens Abovel

In conclusion - I enjoyed reading the book immensely land it certainly gave me a few ideas which I would like to try out on my own pupils. As a text book it is perhaps limited except, I

would imagine, for Mr. Whiteheads own pupils. There is undoubtedly an enthusiasm and sense of humour that come through ..... perhaps Mr. Whitehead could come and teach my pupils with his book .....

Definitely recommended readinll for the aspiring or expired geology teacher.

Roy S. Dyson, Head of Geog/Geol. Dept., Eastwood Comprehensive School, Notts.

AN INTRODUCTION TO 'THE ADVENTURES

Cartoons by Paul Evans. Created and written by P.S. Whitehead.

READING THE ROCKS A new series of Geology books for introductory courses.

Written by Peter Whitehead (assisted by ROCKY REX)

Send SAE for details to: P.S. Whitehead, Blue Coat Comp., Birmingham Street, Walsall.

You may be wondering how a dinosaur comes to be writing books. Well ••.

The story of Rocky &ex begins long ago, in the latter part of the Cretaceous Period, somewhere in Wyoming, USA, although it was not called Wyoming then, of course.

Who are these two dinosaurs? They are Oedipus Rex & his wife, Regina. What is that on the ground?

'Oh Oedipus, honey, ain't he sweet?' says Regina; 'We must think up a good name for him!'

One day Rocky decides to set off to see the world. He waves goodbye and off he goes.

Of course, it is an egg! 'Any time now!' says Oedipus.

Just then the newly-hatched dinosaur begins to rock backwards and forwards 1n his egg . ..

He has no t gone far when he hears a strange noise. 'What's that?' he says, staring ..

And sure enough, the egg is now opening. What 1S coming out? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No ..

'Look at that!' says Oedipus; 'There's only one name for him - ROCKY.'

as the noise gets louder and a large box appears in the air. The box is yellow and black ..

5

it's a little tyrannosaur! Yes, we are seeing an historic event.

and so time

went by until ..

And so Rocky Rex was born; and he grows a bit every day; and he gets more and more inquisitive until ..

with the letters 'AA' on the top. I t lands \,;i th a great crash, and makes a large hole.

THE EARTH TODAY: BRITAIN by Ruth Way The building of Britain: mountains and seas GR 251 The shaping of Britain: ice and its effects GR 252

Each of these titles refers to a teaching aid which consists of a colour filmstrip and a detailed twenty page teachers' hand­book designed to be used with pupils ranging widely in age and ability. For each filmstrip there is an optional narrative cassette.

The teachers' handbook contains the taped narrative wh ich forms the sound commentary designed to introduce the material to pupils of 13 plus to 15 plus. In addition, 'Picture Points' which describe the outstanding features of each frame are summarised in an indented paragraph whilst 'Further Notes' are added to provide supplementary information to be used with pupils up to ' A' level.

Costs: Double frame filmstrip and handbook Cassette (optional)

Visual Productions London.

£3.20 each £2.25 each

The Building of Britain: Mountains and Seas. GR 251

This attempt to portray the structural evolution of the British Isles from the Cambrian to the present day achieves some degree of success.

An introduction to the diversity of the relief of Britain is given in frames 1 - 5, but perhaps some reference could have been made to the complexity of structure over the region. The ensuing account of the evolution and develop­ment of Caledonian, Armorican and Alpine orogenic belts is put into a simplistic plate tectonic framework. Line and block diagrams are used to illustrate earth movements and major depositional events against a background outline of the British Isles and/or Western Europe. Thus, the story is told as a series of simplified palaeogeographies to which further details are added.

Development of the Caledonian mountains is described in frames 7 - 20. The origin of the geosyncline is adequately covered, but black shale, shelf and volcanic facies, basic to many syllabuses, are poorly described. Emplacement of plutons and metamorphism, (mispelled in a number of instances as metamorphosis), as associated orogenic events are schematically shown. Frames 15 - 17 cover the origin of the Great Glen Fault and the formation and structure of the Midland Valley is illustrated by a block diagram (frame 18).

A photograph of gneissic terrain in Sutherland (frame 19), (the gneiss being described as a ..... "hard rock generally speckled"), is in a somewhat anomalous position, but the text indicates that the gneiss predates the Caledonian orogenic event.

Users of the filmstrip may be misled by the statement that during the Devonian the inland areas .... "became deserts, swept by red windblown dust. This hardened to form Old Red Sandstone as found in the Orkneys." page 1 0: frame 21. This error is partly remedied in the further notes. The typical Devonian plant (frame 22) appears to be a fine specimen of Upper Carboniferous Neuropteris sp. Little mention is made of the marine Devonian.

There is, perhaps, some imbalance in the coverage of the Carboniferous (frames 25 - 30). Whilst the volcanic activity is adequately referred to, the Limestone, Millstone Grit and Coal measure deposits could be better described both in terms of their depositional conditions and lithology. Criticism could be made of the fact that whilst a modern coal mine might merit illustration (frame 28) there are no photographs of the exposures of the major rock types of the Carboniferous. The inclusion of North Sea oil and gas deposits at this time might be questioned by some teachers.

6

Treatment of the Armorican orogeny is brief (frames 31 -33) and the inclusion of the south west Peninsular batholiths on the generalised diagram, frame 31, would have been advantageous, though the structure is described in the text.

Perhaps, as with many teachers of stratigraphy, the pace quickens somewhat through the Permo-Trias, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary! (frames 34 - 44). Frame 40, a middle distance shot of Leckhampton Hill described as .. ..... "scarp of oolitic limestone" is of questionable value to the viewer in that little of significance can be discerned. This highlights the problem with a filmstrip which attempts to do justice to the wealth of material that stratigraphy affords. Oolites are described in the text, but not illustrated, and this could have been overcome with a split frame illustration. It is true to say that whilst the block diagrams and maps are clearly reproduced the landscape and rock illustrations could be greatly improved.

Perhaps this visual aid is best used initially with the accompany­ing tape.

The whole sequence can be comfortably run through twice in a single lesson and in this way, though fast moving strati­graphically, it presents a broad overview of the structural evolution of Britain as a continuum rather than as a series of isolated periods, both school and geological, punctuated by the ringing of bells.

Clearly there are a number of limitations to this material. I suspect, however, that as an introduction to a course in stratigraphy and as an aid to be used for reinforcement and revision of stratigraphic data it will provide some levity to a topic which can become a turgid, historical account late on in the school geology course.

The Shaping of Britain: Ice and its effects. GR 252

A broad and lively appreciation of the effects of the last ice age is provided by this material and there is much information which provides a stimulus for work at the three levels indicated. Frames 1 - 6 recall the fluctuation in temperature and ice coverage which occurred during the Pleistocene together with comments on the animal and plant life existing at that time and invading the British Isles from mainland Europe.

Advance and Retreat, frames 8 - 20, covers the main land­forms produced by erosion and deposition during glaciation, emphasising the important effect of the Pleistocene period on the landscape of Britain. Details are not given on the modes of formation of the features illustrated.

Clearly, it would not be possible in material of this type to cover the specific information needed at all levels up to Advanced level.

Frames 21 - 31 examine the 'Effects of Melting Ice' with sample studies of Lake Pickering and its associated meltwater overflow channels and Lake Lapworth and Ironbridge gorge. Rias, fjords and raised beaches are adequately covered.

'Periglacial Britain and Changing Vegetation', contains a very useful sequence of frames (32 - 43) which include photographic illustrations and line diagrams of polygons, pingos and pollen analyses, the latter depicting climate and vegetation changes. over the last 100,000 years.

With one exception the photographs are of British examples. Whilst the diagrams are clearly drawn and provide excellent visual aids one or two of the photographs could have greater clarity or more clearly defined examples. The commentary with audible frame signals is very clear and with the filmstrip provides an extremely good teaching aid which has some flow and continuity to a topic which receives wide coverage both in geography and geology.

For the average class teacher, and even to the enthusiast who collects his own illustrated material and assembles it to suit his particular teaching sWle, it would seem that this is an additional resource to which he should give serious consideration.

D. Mayhew

SYNTHETIC ROCK FOR NUCLEAR WASTE

Professor A. E. Ringwood's book Safe disposal of high level nuclear reactor wastes: A new strategy (ANU Press, Canberra, Australia, and Norwalk, Conn. USA, 1978, 64 pp S2.95) was launched at the beginning of August with extensive media coverage. What are the implications?

Professor Ringwood and his colleagues at the Australian National University have approached the problems of high­level waste disposal from a geochemical viewpoint. They have carried out experiments with combinations of likely minerals (the most familiar being micas and felspars) to determine how the significant atoms in nuclear wastes would be distributed and locked in the crystal lattices of artificial rocks. On the basis of these experiments, and observations of the stability of similar materials over geolo­gical time-scales, they conclude that synthetic rock has considerable advantages over glass or ceramic as a host for immobilising radioactive wastes.

Professor Ringwood emphasises that forming a stable matrix for the waste is only one 'barrier' isolating the radioactive waste from the biosphere. For a second line of defence he suggests canisters made of a nickel-alloy (in preference to stainless steel). The alloy (Ni3 Fe) is known to be stable in some environments for millions of years. The ultimate isolation comes from deep burial.

Here Professor Ringwood points out that many classes of geological environment are being explored as potential repositories, involving extensive geophysical and geochemical investigations. As an example, he suggests burying the wastes up to 3 km deep in an impermeable granite pluton intruded into chemically suitable sedimentary rocks. The canisters would be packed in a mixture of crushed magnesium oxide, serpentine and carbonaceous shale to provide the pH and redox conditions necessary to ensure long-term stability of the petrified waste (see Figure).

Readers with some knowledge of chemistry will recognise the quality of the scientific reasoning behind the proposal for immobilising the wastes in thermodynamically stable materials, and they will appreciate the experiments for what they are: very interesting and promising first steps in an idea which may eventually have an important role in this part of the nuclear fuel cycle. Non-technical readers may not make much sense of the geochemistry, and will probably not realize that Professor Ringwood has not reported one single test using radioactive isotopes.

Opponents of nuclear power will find confirmation of some of their worst fears when they read that vitrified waste may crack and devitrify soon after burial, and they will be alarmed by the extremely corrosive action of residual pockets of brine in salt-mine repositories. Advocates of nuclear power should be reassured that stable 'solid solutions' of radioactive waste materials can be made in such variety.

They may not agree with Professor Ringwood that sufficiently safe disposal can be achieved only by using large relative amounts of host material (incorporating not more than 10% radioactive waste). They may also not agree that an acceptably safe waste-disposal technology would or should cost about 5%

7

Proposed nuclear waste disposal system (A.E. Ringwood, p5)

Gr.nit. <UK-~_crulh.d MgOand .. rp.ntin.

Crulhad Mgo+

..... ~- 18rp.ntina + ClrbonaCIOUI thala

of the value of the electricity generated, rather than the 0.5% usually assumed.

Despite the fanfare with which Professor Ringwood's slim book was released, his proposals do not amount to a 'solution' to the waste disposal problem. His own remarks about the current position in waste disposal show how much research and development remain to be done_ In this connec­tion it is important to remember that any discussion of high­level waste disposal presupposes large-scale reprocessing of spent fuel. Professor Ringwood does not discuss the applica­tion of his ideas to the 'throwaway' fuel cycle favoured by President Carter.

Professor Ringwood's principal conclusion is that the problem of isolating high-level nuclear waste can be solved. However, such a solution has still not been demonstrated, and it is still prudent to proceed very cautiously with any commitment to nuclear power.

Michaell. Large Uranium Power Study Group, University of Sydney

From the Education Department of South Australia Newsletter No_ 6 July 1979.

FILMS REVIEWED

The two film reviews below are based on the comments of a group of Hertfordshire geology teachers and members of the Earth Science Staff at the Open University.

A weekend of geophysics - basic exploration techniques (1978)

Colour, Optical Sound 16mm, 20 mins. Hire (£11.50+ VAT) or buy (£184_80+ VAT) from Leeds University Audio- Visual Service, The University~ Leeds LS2 9TJ.

160 Station Road, Chapel town, Sheffield S30 4XH Proprietor: Chris Darmon BSc. VAT. Reg. No. 308 3364 69

"The New Name You Can Trust"

A selection from my list:

lib. weight Sheffield made hammers £6.21 ea. (2 or more £5.98 ea.) Gowllands New Light xl 0 magnification lenses £1.61 ea. Gowllands Compound Chrome plated, xl 0 magnification lenses £2.99 ea. Self-adhesive field slips, printed on roll £3.68/1000 Silva 15TD/CL Compass/Clinometer £18.40 ea. Map Case by Silva, in strong see-through plastic £1.27 ea. Safety Helmets by Itex, in yellow or red, £19.00/10 Safety Goggles to BS2092 impact grade 1, by Itex £14.95/1 0

Plus: Hammer Holsters, Field Notebooks, Specimen Cards, Trays, Self Seal Plastic Bags, Tape Measures, Whitehouse Hammers, Geological Maps. Nearly 200 books available including many locally produced guides & society pUblications.

(All prices shown include carriage and VAT where appropriate).

SEND FOR YOUR FREE STOCKLlST, TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS, NOW.

This film was sponsored by the Mineral Industry Manpower and Careers Unit, and shows a group of Scottish teachers and pupils on a field course in the Southern Uplands. Five geo­physical techniques are introduced following a brief intro­duction by Jack Mcfarlane of the Mining and Mineral Sciences at the University of Leeds. He stresses that he is not con­cerned with global geophysics, but techniques concerned with locating mineral deposits on fairly local scale. Thus the opportunity is lost to link magnetic and seismic techniques to a broader study of the Earth.

The five techniques illustrated are seismic, resistivity, vertical force magnetometer, electromagnetic gun and VLF (very low frequency) receiver. Each instrument is shown in the field, and its mechanism, operation and resultant data and inter· pretation illustrated by animations.

The fil m is intended to be viewed by first year students of mining or geophysics who are about to do fieldwork. This point was picked up by the viewing panel, who considered that the film would have little value as an introductory teaching medium. They felt it would only be comprehended by students who already possessed a good working knowledge of the physical principles involved. The film was well received, and the reaction of a group of A level physics students who viewed it was that it opened their eyes to the fact that all the physics they had done actually had some practical use. The fact that the Hertfordshire teachers plan to use the film again (and this time they will have to pay for the privilege) with six formers on a visit to use geophysical equipment at Hatfield Polytechnic is perhaps the best indicator of the value and appropriate use of this fil m.

Our Mineral World (1978) Colour, optical sound, 28 mins. Hire (£6) or buy, (£195 plus VA T) from Index Film and Television Library, 12 Charlotte Mews, London W1 P 1 LN.

8

In an advertisement in a previous issue of GEOLOGY teaching, Gazelle Films describe their product as 'relating the story of the development of the earth to today's mineral consuming Society' in a manner suitable for' A level and University general studies'. The film opens with shots of lava fountains with eerie synthesiser music in the background, followed by a succession of shots of a variety of mineral extraction sites and mammoth machinery projected in rapid succession. Much of the remainder of the film consists of interludes of talking heads making serious but apparently ill·prepared pronounce· ments on how fast we were using up our mineral world, and how slowly it had all formed. Eventually plate tectonics was introduced in a world map which showed the present position of ocean ridges, fracture zones and collision zones. Then, incredibly, all these lines began to pulsate! Continental drift was also discussed with a South African Professor insisting that continental drift only began 200 million years ago, and had not occurred before that time. Statements about resources were made without the use of graphs, and many fine features shown without stating their location.

Readers may by now be thinking that the author of this review is prejudiced, but they may be assured that the reactions of the viewing panels were almost unprintable. Many of the audience felt that the film had washed over them so that they could recall little if anything of its content. And one Open University staff member thought the film was a parody based on all the faults of OU TV programmes. Regrettably, no viewer could recommend its use at any level.

Chris Wilson

Geology in the PublicEye A lummary article by William H. Matthaws 1/1 on lome of the exemplary and wide-ranging efforts of the American Geologicallnltitute's Education Committee to promote geological education and to inform the general "lay" public of the importanca of geology. First published in Episodes, the Newsletter of the I nternational Union of Geological Sciences Vol. 1 1979 p. 14-15. Reprinted here by kind permission of Dr. Vera Lafferty, Managing Editor, lUGS Ottawa Secretariat, Room 171, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, Canada KIA OE8. The article railes the issue of whether we are doing enough in this field in the United Kingdom.

9

INTRODUCTION

Since its beginning in 1942, the American Geological Institute (AGI) has been strongly committed to promoting geological education and informing the general public of the importance of geology in their lives. Working with representatives from each of the Institute's 18 member societies, the AG I Education Committee has conducted a variety of educational projects and activities which reflect both the dedication of the earth scientists who have' organized them and the need to emphasize the pertinence of geology in society.

CENSUS

In 1956, for example, AGI began to collect student­enrolment data from 192 U.S. schools which carried degree programs in geology and geophysics. The following year, 16 Canadian schools were added, and now, some two decades later, the annual survey compiles information on more than 26,000 students in almost 500 U.S. schools and more than 3,000 students in 39 Canadian schools. New categories have been added to the census over the years: in 1960, for example, non-major students in geology courses were added, while in 1970 AGI began to count geology students in non­degree departments at four-year and junior colleges.

Since the demise of the National Register of Scientific & Technical Personnel (which AGI operated for the earth sciences), the Institute has been the prime source of such information about geoscientists. It is also the only source of information on the number and distribution of women and minority geoscience students. These data help describe the profession and guide employers in equal-opportunity programs.

MINORITY PARTICIPATION PROGRAM

More recently, the Institute's Minority Participation Program (MPP) has been working to increase representation of ethnic minorities in the geosciences. U.S. census results show that of the total population, approximately 11.0% are Negroes, 5.0% have Spanish surnames, and 0.4% are American Indians, which, if applied to a population of about 36,000 earth scientists, should mean that about 3,950 are Negroes, 1,800 have Spanish surnames, and 145 are American Indians. In fact however, there are fewer than 20 Negroes in the profession, with only four or five of them possessing doctoral degrees, while American Indians and people with Spanish surnames are even scarcer.

The MPP attempts tcfhelp rectify that imbalance. Industrial organizations and several of AGl's member societies have contributed to a financial-aid fund, while a subcommittee screens applications by minority students majoring in geology and geophysits and recommends them for annual grants, which range from S250 to S2,OOO. At present, more than 50 MPP scholarships are granted for each academic year.

WOMEN GEOSCI ENTISTS

The Institute also has an educational program designed to benefit women earth scientists, who total only about 1,400, or fewer than 4% of the 36,000 earth scientists. Private industry employs about half of all earth scientists but only 12% of the women. Most women (39%, compared to 28% of all earth scientists) hold academic jobs, a category in which new jobs are scarce.

Concerned about the problems that such statistics suggest, AGl's education program includes the Women Geoscientists Committee, which has surveyed the female population in our profession, set up a roster of women geoscientists, and founded a newsletter for them.

PUBLICATIONS

Publications proposed and developed by the Education

Committee form a visible and important aspect of AGI's educational activities. The widely used Glossary of Geology, is a case in point. Its predecessor, Glossary of Geology and Related Sciences, appeared in 1957 with 14,000 entries and was revised in 1960 when 4,000 more entries were incorpora­ted. The current work, published in 1972, has about 33,000 entries and work is now being completed on the new, expanded 1979 edition.

An outgrowth of the Glossary's second edition is the Dictionary of Geology (revised edition), a paperback abridgement for popular use. This publication has proved to be particularly useful to secondary school teachers, geology and earth science students, as well as amateur rock, mineral, and fossil collectors.

The AGI Directory of Geoscience Departments is of special use to North American geoscience educators. First published in 1952, it was the earliest attempt to list all degree-granting departments of geology in the U.S. and Canada. The Directory is now published annually and includes detailed information on some 800 departments, the types of degrees offered and the names and specialities of almost 6,000 faculty members. The information is stored on magnetic tape for updating and annual publication.

Educators and their students have also made good use of the AGI Data Sheets. Originally published in Geotimes, the Data Sheets now consist of concise compilations of map symbols and check lists of earthquake effects and stand as a separate publication, with revisions and additions in the offing.

When the members of the Education Committee turned their attention to promoting more and better teaching of geology and earth science in public secondary schools, particularly at the grade nine level, one of the results was the publication of Geology and Earth Sciences Sourcebook for Elementary and Secondary Schools, edited by Dr. Robert L. Helier, current President of AGI. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and written by a team of earth scientists, secondary school teachers and science educators, th is valuable teaching aid has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese and the third edition is now in preparation.

Secondary earth science received its greatest support from the NSF-funded and AGI-sponsored Earth Science Curriculum Project (ESCP), out of which came Investigating the Earth, a textbook for junior high school students. For several years in the 1960's, teams of authors from throughout the profession collaborated to produce the text and related material. Published by Houghton Mifflin in 1967, it has served as an introduction to the earth sciences for thousands; in fact, nearly 750,000 copies are in print, and it has been translated into several foreign languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Korean and Japanese. The third edition of this popular book was published in 1978 and seems destined to be even more widely used.

Ancillary student and teacher materials for the ESCP course include the ESCP Pamphlet Series (field guides to minerals, astronomy, beaches, fossils, lakes, layered rocks, plutonic and metamorphic rocks, rock weathering, soils, and meterorites) and the ESCP Reference Series (booklets on water data, free materials for earth-science teachers, planetariums and exhibits, earth-science films, guides to field study, maps and publications, sources of earth-science information, topo­graphic maps, and others).

The Council on Education in the Geological Sciences (CEGS) was organized as an AGI education project to explore the status of geology teaching in U.S. colleges and universities. Funded by NSF, it led to many short publications, with Geowriting: A Guide to Writing, Editing and Printing in Earth Science (1973) being perhaps the most widely used. Intended for the "beginner" scientific writer (or one who

10

writes only occasionally for publication) and for editors of professional journals whose training is in science rather than in journalism, Geowdting is now in its second edition, with 15,000 copies in print; several college geology departments have adopted it as a textbook for writing courses. Although CEGS, like ESCP, has been phased out, it has left its mark on the teaching of geology in the U.S.

Geotimes, the Institute's monthly news magazine for earth scientists, needs little introduction. Though not a part of the education program per se. Geotimes stresses news and features not found in other professional journals. Articles cover a wide range of disciplines but are geared primarily toward short news reports of scientific meetings, each consisting of a condensation and concentration of the essential information presented.

CAREER INFORMATION SERVICES

In recent years there has been an increased interest in geology as a career. To meet the demand for career informa­tion requested by both students and career guidance counselors, the Institute has expanded its career information services. At present, the Education Office receives more than 3,000 requests for such information each year; specially prepared packets, which include the colourful career pamphlet Geology: Science and Profession, are available to respond to student requests, while more comprehensive packets are forwarded to career resource center directors and counselors.

FILM SERIES

Since 1962, AGI has cooperated with Encyclopaedia Britannica to produce the AGI-EBE Earth Science Film Series. More than 35 16 mm motion pictures, 10 sound filmstrips, and 40 colour study prints have been made so far. Each film is produced in collaboration with a competent earth scientist recommended by the AGI Director of Education. Prior to release, each film is screened for accuracy of content by an AGI-selected panel of specialists. Most films deal with geo­logical subjects though the series also includes titles dealing with oceanography, astronomy, and meterology.

"SPOT ADS"

During the past year, the Institute has been making use of mass communication techniques through public service announcements, or "spot ads", on radio and television. Taking advantage of the fact that each U.S. radio and tele­vision station must provide, at no charge, a specified amount of daily air time for public service announcements made available by non-profit organizations. AGI designed its first nine "spot ads" in the form of a series of 30-second announcements on the following topics: "The Energy Crisis", "Moon Landing", "Water Resources", "Land Use", "Energy Alternatives", "Geology: Service and Adventure" (dealing with careers in geology), "Marine Geology", "Earthquake Concepts" (introducing plate tectonics)' and "Critical Resources". Because of the success of this series and the tremendous response it aroused from I isteners, six more "spot ads" are now in preparation and will be broadcast during 1979. A circulation report from an independent analyst indicates that almost 30 million viewers have seen these 30-second announcements, and estimates that this figure could be projected to a possible 52 million I For added effect the television spot announcements often use a well­known television personality as narrator.

Finally, the latest effort to acquaint the public with the relevance of geology comprises a series of five news releases to 3,800 suburban daily and weekly newspapers in the U.S. Consisting of brief comments on topics similar to those of the radio and television public service announcements, about 1,000 of these short articles have been published in some

500 different newspapers in 31 states and six cities in Canada. They have also generated a large number of requests for additional information.

The foregoing indicates the obvious general interest that there is in geoscience, and the importance of promoting

• an awareness of and information about the profession. It should be noted, however, that the development and imple­mentation of the programs mentioned would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of the hundreds of earth scientists who enthusiastically served, and continue to serve, on AGI's many committees and task groups.

I.U.G.S. EDITOR'S NOTE: Further information about the AGI's programs and publica­tions is available, on request, from the Director of Education American Geological Institute Box 10031 Lamar University Station,Beaumont, Texas, 77710, U.S.A.

Aboutthe Author: William H. Matthews III is Regents' Professor of Geology at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, U.S.A. He has been associated with the AGI in many capacities for the past 25 years, and is currently the Institute's Director of Education. Professor Matthews is interested in geological education at all levels and has authored geology and earth science books for secondary school and college-level students, young readers, and the lay public. A past President of the National Association of Geology Teachers, he is currently a member of the I UGS Committee on Geology Teaching.

FOR ATG MEMBERS We invite members to respond to the discussion document by suggesting ways in which ATG and other groups interested in education at all levels in the earth sciences can best organise themselves in the future. Letters may be sent to the Editor of GEOLOGY teaching.

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Geology Fieldwork by Schools #eW an ATGSurvey The former Secretary of the Association, David Scott, reports on the amount of fieldwork carried out by schools and coll­eges in 1977-8. The article is an up-dated version of the talk given to the "Conservation Conference" on March 1 9-2Oth, 1979. (See Walton E.K., 1979. GEOLOGY teaching 4 (2) p. 4~48).

A survey of fieldwork in geology schools and colleges was carried out in 1968 by the Nature Conservancy Council (Black 1971). The ATG Council resolved that a further survey, ten years on, was appropriate in order to review the situation following a considerable rise in the number of school pupils completing examination courses in geology. This has been achieved by circularising members of the Association using a questionnaire consisting of a single A4 sheet which relates to fieldwork carried out in a single academic year (1977-78).

Questionnaires were returned by 194 respondents from a total sample of c.1 000 (determined by a suitable calculation from the whole membership of the Association). Table 1 indicates the number of student days of fieldwork pursued in

relation to examination and other courses. (A student day is defined as one whole day spent in the field by one pupil).

This tC!ble shows the paramount importance of CGE exam· ination courses in determining the incidence of fieldwork but the impact of CSE courses is considerable, and clearly not all fieldwork is carried out because of an examination requirement. Although the figures represent a 20% sample of the membership of the Association, it would be very unsafe simply to scale up the results to represent the overall amount of fieldwork in all schools and colleges. However, a rough guide to total expected fieldwork carried out in England and Wales can be obtained from the following calculations (based on examination groups only):

GCE A-level (Average of 9 days for 4,000 candidates) = 36,000 student days

GCE O-Ievel (Average of 4 days for 12,000 candidates) = 48,000 student days

CSE (Average of 3.5 days for 4,000 candidates) = 14,000 student days

This last figure is disturbingly close to Black's estimate of 100,000 + student days of fieldwork for the academic year 1967-68 and might suggest that there had been no rise in fieldwork in the ten year interval, but during that period A-level entries rose from 1881 to about 4,000, O-Ievel entries rose from 7,050 to about 12,000 and CSE-Ievel entries rose from a nominal .number to about 4,000.

Despite the present attempt to try to use a comparable method of conducting the survey, it is difficult to explain the similarity of these results to Black's apart from assuming a difference in the method of data collection. These figures in themselves may have very little real significance as a guide to total Incidence of fieldwork, if the figure of 1 million student days quoted by Jones (1978), and based on Nature Conservancy Council Report In 1976, is to be accepted.

Table 1 - Amounts of fieldwork carried out by schools and colleges (not Universities or Polytechnics) in the Academic Year 1977-78

Level A-level Q-Ievel C.S.E. Other Totals

Student Days 13,619 10,922 6,050 6,330 37,970

%of whole 36.9 29.6 16.6 16.9 100.00

(Size of sample 194 institutions, of which 3 were in Primary/Middle; 178 Secondary and 13 In Further and Higher Education. The statistics only refer to courses in FE and HE which involve 0 and A leveL)

The survey also investigated the geographical distribution of geological fieldwork. In Table 2 an attempt has been made to compare the present data with that of the 1967-68 survey.

Table 2 - Geographical distribution of geological fieldwork in the Academic Year 1977-8 carried out by schools and colleges (not universities or polytechnics)

1967-68 Survey Locations 1977-78 Survey Change (% of all schools doing exam- (% of ATG Members using (%) inations courses and using the the areas listed) areas listed)

76.5% ENGLAND 71.0 -5.5 18.0% WALES 23.8 +5.8

5.4% SCOTLAND 5.0 -0.4

8.2% SOUTH WALES 15.5 +7.3 (4.1%) (PEMBS/DYFFED) (6.0) (+1.9)

12

4.1% NORTH WALES 8.3 +4.2 15.7% YORKSHIRE 11.1 ·4.6 ? S.DEVON/CORNWALL 8.4 No direct com-

7.3% DORSET 5.4% DERBYSHIRE 3.1% SALOP

' 5;6% LAKES/CUMBRIA 3.6% KENT

The most striking change is the increase in demand for field­work localities in Wales and the greatest increase in South Wales. Some of the supposedly more popular localities show drops in the percentage figures, but this should not preclude the possibility of an actual rise in the number of visitors if the increased examination entries are considered. Although a survey of this kind cannot show individual localities, it does nevertheless indicate where the greatest problems are likely to lie in terms of the overuse of sites of geological interest.

One question in the survey asked members to distinguish bet­ween local fieldwork (defined as that taking place within 50 kilometres - 30 miles - of the institution concerned) and field-

parable figures 6.0 - 1.3 5.2 - 0.2 3.3 +0.2 3.3 - 2.3 3.0 -0.6

work at a distance beyond this. The figure of 43.2% which emerged for the incidence of local fieldwork is encouraging in some ways, but there is clearly room for a considerable in­crease in this figure in order to take pressure off some of the more distant and highly popular localities. There seems little doubt that financial restrictions will augment the trend towards more use of local fieldwork sites.

In order to try and investigate the sources of information which teachers make use of in prospecting and preparing for a field excursion a particular item was incorporated into the questionnaire. The results of the responses to this question are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 - Sources of fieldwork information used by teachers in schools and colleges (but not universities and polytechnics)

(Total sample 194 respondents)

TYPE OF INFORMATION FROM RESPONDENTS % OF TOTAL RESPONDENTS

Previous experience of area 177 91

G A Guides 156 78

Museums 65 33

(A small number of members referred to their use of published papers in learned journals).

Perhaps we can assume from these data that teachers do not, as yet, make heavy use of the great volume of local data in­creasingly held in museums and in field centres of various types, but that they still rely heavily upon traditional sources such as Geologists' Association guides and their previous experience. Clearly there is a considerable public relations job to be done here in relation to spreading awareness of the Geological Site Documentation Scheme as it accumulates increasing amounts of data in its recording centres (See Jones

1978 and GEOLOG Y teaching Vol. 3 No. 2 June 1978 pages 64-71). An attempt was made in the survey to discuss the support which teachers are given in relation to prospecting and pre­paring for field excursions in geology. In answer to the question 'Is time and/or money available to do reconnaissance work to make your field visit(s) more effective?' It transpired that 70% of respondents were given neither time nor money to do such work. The results are summarised in Table 4.

Table 4 - Factors relating to the degree of assistance provided to geology teachers in schools and colleges in preparation for fieldwork.

FACTORS RESPONDENTS % OF ALL RESPONDENTS

No ti me or money

Ti me but no money

Money but no time

Both time and money

(Size of sample 178 Secondary Schools)

Even allowing for the fact that some trips are self-financing, this data reflects a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. Further­more if teachers were better supported by their LEA's they could be encouraged to look at localities other than the more popular ones.

The next group of results relate to the amount of fieldwork actually done by groups completing examination courses. In

123 70.0

20 11.3

12 7.3

23 11.4

13

order to derive these figures a sample of schools/colleges was selected in order to compare the number of student days fieldwork reported in the survey with the requirements stated in the syllabuses of the examination boards. For O-Ievel the results show that 7,219 student days were completed by a sample containing 1,689 candidates giving an average of 4.3 days in the field. (The average requirement/recommendation

of 6 examination boards is 4 days). For A-level the results show that 9,056 student days were completed by a sample containing 1,179 candidates giving an average of 7.7 days in the field. (The average requirement/recommendation of 6 examination boards is 9 days).

does seem to have been a general increase in the availability of these qualifications and hence a corresponding increase in fieldwork.

May I conclude by thanking all members who took the time and trouble to complete and return the questionnaires.

REFERENCES These figures indicate that perhaps some A-level students do not do as much fieldwork as the syllabus suggests. The boards figures are, of course, in general a minimum requirement or recommendation. Any lack of fieldwork at this level probably reflects constraints related to time, money and the timetable. Although these constraints help to reduce the environmental impact of geological fieldwork, they constitute an unfortunate way of achieving itl

Black, G.P. 1971 A survey of the distribution of geological fieldwork by schools in Britain - 1968. GEOLOGY 3, pp 45-47.

Jones, M.D. 1978 Field facilities for Geology Education: A role for museums. GEOLOGY teaching 3, (2) pp 64-65.

Incidental to main aims of the survey, it was encouraging to discover that 27% of schools and colleges had actually carried out more fieldwork in 1977-8 than in the previous year. 58% claimed to have done the same amount and 15% to have done less. The increase may be partly accounted for by an increase in the amount of fieldwork prescribed by the London Board but there was also evidence of increasing numbers of pupils and the beginning of new courses. Fourteen schools specif­ically mentioned the establishment of new courses and only one referred to the withdrawal of an A-level course from the curriculu m. These indications are an indicator of the con­tinued growth of the subject in schools.

D.S. Scott, Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education, Crewe Road, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 1 DU (at present to be contacted at the Geology Department, The University, Cottingham Road, Hull, Humberside).

Although several Colleges of Higher Education and Poly­technics sent in completed questionnaires, the data was not capable of being presented in any suitably accurate form. The information did, however, emphasize the wide range of guises in which geology appears in these institutions within e.g. Diplomas in Higher Education, BEd. degrees, Combined Studies degrees and degrees in Environmental Studies. There

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The Teaching of Geological Maps-I! J.H. Whitehead and J.D. Crossley conclude their discussion of the topic upon which their workshop sessions at the Derby and Sheffield Conferences were based in 1978 and 1979.

15

INTRODUCTION

Having dealt in an earlier article (Crossley & Whitehead 1979) with the more traditional aspects of the early stages of teach­ing geological maps, there remains the critical and often insurmountable problem of pupils visualising the spatial relationships between three dimensional geological structures and two dimensional maps and sections. Whereas a map provides only a single view in an approximately horizontal plane, there are an infinite nUfllber of vertical cross-sectional views. Two of these and the map may be combined in a block diagram, but this dcres not completely solve the con­ceptual problem: what does the structure look like round the back? In order to answer this questlon and move to the truly three dimensional treatment, a model would seem to be the logical solution.

THE MERITS OF MODELS

A three dimensional model is probably the nearest approach to a true representation of the actual geology of an area. Admittedly, unless made in a form which allows the individual units of the geological structure to be readily dismantled, it is not possible to view the insides of the model. It is neverthe­less a considerable advantage to be able to turn the model round so as to view the structure from any angle, including that from beneath. Such an approach is cearly of value in the consideration of problems involving bore-hole data. Yet the assembly of a printed cut out model with the geological boundaries shown on every side involves the pupil in no more than the mechanical operation of folding and glueing, an exercise which is more suited to the infants' school than to the upper forms of a secondary school! Models like those produced by the Open University (S 23 Block 2 Field Relations: Gass et al 1972) are of little more value than a series of block diagrams, for one can only see three sides at anyone time and the pupil is likely to be engaged in the purely passive role of just looking at the model.

To ensure more active involvement, a more interesting task and a fuller understanding, it would seem desirable that pupils should start with at least a partially, if not a completely, blank model. The pupils are then faced with the more demanding exercise of completing their own models by drawing in the geology on the blank sides. In our experience this greatly increases motivation and helps considerably in identifying those pupils who are encountering difficulties. The monitoring of progress is greatly facilitated because pupils areunable to disguise or conceal their lack of under­standing; the blank, 0r unfinished incorrectly completed model, is testimony to their level of achievement.

THE PRODUCTION OF MODELS

The strategy outlined above involves the making of several models per pupil, hence the mass production of possibly hundreds of models for an average sized class. In view of this, cost and practicability are obvious constraints. The most readily available and relatively cheap material is duplicating paper, while the use of paper clipli' to secure the shape of the models eliminates the need for glue and the consequent potential mess, and enables them to be dismantled easily for storage in an exercise book or file, so as to be available for further work and future reference. The basic outline and the instructions for the assembly of the models are summarized in fig. 1. and can be produced on almost any available duplicating machine.

USE OF THE MODELS

Having assembled the blank block as instructed, the pupils are ready to begin the more intellectually demanding task of comprehending and illustrating the geological structures. As argued previously (Crossley and Whitehead 1979). it

Fig.1 Cut along all solid lines

Fold along al l dashed lines so that they show on the outside of the fold

I

I

Glue or clip I I I - - - -I

I I I

I I I

I - - - -I

I

Glue or clip I

I I

is imperative that the simplest concepts are tackled first and it is envisaged that there will be a developmental sequence in model making parallel with, but slightly in advance of, the approach advocated in the above- mentioned article.

Therefore horizontal strata outcropping on flat ground would form the subject for the initial model. As may be seen from the first exercise, summarized below, a verbal description of the relief and the geology is followed by detailed instructions for the construction and completion of the model, so freeing the teacher to monitor the progress of the class and to help individuals experiencing difficulty.

SAMPLE EXERCISES It is envisaged that most exercises would be set with the aid of a work sheet: for example, work sheet one, on horizontal strata, could take the following form:-

16

I I

I Glue or clip

I

I - - -

I

I I

I

I

I I I - - -I

I I

Glue or clip

I

I

Work sheets on geological models_ 1_ Horizontal strata.

Relief: the area is flat.

Geology: the solid geology of the area is a succession of horizontal beds: a conglomerate (at the base). a sandstone and a shale. A borehole reveals the following information about the thickness of the beds: shale 200m, sandstone 200m, conglomerate 100m. Exercise: Construct the block model using figure 1 and use appropriate symbols and a vertical scale of 1 cm = 100m to complete the geology. Draw to the same scale: 1. A geological map of the whole area; 2. A section along one of the vertical sides of the block; 3. A vertical section diagonally across the block. Finally outline, in the form of a series of numbered statements, the geological history of the area.

,

A slightly more difficult exercise incorporates the use of a model of a segment of a ridge (fig. 2). The relief is described as a ridge with different slopes on the two sides. The solid geology is as described in the above exercise. The pupils are asked to complete the model, to draw a geological map of the area, a section perpendicular to the ridge and a section

Fig.2 Cut along all solid lines

along the ridge. In addition they may measure and record gradients and widths of outcrops on the contrasting slopes. From this data they should be able to generalise on the relationship between slope angle (or gradient) and width of outcrop.

Fold along dashed I ines so that they show on the outside of the fold

/

/

17

/ / Glue or clip

/ \ /

\ / \/

~I ------------------~

/ /

I

I

I

\ \

\

\ Glue or clip

Fig.3 Cut along all solid lines

Fold along all dashed lines so that they show on the outside of the fold

Glue

or clip

Glue or

clip

With the addition of models of a valley (fig. 3). it should be possible for the increasingly interesting and progressively less simple geological problems outlined previously (Crossley and Whitehead 1979) to be preceded by suitable work with models.

For example, the following work would be an appropriate intermediate exercise between 'the field mapping of a dipping formation in a valley (recommended in Crossley and Whitehead 1979) and the tackling of traditional problem maps:

18

Glue

or clip

Glue or

clip

Work sheet on geological models. 2. Dipping rocks.

The relief of the ~rea is a valley incised to a depth of 150m. The solid geology is made up of a bed of conglomerate, a sandstone, a shale and a limestone, all dipping at 300 and striking at right angles to the axis of the valley. At the tops of the valley sides the boundaries between these beds out· crop %, Y:t and * of the way along. Construct the block model (fig. 3) and using appropriate symbols complete the geology. Draw a geological map of the area (the same size as your model) and sections along the valley side, along the valley floor, at each end of the model and across the middle of the model at right angles to the valley. Measure the maximum thickness of each formation as penetrated by vertical boreholes located at each corner using a scale of 1 cm = 100m. With the same scale measure the maximum true thickness of each formation. List, as before, the geological history of the area.

•

TOWARDS MORE REALISTIC MODELS

Ultimately, with the progressive use of the models, pupils gain a good appreciation of the spatial relationships between three-dimensional geological structures and two-dimensional maps and sections. It is then possible to use the simple block model (fig. 1) as a basis for more realistic and complex geological problems. As in the study of small-scale maps (e.g. I.G.S. 1 :50,000 maps), the relief is a much less significant factor in understanding the geological structure of the whole map. It is still important in determining the detail of the outcrops but not the overall outcrop patterns. Consequently actual I.G.S. maps, extracts therefrpm, and maps taken from past examination papers can be used to devise problems in which the pupils, given a detailed description of the geology, complete the block model, maps and sections and answer questions thereon .

A well tested example has been derived from a small-scale field map of the Shap Fell area (Pollard 1969).

Worksheet 3. Drawing the geology of an area onto a block model from a written description. Instructions: Read the following description of the geology of an area, and then draw the geology onto the block model provided. For the purpose of this exercise the relief of the area will be considered to be flat.

The succession in the eastern third of the area consists of a thin breccio-conglomerate, a thin sandstone and a thick limestone which lie above and parallel with an unconformity dipping at 100 to the east. The western part of the area is made up of andesite, rhyolite, siltstone, greywacke and mudstone in succession, each of approximately equal thickness and dipping at 350 towards the south-east. In the northern central part of the western margin of the area a granite body is intruded into the andesite and rhyolite. A number of dykes radiate outwards from the granite intrusion cutting the andesite, rhyolite, silstone, greywacke and mudstone, and reaching the northern and southern edges of the area.

After completing the model, by drawing a geological map of the area and outlining appropriate sections on all sides, and by using the information that the breccio-conglomerate contains material derived from the granite, the pupils were asked to describe, 1n the form of a series of numbered statements, the geological history of the area. Finally to demonstrate their complete understanding of the three­dimensional relationships of the rocks in the area, the pupils should draw a number of vertical sections in various directions, across the middle of the block model.

REFERENCES

CrossleY,J.D., and Whitehead, J.H. 1979. The Teaching of Geological Maps GEOLOG Y teaching Vol. 4 pt. 2. pp 56-61 Gass et al., 1972. S 23 - Block 2. Field Relations. Bletchley. The Open University. Pollard, J.E., 1969. A day excursion to the Shap district Westmorland. The Amateur Geologist.,Vol. 3. pt. 2. pp 41 - 46. -

Acknowledgments

To Mr. B.S. Cane, Principal, The City of Liverpool College of Higher Education for facilities during the writing of this article and to Mr. N.C. Hunt for drawing the diagrams.

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Budgeting for Volcanoes This article by Peter J. Smith first appeared in "Nature" on 5 July 1979, and is reprinted from the Commonwealth Geological Liaison Office Newsletter with permission.

20

What is the energy budget of a volcano? Or to be more explicit, what proportions of a volcano's energy are carried away by the various modes of energy transport? What, for that matter, are the appropriate transmission mechanisms? These are the. sort of conceptually simple questions one would expect some nineteenth century volcanologist to have answered, albeit incorrectly; but whether he did or not, the same questions are still being asked in 1979, possibly because they are not as easy to come to terms with as might be supposed. Certainly they are not answered entirely satisfactorily by McGetchin and Chouet (1979) even now, as these authors freely admit. But to start at the beginning, for many years McGetchin and Chouet have been studying the behaviour of Stromboli, the famous volcanic island that rises about 920 m above the Mediterranean some 75 km north of Sicily. Since records began this volcano has been in a "more or less continuous state of episodic activity, characterised by well-collimated jets of incandescent gas loaded with molten fragments of basaltic vitric lapilli" -a characteristic "fire-fountaining" type of activity that has come to be known as Strombolian though not limited to Stromboli. In jargon, this is known as the volcano's "normal mode", the "steady state episodic mode", and it is with this type of behaviour that McGetchin and Chouet are chiefly concerned.

No reliable heat flow values have been obtained in the vicinity of Stromboli but from their own downhole temperature measurements, McGetchin and Chouet estimate that above sea level the volcano is emitting something like 6MW in the form of heat conducted up through the ground. This is about 84% of the total energy emitted. By comparison, all other forms of energy transmission are small and most are negligible. Next in magnitude comes the heat carried by ejected gas (700 kW, or 9.8%), then the heat carried by ejected particles (2.8%) and the heat radiated from the vent (also 2.8%). Seismic energy released amounts to 0.42% of the total. Finally there is the kinetic energy of ejected gas (0.0091 %1. acoustic power (0.0014%) and the kinetic energy of ejected particles (0.00034%).

Needless to say, these estimates depend on assumptions and are therefore open to correction. But even if the results are perfectly accurate, the conclusions that McGetchin and Chouet reach are highly dubious, as they themselves note. The most significant phrase in the last paragraph is probably "above sea level". The fact is that Stromboli is largely submarine; yet the underwater region has been ignored, and with it the large amount of heat likely to be transferred by the convective power of circulating groundwater. The question of the "normal mode" of volcanic activity is also crucial. It is well known that from time to time Stromboli departs from its usual behaviour and undergoes violently explosive eruption. During the explosive eruption of September 1930, for example, the mass of material ejected was equivalent to that produced during 300 years of normal ~ctivity. These violent phases, though unusual in the duration sense, strongly influence the energy/mass equation. So should they be included in the series, or ignored on the grounds that they are atypical?

On the face of it, McGetchin and Chou!lt seem not to have achieved very much so far; their figures are, at best, misleading and in any case refer only to one type of behaviour from one particular volcano at one particular period. On the other hand, they have gone some way towards the solution of a fundamental scientific problem, demonstrating in the process that the simplest questions to formulate are not necessarily the easiest to answer. The issue may also be of practical importance to the extent that volcanic heat is being investigated as a possible source of geothermal energy.

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Plate Tectonics for the People THE CRUSTAL EVOLUTION EDUCATION PROJECT (1976-9) The Editor of ATG reports on the completion of a curriculum project which he was able to study and contribute to in 1977 in U.S.A.

21

INTRODUCTION

In the late 19605 the geological sciences experienced the final phase of that profound revolution in the understanding of the way in which the earth works which we call the Plate Tectonic Theory. The impact of the revolution has been compared in importance with that of the Darwinian Theory of Evolution, the acceptance of the magnitude of geological ti me, the development of the Rutherford·Bohr model of the atom and the understanding of the double helix of DNA. Moreover, the basic tenets of Plate Tectonic Theory have caught the imagination of the general public through popular presentations in the media for example - BBC Horizon programmes and David Attenborough's series, Life on Earth.

The most satisfying aspect of these events is that for the first time there exists one theory capable of providing a unifying scientific rationale for the biological, chemical, and physical evolution of the earth's outermost shells. The theory also has important implications for planetary evolution in general. Its conclusions are that the Earth's crust is dynamic, is constantly changing at measurable rates, and that the places where interaction takes place are known and can be examined. The Plate Tectonic Theory has enormous implications for science in general and for helping to solve human problems such as those of energy (eg Yorath et al 1975) and materials supply (eg Wright et al 1977). The early incorporation of such an all embracing theory into school science curricula is clearly ·of paramount importance, not only for itself, but also because the history of its origin is well known (Hallam 1973, Wyllie 1976, Open University 1976) and can be used to explore the reasons for the development of scientific ideas, an oft-neglected part of an education through science.

THE ORGANISATION OF THE PROJECT

The National Association of Geology in USA (NAGT) (in large measure the counterpart of the Association of Teachers of Geology in the United Kingdom). sponsored the Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP) as a means whereby the methods and results of current research into the Earth Science Revolution could be brought swiftly into the classrooms of students aged 14 and over in a way which involves, excites and motivates them. The sponsorship of CEEP forms part of NAGT's long range aim of developing and distributing newly developed resources for teaching the earth sciences, and the association is dedicated to continuing to assist in the establish­ment of CEEP materials, as well as seeking ways to update them in the future."Between 1976 and 1979 over 200 members of NAGT were actively involved in furthering the progress of the CEEP project.

The sponsorship of the Crustal Evolution Education Project began in 1974 at a time when NAGT first recognised that it was desirable that school curricula should incorporate material relating to current and ongoing studies into the evolution and history of the earth's crust and upper mantle. Hence the aims and outlines of the project were developed at a series of conferences (Stoever 1974, 1975). after which funds for its prosecution were sought from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Contrary to experience with projects in UK, acceptance was swift, and work was started in August 1976 under the directorship of Dr Edward C. Stoever, Jr., now chairman of the Earth Science Department at Southeast Missouri State University (Stoever 1976a,b; Stoever and Yasso 1977). Out of nearly a hundred initial ideas for CEEP topics produced at the conference, work was begun on c. 64 (see Table I).

The Project was administered through a Steering Committee of 16 persons, comprising the Director, the six Development Centre Directors and the NAGT Executive Committee, and

TABLE I DETAILS OF CEEP MODULES WHICH WERE DEVELOPED IN TWO STAGES OF TRIALS 1976-7

The modules which are marked with a cross (t) are those which have been published; those with an asterisk (*) have been published in abridged form in the Journal of Geological Education by the authors cited after the title. Codes to identify the Development Centre at which the modules were developed are as follows: CA = California; MD = Maryland; NY = New York; OH = Ohio; TX = Texas; WA = Western Washington State University. The author has copies of most of these original book-lets and is willing to allow interested persons to study them.

No. of Development Relationship to Unit class Centre published mod-Code periods Number ules in Table II

1 t How do scientists decide which is the better theory? 1 CA 4 1.8 2 t When a piece of continent breaks off 1 WA 7 Ill. 7 3 t How do continents split apart? 1 NY 2 11.5 4 t Locating active plate boundaries by earthquake data 1 TX 5 1.1 5 t Drifting continents and magnetic fields 2 OH 12 111.2 6 t Hot spots in the earth's crust 3 MB 5 111.3 7 Shallow water beaches and deep-water mountains 2 WA 6 8 t The rise and fall of the Bering Land Bridge 2 TX 20 111.5

. 2 1 Earth history from deep sea cores 2 OH 1 2 t I ntroduction to lithosphere plate boundaries 1 CA 22 1.3 3 t Drifting continents and wandering poles 4 WA 2 11.12 4 Microfossils and geologic time 2 OH 2 5 Volcanoes .and Plate Tectonics 2 TX 10 6 Plate boundaries seen from space 2 MD 6 7 Quakes in search of a theory 1 TX 4 8 The great collision: India and Asia 1 TX 41

3 1 t Plotting the shape of the ocean floor 1 NY 11 11.16 2 Piecing continents together 5 WA 1B 3 Predict-a-quake 1 CA 17 4 The Asthenosphere: is it a "slippery layer"? 3 TX 9 5 The ocean floor puzzle game 1 OH 8 6 What moves the plates? 1 CA 16 7 t Antartica in the tropics? 2 TX 16 11.1 8 Pre-Mesozoic plate Boundaries and Drift 1 TX 15

4 1 t Quake Estate (board game) 1-3 CA 18 11.10 2 t* Earthquakes and plate boundaries (Lowman et al 1978) 1 MD 1 1.2 3 t* Spreading sea floors and fractured ridges (Armstrong et al 1978) 1 NY 1 1.4 4 t* Which way is north? (Beck et al 1977)* 3 WA 3 11.13 5 Rock changes in the Earth's mantle 1 CA 3 6 t Microfossils, sediments and sea-floor spreading 3 OH 5 11.4 7 Deep sea trenches as garbage dumps 1 WA 9 11.8 8 To be or not to be: a question of earthquake predition 3 CA 13

5 1 t* I magi nary continents: a geological puzzle (Bartholomew et al 1978) 1 TX 8 1.6

2 t Lithospheric plates and ocean basin topography 1 NY 8 1.7 3 How strong is the Earth's crust? 1 NY 4 4 The Earth is a big magnet 3 WA 4 5 t* How fast is the ocean floor moving? (Korporaal et al 1978) 2 CA 9 11.3 6 t Volcanoes: where and why? 2 WA 10 111.6 7 t Why does sea level change? 2 OH 7 111.8 8 Finding ancient climatic boundaries NY 10

6 1 Why does the asthenosphere exist? 1 TX 17 2 t What happens when continents collide? 1 NY 3 1.5 3 t Earthquake prediction and plate boundaries 2 TX 23 11.9 4 The Appalachian Mountains; born from a vanishing ocean 3 MD 8 5 Rocks associated with plate boundaries 1 CA 21 6 How ocean sediments help trace the movement of the Pacific Plate 1 NY 13 7 The Ocean - a natural 'Iandfill' 5 OH 4 8 t Crusta I movement: a major force in evolution 2 MD 10 " 1.1

22

t

Unit No. of Development Relationship to Code class Centre published mod-

periods Number ules in Table 11

7 1 Finding the edge of a continent 4 WA 1A 2 t Iceland: the case of the splitting personality 3 OH 11 111.4 3 Palaeomagnetic clocks 2 MA 3 4 The earth as a heating plant 3 WA 8 5 t Measuring continental drift: the laser ranging experiment 2 TX 6 11.15 6 How changes in sea level affect the distribution of river sediments 1 NY 25 7 Ore deposits and Plate Tectonics 2 NY 18 8 Debate about the Earth 3 TX 1

8 1 How the continents fit together 4 WA 11 2 t Continents and ocean basins: floaters and sinkers 3 OH 3 11.14 3 t A sea-floor mystery: mapping polarity reversals 2 MD 2 11.11 4 How much heat is coming out of the ocean floor? 1 CA 14 11.6 5 t Movement of the Pacific Ocean floor 1 MD 9 11.7 6 Continental shelf sediments and sea level changes 1 NY 22 7 Magnetic differences in the ocean floor 1 NY 5 8 t* Fossils as clues to ancient continents (Schlarb et al 1978) 2 OH 9 11.2

an Advisory Board consisting of 13 members drawn from the Professional Associations (4). the teachers (1), the parents (2). the Education Authorities (4) and other subject interests (2). John Snyder acted as project manager for the NSF.

Nearly three quarters of a million dollars have been invested in the project over three years, but large though this sum is, it is probably only a third of that spent on the earlier Earth Science Curriculum Project (1964-7) which is now in its third edition (Matthews et al 1978).

CEEP AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULUM THEORY

From its inception the CEEP project was seen not only as a vital addition to the offerings available in the science pro­gramme of schools, but was also aimed at advancing the theory of curriculum development, for it claimed to explore two new facets of the model of curriculum growth in the sciences: firstly, the involvement of a professional subject association in providing the whole of the project staff for the initiation, planning, and prosecution of the project and secondly, the articulation of a system of development which brings the latest scientific developments into the classroom whilst research into those developments is still ongoing and far from complete (Ridky and Stoever 1978, Korporaal and Stoever 1978, Schwartz and Stoever 1978, Mayer and Stoever 1978). Furthermore the involvement of a professional association enables the aftercare of the project to be maintained for an indefinite period after the initial NSF funds have been expended (in this case after December 31, 1979) - a problem not often solved by traditional curriculum developments. Initially the major efforts NAGT with respect to after care will focus on the classroom imple­mentation of CEEP materials and this should help to alleviate the problems of dissemination of materials from which many projects have suffered in both USA and UK.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CURRICULUM MATERIALS

The CEEP materials were developed by teams of science educators, classroom teachers, and scientists situated in six writing centres scattered widely across the country. These were located at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York; The University of Maryland; The Ohio State University: The University of Texas; Western Washington University, and the Office of the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. The author was able to see work at the first and

23

third of these centres, to talk at length with the Project Director and the six Regional Directors, to take part in the central and local meetings of the project and even to help write a module (New York Module 11: Plotting the Shape of the Ocean Floor).

A major emphasis of the CEEP developmental work at all six writing centres was an insistence on the equal participation of classroom teachers and research scientists (Yasso and Stoever 1978). Each writing team contained at least one active science teacher and researcher, and the first informal testing of each individual module took place in that teacher's home community. The English visitor was not surprised to find that distinguished expatriate scientists from the U K figured prominently in some teams, for example John Dewey and Tony Watts in the work of two of the New York groups centered at Albany and the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory on the Pallisades Sill, north of New York. Indeed part of the freshness and vigour of the materials, and their impact on the children seen trialling the material, came from the enthusiasm with which the researchers gave their time to meet with teachers, to ferret out the newest data (some of it only weeks old) and to criticise many versions of a script.

-THE NATURE OFTHE CURRICULUM MATERIALS

The final CEEP materials consist of independent modular instructional units designed to supplement any standard geology or earth science course, but it is hoped that many will be useful in courses in other fields of science, the humanities, mathematics, and the social sciences. Some details of the 32 modules published so far are given in Table 11. From this table it is clear that once again an integrated science project has made a great many uses of p:wsical and biological ideas but it has failed to make many connections with chemistry - a problem which is particularly acute with respect to projects in the U. K.

CEEP modules were designed to provide students and teachers with appealing, firsthand investigations associated with concepts which are at or close to the frontiers of scientific inquiry into Plate Tectonics. Although there is much that is abstract in the complex subject of the earth's evolution, the CEEP modules were carefully designed to present students aged 14 to 16 and of a very wide range of ability (CSE to 0 level in UK terms) with tasks requiring only concrete opera­tional reasoning, to varying degrees of difficulty. To this end,

TABLE 11 THE TITLES OF THE MODULES PUBLISHED BY WARD'S SEPTEMBER 1979

I Introduction to the Basic Elements of Plate Tectonic Theory 1. Locating Active Plate Boundaries by Earthquake Data 2. Earthquake and Plate Boundaries 3. Introduction to Lithospheric Plate Boundaries 4. Spreading Sea Floors and Fractured Ridges 5. What Happens when Continents Collide? 6. · Imaginary Continents: A Geological Puzzle 7. Lithospheric Plates and Ocean Basin Topography 8. How do Scientists Decide which is the Better Theory?

11 The Study of Earth's Crustal History 1. Tropics in Antartica? 2. Fossils as Clues to Ancient Continents 3. How Fast is the Ocean Floor Moving? 4. Microfossils, Sediments, and Sea-Floor Spreading 5. How do Continents Split Apart? 6. How does Heat Flow Vary in the Ocean Floor? 7. Movement of the Pacific Ocean Floor 8. Deep Sea Trenches and Radioactive Waste 9. Plate Boundaries and Earthquake Prediction 10. Quake Estate (board game) 11. A Sea-floor Mystery Mapping Polarity Reversals 12. Drifting Continents and Wandering Poles 13. Wh ich way is North? 14. Continents and Ocean Basins Floaters and Sinkers 15. Measuring Continental Drift: The Laser Ranging

Experiment 16. Plotting the Shape of the Ocean Floor

III Plate Tectonics and Earth History 1. Crustal Movement: A Major Force in Evolution 2. Drifting Continents and Magnetic Fields 3. Hot Spots in the Earth's Crust 4. Iceland: The Case of the Splitting Personality 5. The Rise and Fall of the Bering Land Bridge 6. Volcanoes: Where and Why? 7. When a Piece of a Continent Breaks Off 8. Why does Sea Level Change?

even though students learn much about the principles and concepts underlying the new global tectonics, their principal tasks involve separate simplified operations of observing, manipulating, counting, measuring, estimating, recording, sketching, plotting, sequencing, comparing, calculating, inferr­ing, predicting, interpreting and concluding. The emphasis in all CEEP modules is, wherever possible, in working with real data, some of it never published before even in research journals (indeed one detailed diagram involving the bathy­metry of the mid-ocean ridge in the Atlantic Ocean was based on data and cost S 1000 to produce). Students will often have the opportunity to come up with their own conclusions, and it is hoped that they will encounter to some degree the types of uncertainties which beset the original researchers. However, as the author witnessed during trials of material in several schools, much will depend on the skill with which teachers follow up and handle the discussions which succeed the investi­gations. Shades of problems in U.K.!

CEEP modules rely more heavily on students' ability to read than on their ability to manipulate laboratory equipment, and this may help to counter some current grouses concern­ing the degree to which modern science courses encourage literacy. Special care has been taken to assess the readability of the materials (Bartholomew and Stoever 1978). and to pitch the reading level modestly.

CEEP materials were designed to be used by teachers with

24

little or no previous background in the modern theories of sea-floor spreading, continental drift and Plate Tectonics. The teachers' notes accompanying each module are intended to provide sufficient in-service training to cope with the use of the material, but from the evidence of the struggles of some experienced teachers during the trials seen by the author, a teacher in-service training problem still remains, although it is likely that it will be smaller than that which followed in the wake of the Earth Science Curriculum Project and necessitated the Earth Science Teacher Preparation Project (ESTP) in the early 1970s. Indeed the modules reflect no particular instructional philosophy, and employ a wide range of teaching approaches and methodologies. Materials are in a self-paced, individualised format in places, use a laboratory group format in others, and involve games and role-playing in a few cases.

The modules require very little in the way of science equip­ment additional to that which is normal in ESCP-equipped schools. Many use illustrations, drawings and data sheets which are easily copied in bulk. Modules are divided into forty-five minute units, each designed to relate to a period on a timetable. The trials modules varied in length from one to five periods, and a great many were open-ended. The modules are specifically intended to be independent supplementary units to be used in a sequence, and as part of a curriculum, of the teacher's own choosing.

THE EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT

Particular attention has been paid to the evaluation of the project ever since its inception. Two formal steps of formative evaluation were employed (Mayer and Stoever 1978, 1979). both of which were coordinated through the Project's Evaluation Centre located at the Ohio State University. In order to test each module the writing centre director first identified a teacher not previously involved in the module's development. The draft module was then used by about 100 of that teacher's students. The teacher was provided with a packet of self-instructional evaluation materials prepared by the Evaluation Centre. Student performance on the instruc­tional objectives of the module was obtained through a pre­test and post-test consisting of up to ten multiple choice items. A questionnaire administered with the post-test obtained data on student attitudes toward the module. The characteristics of the student population were also defined from other data gathered during the testing process: an estimate of cognitive level, standardised scores in science and mathematics, socio-economic background, age, grade level, sex, 1.0., reading level and the most recent grades in science and mathematics (most of which information is unattainable in schools in UK). Each teacher completed a 46 item questionnaire on their background, teaching procedures and attitudes, all of which related to their ability to use CEEP materials. They in turn were able to give their reaction to the materials by filling in a standard form concern­ing each module.

As a result of this first stage of formal testing the CEEP modules were refined, modified, and, in some cases, discarded or entirely rewritten. In this way 60 modules were revised. Those modules which showed promise in the first formal testing were then subjected to a more comprehensive arid structured testing programme. For this, 15 field evaluation centres were established across the country, chosen to be representative of geographic and socio-economic characteristics of current earth science teaching. There were 205 teachers of grades 7 to 12, and more than 12,000 students involved in this testing, none with any previous exposure to the project. The results of this evaluation are not yet available. Throughout the evaluation process efforts were made to

•

ensure the scientific validity of the content of the modules. After revisions, each module was returned to the scientist mFlmber of the development team for examination, criticism and verification of content. In addition, the Project's advisory board and steering committee passed judgment on all modules prior to their release for publication. In this way the original 64 modules (c. 110 lessons) were reduced to the 32 which have been offered for publication (Table I and Table 11).

PUBLICATION

The Advisory Committee of the National Association of Geology Teachers sought tenders and assurances with respect to the publ ication of the materials as early as April 1977 and the author witnessed the politics associated with the NAGT - publishers jamboree at the National Science Teachers Association meeting in Washington. Early in 1979 NAGT announced its selection of Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Inc., to be exclusive publisher and distributor for the materials, this in itself representing a partnership not previously tested. Ward's released the new CEEP earth science materials in September 1979.

As part of the CEEP programme, Ward's published a booklet in the autumn of 1979 which documented and summarised the formal testing of each CEEP module and the results of those tests. The booklet is supplied to all schools which purchase CEEP modules and is available for sale independently. Readers in the UK may seek details of the materials by writing to Ward's Natural Science Establishment Inc., PO Box 1712, Rochester, New York, 14603 USA.

REFERENCES

Armstrong, R.E. et al1978 !Sea Floor Spreading and Transform Faults (A CEEP module). JI Geol. Educn. 26 (1), 19-21 .

Bartholomew, R.B. & Stoever, E.C. 1978 Making CEEP Modules Readable For 8th-10th Grade Students (14-16 yr olds, Ed.). JI. Geol. Educn. 26 (6), 193-4.

Bartholomew, R.B., Lene, G., Smith, D. & White, R. 1978. Imaginary Continents: A Geologic Puzzle, (A CEEP module).J. Geol. Educn. 26 (5), 195-7.

Lowmen, P. et al 1978 Earthquakes and Plate Boundaries (A CEEP module). JI. Geol. Educn. 26 (2), 69-72.

Hallam, A. 1973. A Revolution in the Earth Sciences. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 127 pp.

Korporaal, A.R. et a11978. How Fast Is the Ocean Floor Moving (A CEEP module). J. Geol. Educn. 26 (3), 104-107 .

Korporaal, A.R. & Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1978. Some Basic Postulates of the Crustal Evolut-ion-Education Project Model of Curriculum Development. JI. Geol. Educn. 26 (3), 101-3.

Matthews, W.H. III et al. 1978. Investigating the Earth. (3rd Edition) .

Mayer, V.J. & Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1978. NAGT Crusta I Evolution Education Project: A Unique Model for Science Curriculum Materials Development and Evaluation, Science Education, 62 (2), 173-99.

Mayer, V.J. & Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1979. The role and scope of evaluation in the development of CEEP modules. JI. Geol. Educn. 27 (4), 157-159.

Open University 1976. Methods and consensus in the Earth Science Course. S 333 MC. Milton Keynes, Open University Press 35 pp.

Ridky, R.W. & Stoever, E.C. 1978. A Modern Curriculum in Historical Perspective. JI. Geol. Educn. 26 (2), 67-68.

Schlarb, K.M. et al 1978. Fossils As Clues to Ancient

25

Continents (A CEEP Module). JI. Geol. Educn. 26 (4), 155-159.

Schwartz, M.L. & Stoever, E.C. 1978. Expediting the Development of CEEP Instructional Modules. JI. Geol.

. Educn. 26 (4), 153·155.

Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1974. The incorporation of results of current crustal evolution studies into K·12 curricula, Norman, Oklahoma National Association of Geology Teachers. 48pp

Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1975. Recommefldations and Guidelines: Incorporation of Results of Current Crustal Evolution Studies into K·12 Curricula. JI. Geol. Educn. 23 (2)' 38·46.

Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1976a. Proceedings of.the first meeting of the NAGT Crustal Evolution Education Project Advisory Board and Steering Committee. JI. Geol. Educn. 24 (5), 187 only.

Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1976b. NAGT's Crusta I Evolution Education Project. JI. Geol. Educn. 24 (5), p 186 only.

Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1977. Progress Report NAGT Crustal Evolution Project. JI. Geol. Educn. 25 (4), p. 100 only (inside front cover).

Stoever, E.C. & Yasso, W.E. 1977. Plate Tectonics and Secondary School Earth Science. Sea World Magazine (winter edition) p. 37 only.

Vasso, W . . & Stoever, E.C. Jr. 1978. History of a CEEP (Crustal Evolution Education Project) Module. JI. Geol. Educn. 26 (1), 18 only.

Yorath, C.J., Parker, E.R., Glas., D.J. 1975. Canada's Continental margins and offshore petroleum exploration. Memoir 4. Calgary, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists 898 pp.

Wright, J.B. (ed) 1977. Mineral deposits and plate tectonics. Chichester, Wiley 416 pp.

Wyllie, P.J. 1976. The Way the Earth Works. N. York, Wiley 296 pp.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the Project Director, Dr. E. Stoever, for his kindness in allowing him to study the project whilst it was ongoing, and to express his gratitude to On and Mrs Warren Vasso and Vic Meyer for their patience and their hospital ity .

D.B. Thompson, Department of Education, University, Keele, Staffs. ST5 5BG. (N.B. Most of the trials modules will be displayed and discussed at a meeting of the geology section of the Keele Science and Technology Teachers Centre in the Chancellor's Building, room 160, University of Keele, on Wednesday 21st May 1980 at 18.00hrs).

The Editor often receives letter and comments concerning the usefulness of this section of the journal to the teacher in the classroom, and he is often told that many teachers would wish the section to be larger. He concurs with this view, but points out that he cannot enlarge the section un­less there is a steady flow of first class ideas and carefully presented materials emanating largely from the teachers themselves.

A GEOLOGICAL LABORATORY FOR 'NOWT' - A TALE OF LOW CUNNING FROM WilT YORKSHIRE

SO lATH

From time to time we hear of fortunate colleagues in neighbouring education authorities whose head teachers have summoned them to the Presence to inform them of a £10,000 grant for a geology room and to request a design and a shopping list. To help such lucky people, one some­times sees published items for the shopping list, which, if seen by the Heads of most schools, would be the quickest way of ensuring that geology was never introduced into the curriculum. It is the purpose of this article to relate a few of the ways in which a geology laboratory may be obtained and equipped, in the hope that it may encourage colleagues in 'ordinary' schools to look again at what might be done.

At my present school in Sheffield, I was fortunate enough to take over a thriving geology course which had been built up over the previous 5 years by a founder member of the A.T.G. A former Colonial Survey geologist, he had been appointed to teach geography, but "had soon wormed some geology into the curriculum at A Level.

Money was, however, scarce and the facilities poor. An ordinary classroom sufficed as a geology room, with no water, gas, or demonstration amenities and storage consisted of an old wooden filing cabinet abandoned by the school office, a small wooden cupboard, and countless cardboard boxes stowed above the blackboard or on the floor. Attempts to obtain drawer units had failed because such items were not "listed" by the L.E.A. In spite of the problems, however, many pupils had become, in the best possible way, addicted to geology and I was given a good start by the enthusiasm of the group which I inherited.

My first break with respect to setting up and equipping a new room came when I discovered that some drawer units in a City Centre jeweller's shop were about to be left behind when the shop was demolished for redevelopment. Each unit was 1.9m by 0.6m by 0.9m high and contained some 40 drawers . They were built into a huge wall fixture and were considered immoveable. Two days before demolition day I legally acquired the key and the verbal assent of the City Fathers. By this time the usual chalk notice proclaimed "El Off" to passers-by and the street had the usual desolate air of a demolition site.

Armed with a geological hammer, a screwdriver and a torch, I let myself in through the door in the centre of the steel

26

roller blind and set to work first bashing the legs off the units, so that they could be dropped free. I have never been so aware of the policeman's peep-hole in a jeweller'S window shutter so much as on that occasionl We then made a quick getaway in the school van, which was sagging under the weight of the loot, which included one forgotten watch strap, but, sadly, no stray minerals of hardness 101

I have never been very accurate at measuring, so it was no surprise to find that there would not be enough space in the old geology room for both the newly acquired units and the 33 desks. In any case that geology room was upstairs. By fore­sight and cunning, therefore, the units were stored, temporar­ily of course in a downstairs classroom, which, in its youth, had been a small laboratory. Indeed the demonstration bench still stood there, with its ego-boosting dais standing proudly behind it. The bench sprouted the long-dry stump of a tap and a lovely but ancient-looking gas point, whose supply pipe had rusted away many years before.

A few weeks later we moved in to this newly requisitioned geology laboratory I After six months or so enough money was found to refit the tap and a fresh gas pipe was brought through the ceiling from the laboratory above. A broken roller-screen from a dusty corner of the geography storeroom was mended and fitted above the blackboard, hinged so that it could be let down when required. This is by far the most tactful way of preventing my colleagues from "borrowing" one's screen. The hinges were heavy brass ones, begged from workmen when they were repairing some school windows and kept on one side "in case they should come in handy". Reorganization within the Geography Department had re~ulted in half a map chest becoming available. The whole chest was moved in to the new Geology Laboratory and the vacant drawers filled with geological maps. The topographic ones will soon be out of date anyway ...

The next matter WaS to solve the problem of the desks. Iron­framed oak desks, built at the same time as the school in the 1930's, are splendid for ensuring that, once seated, the class stays put, but they make it awkward to handle geological maps, apparatus and specimens. The school was slowly re­equipping with small wobbly melamine-topped tables, which were equally unsuitable for our purpose and highly unlikely to last 40 yearsl I was almost resigned to using these when I happened to go to school one day in the holidays and dis­covered that the foyer was full of wooden double-width tables. To judge from the graffiti deeply scored into their surfaces, they were second-hand and had in fact been offered to us by a Place of Higher Education which had become tired of them. A word with the Deputy Head, and 15 of them were directed immediately to the new geology laboratory.

Smaller items of hardware to stock a laboratory may also cost a great deal, but a good many can be obtained cheaply by anyone with an ear to the ground. Some of our acquisitions include: • two balances and sets of weights thrown out by the

Chemistry Department when it was converting to top-pan equipment;

• an old grocer's scales of the type used for weighing ham donated by another shop undergoing demolition. This is now doing good work with respect to weighing bulk materials such as sieved sediment fractions;

•

• plate glass from demolished shop fronts, trimmed for a nominal fee by a glass shop and used as grinding plates for preparing corals and rock specimens which bear potentially good structures;

0 .;: Cl .. )( Cl

0 .. I 0

"tI c ~

• two further wooden filing cabinets from the school office, which now contain the label "Galena" in the space formerly marked "D.E.S. Returns".

We also acquired an old aquarium on 'permanent loan' from the Biology Department. This was used for turbidity current experiments until a better windfall turned up. A government research .centre in town was having a spring-clean and had the good sense to ask the school if it could use any of its redundant equipment. This proved to be a gold-mine for equipping all science departments and the geology laboratory gained three ready-made Perspex flumes, each 1.5m long; enough to share with other schools.

As well as providing furnishings, parts of the main structure of demolished buildings may be added to the collections of a geology laboratory. Some polished larvikite and a slab of Shap granite were rescued literally from beneath the bulldozer. I gestured my request to the driver and understood his return gesture to mean that I could take a piece of his rubble and go off home!

With so many "free" resources, it is hardly surprising that when the annual inventory of capital equipment is taken, the geology laboratory enters but four items: a veteran microscope with Nicol prisms; a set of sieves; a vintage Aldis projector and an overhead projector (and that was bought for £20 from the head of the History Department who didn't know how to work it!) ...

Peter Kennett, High Stom Comprehensive School, Sheffield

.1:: c ::I .. J f "tI

3

Pupils' locke~

·0 demonstration bench sink ___ V---=..ga5 ____ ..J

.. ·c ::I .. tables Cl ~ f "tI

map chest

tracing table on map · r-______ -r ________ ~------~chest

I Pupils' L-______ -L ________ -L ______ ~. locke~

tall gless­fronted

showcase L---'-__________ ~displav board on wall ______________ -.L.l

2m.

6 feet

Geology Room at High Storrs School, Sheffield

.. 0

~ 0 u 0 .. I 0 "tI c ;:

A COMPREHENSION EXERCISE IN APPLI ED·ECONOMIC GEOLOGY FOR ADVANCED LEVEL GEOLOGY STUDENTS

Instructions Read the passage printed below several times and then follow the suggestions given in the questions which succeed this account.

NICKEL DEMAND AND SUPPL Y OUTLOOK.

Based on a comparison of present plans for the expansion of pri mary nickelJ,lroduction caQacity, with the expected demand growth rate of about 4 percent annuall:t until 1990,full caQacitY. utilisation is expected in the first half of the 19805, and supply shortages cannot be excluded, accord­ing to a report prepared by the UN Centre for Natural Resources, Energy and Transport for the sixth session of the Committee on Natural Resources. Even though growth rates of future demand are expected to be well below historical

10 levels, it is likely that rnlmlY.. will increase even less rapidly, at least through 1979, because of the low level of investment activity in recent years. The report forecasts 1990 world nickel consumllli2D at 1.3 million tons, compared to 711,000 tons in 1974, the peak so far, and about 690,000 tons in 1978 (preliminary estimate). The impact of ocean resource exploitation is uncertain, both in its timing and magnitUde, but is likely to be nil in 1985 and could reach 10 to 18 percent of world output by 1990. There are about 64 million tons (metal content) of economically recoverable

20 nickel resources in land-based deposits. Almost 70 percent of these resources are contained in lateritic ores, although less than half of current production comes from these ores. Developing countries account for over 60 percent of known economic resources, as against 30 percent of current output. It is therefore evident that their resources are more than sufficient to support the production increase foreseen.

30

40

~y. production of nickel is expected to increase, especially in developing countries, so that their share would reach more than 40 percent of world production in 1990. At the same time, the share of ~ped market economies is expected to decline to about 38 per cent, from 50 per cent today, while the share of the centrally planned economies will be reduced only slightly or remain virtually unchanged. Major new projects based on lateritic ores require an investment of about 88 to 89 per pound of annual capacity, or from 8200 million to 8500 million for a small to medium-size project, and up tol 81 billion for a large project. Because of \Qng~ times, decisions for the development of projects intended to become operational in the 1980s will have to be taken soon. Some of the barriers restricting entry into the nickel indus­try have become less important in recent years, although considerable obstacles remain. One such obstacle is the cost advantage of existing.producers,primarily the Canadian operations of INCa and Falconbridge. Another concerns energy costs, which play an important role in the overall cost structure of production from lateritic ores. The international nickel industry has witnessed changes in its structure, from an historically very concentrated sup-ply to diverSification of Qroduction and the entry of new producer countries and companies. This diversification has taken place primarily through the development of new production capacity in the developing countries and through the introduction of new products, such as ferronickel. (Natural Resources and Energy Newsletter, Vol. 3, No 5 - April 1979).

27

Ouestions

1. Attempt to define the economic terms underlined in the passage as closely as possible by use of reference books and if necessary by discussion in a small group.

2. Imagine that you are a geologist who has worked in mining industry. Be prepared to explain the meaning of any four of the terms underlined to the colleagues in your group in your own words, paying particular attention to the order and precision of your explanation and the clarity of your speech and presentation. Make your explanations in the geological context of both this article and your general knowledge of other ferrous and non-ferrous minerals. You will have roughly five minutes to explain your words. [NB Any group would cover the discussion of all 14 terms underlinedJ.

3. Discuss in writing the geological meaning of the terms "ocean resource exploitation" (line 15) with reference to the provision of economic nickel supplies, distinguish­ing carefully between the terms exploration and exploitation, ore and deposit.

4.

5.

Discuss with your teacher and then in writing the nature of "land-based lateritic ores" and the chemistry associated with the origins of nickel compared to the origin of the main elements in these ores (lines 20-21). (A periodic table is available for your use and you should make reference to text books such as Park and McDiarmed, Bateman etc).

Explain in writing what ways "energy costs" are likely to play an important role in the overall cost structure of production of nickel from lateritic ores (line 45).

6. Write down in five minutes a list of as many factors as possible which might contribute to lower rates of future demand for primary nickel (lines 8-9). Discuss your answers with your group, and compile a comprehensive list of factors which are relevant to this matter.

7. For homework, review previovs efforts to mine the minerals of the sea bed, and design for yourself apparatus and procedures which you consider to offer the best means of exploiting ocean bed nickel deposits. (Refer to extracts from textbooks such as Mero).

THE SKILLS, ABILITIES AND ATTITUDES DEVELOPED AND ENCOURAGED BY THE EXERCISE

In carrying out this exercise the students are expected to develop the following skills and abilities:

(a) Comprehension of basic terms (Questions 1, 3, 5, 6) (b) Researching of reference books (Questions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7) (c) Routine application of previous knowledge and

understanding (all questions) (d\. Clear speech (e) Clear presentation of ideas in spoken and written

format (Questions 1, 2, 3,4) (f) Analysis synthesis and evaluation of the likely

factors affecting the demand for minerals (Question 6) (g) Evaluating known designs of apparatus to mine the

seabed (Question 7) (h) Designing in outline new apparatus and procedures to

mine the sea bed (Que~tion 7)

The students are expected to develop the following interests and attitudes:

1. Interest in understanding basic economic terms and relationships at the level of the man in the street or the economically literate voter (Questions 1,2,3)

28

2. Willingness to speak in public (Question 2) 3. Interest in debating succinctly in speech or writing

(Questions 2, 3, 4, 5) 4. Interest in learning from and cooperating with

colleagues (Questions 1, 2) 5. Interest in the applications of geological science to

industry and problems of materials supply (Questions 2, 3, 5, 6, 7).

6. Interest in designing apparatus to solve practical problems (Question 7)

REFERENCES

Bateman, A.M. 1978. Economic Mineral Deposits (Revised Edition) Chichester and New York, Wiley & Co.

Mero, J.L. 1985. The Mineral Resources of the Sea. Amsterdam Elsevier.

Park, C.F.Jr. and MacDiarmid R.A. 1975. Ore Deposits (3rd Edition). Reading and San Francisco, Freeman and Co.

D.B. Thompson, Department of Education, University of Keele,Staff •• ST5 5BG

CONVERTING SIMPLE SCHOOL MICROSCOPES FOR EXAMINING THIN ROCK SECTIONS USING POLARIZED LIGHT

Clearly a facility which enables the microscopic examination of thin sections of rock opens up an area of geological practical work which is not only educationally valuable, but stimulating and exciting. As a practical exercise it should be well within the capacity of a CSE or 0 level pupil to identify the presence of a few of the most important groups of minerals and then to estimate the percentage com­position of a specimen. Even without any polarizing facility, it is worthwile examining a thin section in order to supple­ment information gained from a hand specimen. Any micro­scope which utilizes transmitted light will show the boundaries of individual grains thus revealing the crystalline or fragmental nature of the sample.

However, in order to gain any further information pupils need to be able to observe the section between crossed polaroids and to have a rotating microscope stage to enable the effects caused by rotating the section perpendicular to the optical axis of the instrument to be observed.

If pupils have access to microscopes, no matter how unsophisticated they may be, there is the possibility that the latter can be adapted for such work. Obviously any conversions must be temporary and be capable of being fitted and removed in a few seconds (e.g. the turning of a biological tool into a geological tool during a lesson change­over).

Thus the solution to the problem can be broken down into two parts:-

a) Fitting the polaroid filters Two small pieces of the plastic polaroid sheet are needed, A and B (see fig. 1).

B is a fixed filter between the light source and the specimen. A is a movable filter placed somewhere in the barrel of the microscope. Filter A is called the analysing filter and the specimen is observed both with the analyser in position and

•

fig. 1 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE MICROSCOPE

I ~

't' I

I I

~

EYEPIECE

POLAROID FILTER 'A'

OBJECTIVE LENS

STAGE

POLAROID FILTER'B'

LIGHT SOURCE

without it; thus it must be capable of being instantly removed or restored.

Polaroid filter B is easily fixed. It can be glued permanently in position under the stage and need only be slightly larger than the hole which it must cover. This will not affect the performance of the microscope when used for general biological work apart from slightly dimming the light intensity. However, many simple microscopes, used widely for more junior work in schools, have an 'iris' attachment in the form of a revolving disc with different sizes in it. The polaroid can be fixed on the underside of the disc so as to cover one of the tlOles, preferably the largest.

The fitting of polaroid A (the analyser) can be a little more difficult. A convenient place is within the lens assembly of the eyepiece. Usually this can be achieved by unscrewing the top lens (the eyepiece) and fitting a piece of polaroid in the tube, so that it is pushed firmly against the lower lens of the assembly. It is better if this piece of polaroid is not cut as a perfect circle otherwise it is practically impossible to remove. It needs to be a tight fit to ensure that it cannot move independently of the eyepiece but the provision of one or two small 'flats' on the circular disc of polaroid will enable it to be extracted.

The eyepiece can be turned in the body of the microscope tube to enable the filters to be crossed (i.e. adjusted to give the maximum extinction) and a scratch made on both the eyepiece and the tube in order to enable rapid alignment.

Of course, in practice pupils need to change rapidly between 'analyser in' and 'analyser out' as they examine different parts of the thin section. The easiest solution to this problem is to provide either two x 8 or two x 10 eyepieces with each. Thus each microscope is used with two eyepieces, one with the analyser polaroid, the other without, but otherwise identical. It is clearly better if the eyepieces containing the analyser are kept apart during the more conventional use of the instru­ment.

b) The Rotating Stage The provision of a rotating stage facility may require a little more practical skill and ingenuity, for what is required depends

29

on the design of the fixed stage of the microscope.

When a crystal is under observation in the centre of the field of view and is rotated it needs to remain in the centre of the field of view. Hence whatever is provided to both rotate and hold the thin section in place needs to have its centre of rotation on the optical axis of the microscope.

If the microscope has a circular stage and the geometrical centre of the outer circumference of the stage lies on the optical axis (experience has shown this to be rare), then the conver­sion is relatively simple. A ring of 6mm plywood (or sheet plastic) is cut which is a close but loose fit around the edge of the stage. A disc of similar plywood is cut with the same diameter as the outer diameter of the ring; the two are then glued together. A hole is then cut in the centre of the disc of similar dimension to the hole in the centre of the stage (see fig. 2).

Fig. 2

o

HOLE TO COINCIDE WITH HOLE IN STAGE

~

~~ \-E- DIAMETER SLIGHTLY LARGER ~

THAN THAT OF STAGE

SECTION THROUGH CENTRE OF CIRCULAR ADAPTER

It may be easier to have the overall shape octagonal, for this is easier to cut and to manipulate in use. This shape is convenient since it allows pupils to easily estimate angles of rotation . There are usually two spring clips mounted on the stage which hold the specimen slides in place. These are often a push·fit into the holes on the stage and thus are readily removed and plugged into corresponding holes drilled in the wooden rotating stage.

In this simple case the adapter fits over the stage and the whole device rotates. If, however, the stage is square (or any other shape) a somewhat different design is required. The same principle can be adopted, with a plywood cover to the stage edged with a lip of square beading to prevent any lateral movement. When this is made and in place, a point is marked on it which lies on the optical axis (the centre of the field of view); this can be done using light reflected off the plywood surface. Using this point as a centre, a central hole and the rotating stage are cut. The rotating stage should have a diameter about 10 mm greater than the length of thin section mounts. Its circumference should be cut out very carefully since the stage must rotate smoothly with a minimum of play. This can be simply done with a blade type cutter working from both sides of the wood. This will produce a bevelled edge to the rotating stage which will minimize friction, (see fig. 3). Again the storing clips can be mounted on the rotating part of the platform. Any such adaptation takes only seconds to fit or remove and should not cause biological colleagues too much alarm I

fig. 3

o

ROTATES

q. ABOUT <f FIXED

!! 1-~ ~~~ f- TO BE FIRM FIT OVER STAGE -1

SECTION THROUGH CENTRE OF 'UNIVERSAL' ADAPTER

30

The polaroid filters can be bought through the usual school science equipment suppliers at the cost of £2.20 for a pair of sheets each measuring 5cm2. This will easily supply enough to adapt eight microscopes. As only small areas of plywood (or plastic sheet) are used, this can usually be bought as off­cuts at low cost. Thus the cost per microscope for the conver­sion would be about 50 pence.

John A. Fisher, School of Education, Univenity of Bath, CI8verton Down, Bath, BA2 7 AY

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

SOMERSET FIELDWORK ADVICE

Derek Briggs, Warden of the Great Wood Camp Outdoor Education Centre, has offered to advise ATG members considering fieldwork excursions in Central and North Somerset, including the coast from Bridgwater Bay to Lynmouth. The area contains exposures of Triassic and Jurassic rocks along the coast, as well as Devonian and Carboniferous rocks inland. Contact Derek at 36 Old Road, North Petherton, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 6TG.

BARTON FI ELD CENTRE

The centre is managed by the Bristol Childrens Help Society and it has been used by schools for many years. Now com­pletely modernized it is again available as a residential centre for any group undertaking fieldwork in the area. Barton is on the slopes of the Mendip Hills and close to the coast of the Severn Estuary where there are exposures of Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic and Jurassic rocks. For further details contact Mr. M.J. Hardwick, 20 Southfield Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol.

FOREST OF DEAN INFORMATION

A range of resources concerrling the geology of the Forest of Dean is available at the Wilderness Field Study Centre, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, G L 17 OHA. An atlas displaying numerous sites of interest has been produced and there is a comprehensive library of over 120 research papers as well as other books and maps. A series of thin-sections and hand specimens are being prepared to illustrate the local geology. Further advice and information is available from the staff of the centre.

This library and the resources are available to all residents and visitors in the district. For the present it is however necessary to restrict enquiries to normal working hours of 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on weekdays only. It is anticipated that the Wilderness can develop and encourage day visits from school parties so that the local geology and environment can be explained to them. Contact Brian Cave, the Director of Studies, for further details.

DERBYSHIRE SITES INFORMATION

Records of some 450 geological sites in Derbyshire have now been collected together at Derby Museum. These include details of boreholes and temporary sections but there are many others that are suitable for teaching purposes. Carboni­ferous Limestone, Millstone Grit and Coal Measures provide most exposures .but there are also Permian, Triassic and Quaternary deposits in the county. For further details contact John Crossling, Assistant Keeper of Natural History, Derby Museu m, Strand, Derby, DE 1 1 BS.

SOUTH YORKSHI RE FI ELDWORK

Advice and information about fieldwork sites in the east of the county is available from Ms. P.A. Pennington-George,

31

Assistant Keeper (Geology), Doncaster Museum, Chequer Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 2AE. Most of the sites are in the Lower and Upper Magnesian Limestone but there are other exposures of Coal Measures, Permian, Triassic and Quaternary deposits. The museum can help by suggesting the best sites to visit and the people to contact for access. Literature and maps are available for reference, and intro­ductory talks on the local geology can be arranged. A free information sheet "Doncaster before Man" summarizes the local geological history and is available on request.

WEST YORKSHIRE SITES

The northern part of the county is a largely rural, hilly area with exposures of l'J!illstone Grit and Coal Measures. Quarries and natural exposures give an opportunity to examine the rocks together with their plant and marine fossils. There is also evidence of man's exploitation of stone, coal, iron, clay and lime. The last ice advance terminated in the area leaving abundant erosional and depositional features for study. For advice on fieldwork and the local geology contact Alison Armstrong, Assistant Keeper of Natural Sciences (Geology), Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighly, West Yorkshire, BD20 6LH.

RHUM FI ELD GUI DE

The latest publication by the Geology and Physiography Section of the Nature Conservancy Council is "Tertiary Igneous Rocks of Rhum" by Dr. C.H. Emeleus and Mr. R.M. Forster. This detailed field guide is available for £1 (inc. p. and p.) from the Section at Foxhold House, Thornford Road, Crookham Common, Newbury, Berkshire RG15 8EL. Guides for Wren's Nest, Fyfield Down, Glen Roy and Mortimer.Forest are also available, and details of these are given in "Earth .Science Conservation", the news­letter of the Section.

TICKOW LANE LEAD MINE

The Tickow Lane Lead Mine, near Shepshed in Leicestershire (King, R.J. and Ludham, B.A. 1969. Peak District Mines His. Soc., 4, 403-428), following development work by the Russell Society, has now been made available for study by bona fide research workers. This old mine, worked in 1865, shows abundant remnants of a unique Pb-Mo mineralization emplaced in sandstones of Lower Keuper age, and presents problems of significance to students of ore genesis. Visits to this mine may be arranged by consultation with Dr. R.J. King of the Geology Department, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, or by contacting the warden, Mr. J.A. Jones, 31, Bridge Fields, Kegworth, near Derby.

READ GEOLOGY AT DERBY

C.N.A.A. B.Se. DEGREE IN EARTH AND LIFE STUDIES

vvith specialisms in:

GEOLOGY (unclassified)

or

GEOLOGY and GEOGRAPHY (honours)

or

GEOLOGY and BIOLOGY (honours)

• Field studies an integral part of the course • Specialised suite of teaching laboratories • Computing facilities • Personal and group tuition • Common first year permits delayed choice of dual or single subject

special ism

Write for illustrated brochure and application forms to: The Admissions Office, School of Science Derby Lonsdale College of Higher Education Kedleston Road, DERBY DE3 1GB

32

.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I lE L It FIlii liE i .~ Plalll TIIIIIIIIII18 The slide set comprises : ~ ~ IiI lm SET GS _ A GSA1 - Red Sea and Gulf of Aden IiI Ir.I GSA2 - Afar Triangle r::I ~ A slide set which has just been published by Space Frontiers GSA3 - East African. Rift ~ 1:1 Ltd in conjunction with the Association of Teachers of GSA4 - Iceland 1:11 lm Geology. GSA5 - Tuamotu Archipelago IiI lm GSA6 - Tongue of the Ocean IiI Ir.I An explanatory booklet describes the features seen on each slide, and GSA7 - San Andreas Fault r::I 1:1 in addition members of ATG receive a set of supplementary notes GSA8 - The Salton Trough 1:1. lm which include annotated diagrams that can be reproduced for teaching GSA9 - The Andes IiI lm purposes. GSA10 - Kurillsland Arc IiI lm Special price to A TG members of £3.00. GSA 11 - Fold Mountains in Namibia IiI lm Please send crolled cheques made payable to the Association of GSA 12 - Fold Mountains in Australia IiI Ir.I Teachers of Geology to Steve Flitton, Head of Geology Department, IiI ~ The Sixth Form College, Bolsover Road, Worthing, West Sussex. r::I 1:1 (Please enclose SAE of at least 10" x 7") 1:1.

lm IiI E~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Editor of GEOLOGY teaching. the Journal of the Association of Teachers of Geology

Stories of the kind told by geologists about geologists and geological science after lectures and in light-hearted professional conversations at society meetings and dinner parties are often very humorous, and reveal much of the way in which the science is really conducted. Furthermore they often suggest a great deal about the attitudes of both the people and the times. On both counts they add to the lore and attraction of-the subject for young people at school, college or university, and as such have a useful educational function. In future I hope to include a selection of the best of such stories as space fillers in Geology teaching and I invite you to submit such to the editor in the coming months.

Herewith an example from the past, but those from the present are equally appropriate, for the history of the geological sciences is created from the even,ts of today.

Sir Archibald Geikie (Director of the Geological Survey of Scotland) was a friend of the famous Duke of Argyll. Staying once at I nverary, he wished to visit a distant section, and the Duke supplied him with a guide. The man began asking questions, at which Geikie warmed-up, and enlarged on the marvels of geology. At dinner that evening, he remarked on the guider's Intelligence. "He is a man of intelligence" replied the Duke "and what do you think he said to me? 'A verra nice gentleman is Dr. Geekie, a verra pleasant-spoken gentleman; but am a 'fu leear'."

From Edward Greenly 1938"A hand through time". Vol. 11, p.480. London, Murby.

33

'HOT ROCKS' HOLE GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD

A £1.8 million project to drill Britain's first deep borehole to explore the possibilities of a 'hot rocks' energy source has been authorised by the Department of Energy. The drilling will take place in Hampshire on land belonging to the Central Electricity Generating Board at Marchwood power station, near Southampton. The aim is to penetrate deposits of water­bearing rock known to lie at depths of around 3,000 m to gather data on the energy potential of the 'hot rocks'. A contract for the drilling work is currently being negotiated and is expected to begin in October or November and be completed by next February. (Trade and Industry -10 August 1979) .

,

••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ROCKS, MINERALS & FOSSILS.

Collections & Individual Specim ens.

* Thin Sections of Rocks & Minerals. Petrological Microscopes.

* Geological Hammers, Hand Lens & Streak Plates.

* Fi ne & Rare Speci mens for Museums & Collectors.

* Send for our catalogues or call at our showrooms & works.

GREGORY, BOTTLEY & CO. 30, Old Church Street,

Chelsea, London, SW3 5BY. Telephone 01 3525841.

•••••••••••••••••••••••• + •• BARGAIN OFFER

Back numbers of GEOLOG Y, the Journal of the Association of Teachers of Geology between 1969 and 1975, are available from D.B. Thompson, Department of Education, University of Keele, Staffs. ST5 5BG at the following prices:

1971 vol. 3128 pp £2.00 (members) £3.00 (non-members)

1972 vol. 4 88pp £2.00 £3.00

1973 vol. 5128 pp £2.00

1974 vol. 6108 pp £2.00

Bargain offers now available are:

£3.00

£3.00

vols. 3,4,5,6. £6.00 (members only) vols,4,5,6. £5.00 (members only)

Back numbers of GEOLOG Y teaching are also available at:

75p (members) £1.25 (non-members)

In all cases postage and packing is extra.

ANY CHANGES?

We receive a number of complaints from members who have not received recent issues of'GEOLOG Y teaching. Some of them have forgotten to pay their subscription. Others include such comments as "I have not received a copy since I moved to my new school" or "No copies have arrived since we married and I moved to be near my husband's school".

Please help us to make sure you receive GEOLOG Y teaching by paying your subscription promptly or better still by arranging to pay by Bankers Order (forms are available from the Treasurer). Also please help us to keep our records up to date by sending details of changes of address, marital status, etc. to the Secretary.

34

SCOTTISH FIELD STUDIES ASSOCIATION

GEOLOGY IN SCOTLAND

Courses 1980

Kindrogan Field Centre

GEOLOGY AND SCENERY * AUGUST 6-13 A course for teachers and others interested in the relationship between the underlying geology and the fine landscapes of Strathmore and the Grampian Highlands, in the light of Scotland's geological history.

ROCKS AND MINERALS * AUGUST 20-27 An exploration of the area in search of the great range of rocks and minerals to be found. This course for teachers and others will cover igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks occurring in the area.

GEOLOGY AT '0' LEVEL * OCTOBER 10-12 A weekend course for those studying Geology at '0' Level, based on the new Scottish '0' Grade syllabus.

Further details from: THE WARDEN, KINDROGAN FIELD CENTRE, ENOCHDHU,BLAIRGOWRIE, PERTHSHIRE. Telephone: Strathardle 286 PHIO 7PG

FOSSIL INFORMATION PAMPHLETS Fossil information pamphlets, suitable for reproduction, with diagrams and tailored to suit 0 and A level geology. Graptolites, Cephalopods, Corals, Bivalves, Brachiopods, Echinoids. £2.50 complete set including postage from:

Mr. G.S. Pringle, B.Sc., 5, Piccadilly Oose, Scotforth, Lancaster, Lancs. LAl 4PY.

ADVERTISEMENTS

ATG members may place one 50 word advertisement per year in GEOLOGY teaching free of charge, providing the material is not promoting any kind of commercial enterprise. Members may use this facility for specimen exchanges, resources or information relevant to teaching geology. The rates for commercial advertising are available on request.

Dear Editor,

Reflections on "Some reflections on visiting the Story of The Earth Exhibition'"

With respect, Hugh Prudden was the wrong person to comment on the Story of the Earth Exhibition at the Geological Museum. He dislikes London, suffers from "inuseum paralysis" and allows himself to be distracted by other visitors; not a good starting point. He compounds this mistake by a number of contradictions and questionable statements.

Museums are not solely for the benefit of students, bearded or otherwise, as he infers. Interested laypeople must be catered for primarily, who do not necessarily possess the experience to make the leaps of insight for which Hugh Prudden yearns. They may simply wish to be informed.

The Story of the Earth presents a summary of the state of Geology following attainment of a coherent geological model of the earth. It is this model that has brought Geology out of the 'capes and bays' era. For this we should be grateful. There must always be a place for consolidation. Indiscriminate search for the excitement of real geology (whatever that is) may never lead to the general principles and concepts which provide the greatest satisfaction. Certainly, if we lead pupils along the idiographic paths of Geography and History we are doomed. It is a contradiction to set current Geology alongside these subjects while

ignoring practical, scientific ones. Geology needs science. Pose questions, collect facts (ideas spring from facts; they cannot be collected), test hypotheses with as much excite· ment and fascination as you like but in doing so, use valid scientific techniques based on sound principles. Pupils must be given some facts in order to ask sensible questions.

What an excellent idea for a future exhibition; conservation of geological sites of scientific interest. Perhaps the Geological Museum could utilise some of the space occupied by the rather dry regional exhibits upstairs. There is no need to displace the 'Story of the Earth'. It may have defects but it was an important innovation and remains a centre of attraction for pupils and laypeople alike.

Hugh Prudden was unfair to have a crack at current teaching techniques in Geology through the medium of the exhibition which was not designed simply to show teachers how to teach. Let other demonstrations be specifically designed to do that.

Yours sincerely,

C.A. Whiteman, (Formerly Head of Geography, Emerson Park School, Hornchurch. Currently researching aspects of Ouaternary Geology during the tenure of a Natural Environment Research Council Research Studentship at Birkbeck College, University of London.)

LYTHE MINERALS Educational Geological Suppliers

We are pleased to be able to offer to A.T.G. members a djscount of 10% on the catalogue prices of rock types

and minerals. We cannot, however, extend this facility to maps, books or equipment.

Newly arrived; the clinometer by Pro Products Inc. of Illinois, formerly imported by Burgess Power Tools

Ltd., is now available in Britain once again. Price £4.50 inc. VAT and postage.

Full geological catalogue available on request. Visitors by appointment only.

2 WELLSIC LANE ROTHLEY LEICESTERSHIRE LE? ?QB

Tel: 0533 303082

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HMI CRITERIA FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PUPIL (AND TEACHER?) PERFORMANCE IN SCIENCE.

HMI have several times in recent years given clear indications of some of the base-level criteria by which they judge broadly whether good science is being learned and whether good science lessons are being devised. These criteria were first outlined to geology teachers by Chief HMI Norman Booth in his lecture at the Swansea Conference of ATG in 1976 and they have been repeated in the Red Paper on the curriculum (DES 1977) and in the recent Report on Secondary Schools (DES 1979 paras 13.2 to 13.3).

." An important part of the assessment ... was the degree to which they (the pupils, Ed.) were able to use the skills and processes of science. Judgements of this were based on the eight criteria given below.

1. Are the pupils observant? That is to say, do they see all that there is to see or do they rely on being told what to see?

2. Do they select from their observations those which have a bearing on the problem before them?

3. Do they look for patterns in what they observe and are they able to relate the current observations to others they have made earlier?

4. Do they seek to explain the patterns? If they can offer more than one explanation, do they attempt to rank them in order of plausibility?

EDITORIAL SUBCOMMITTEE David Thompson (Editor) Geoffrey Brown (Assistant Andrew Mathieson Editors) Stephen Hannath (Primary School Geology) Dick Mayhew (Reviews) Andrew Mathieson (Advertising, Fieldwork) Frank Spode (Primary School Geology & Teacher Training) Robin Stevenson (Diary and News) Peter Whitehead (Fieldwork, Shopfloor)

Design Sally Rose

Typing Angela Harris Alix Wilmot

Opinions and comments in this issue are the personal views of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Association.

Contributions for the next issue of GEOLOG Y teaching will be welcome, and should be sent to the Editor, from whom notes for contributo" are available.

36

5. Do they have an acceptable level of practical skills in the efficient and safe handling of apparatus and equi pment. .

6. Can they devise, or contribute to the devising of, experiments which will put to test the explanations they suggest for the patterns of observations? Are they prepared to reconsider an explanation!ri the light of new evidence? '

7. Do they possess the verbal and mathematical skills to allow them to interact adequately with classmates, with their teacher and with written and other material to which their attention is directed?

S. Do they respond to a novel situation by recalling and applying facts and generalisations previously learnt? Do they do this when the new situation is outside the immediate content of the school science course? That is to say, do they see the relevance of what they have learnt in the science lessons to situations outside the laboratory?"

References

Department of Education and Science, 1977 . Curriculum 11 - 16, London, H.M.S.O. Department of Education and Science, 1979 • Aspects of Secondary Education in England. London, H.M.S.O.

COUNCIL OFFICERS

President: Prof. E.K. Walton, Department of Geology, University, St. Andrews, Fife.

Acting Secretary: M.J. Collins, 20 Pebworth Close, Alkrington, Mid.dleton, Manchester, M24 10H.

Treasurer: W.B. Whitfield, 10 Newhaven Grove, Trentham, Stoke on Trent, Staffs, ST4 STS

Assistant Treasurer: P.W. Williams, 2 Kingsway, Northwich, Cheshire

Editor: D.B. Thompson, Education Department, University, Keele, Staffs, ST55BG.

Membership enquiries to the Acting Secretary.

Published quarterly by the Association of Teachers of Geologyr