From the President

Are there any heroes in geology? Heroes may be the stuff of comic books and myths, but there are certainly people who have made great sacrifices, against the odds, to advance the field. Studying the thought processes of these intellectual pioneers is fascinating, especially when you look at the geologic evidence they examined, and consider the adversity they faced in publicizing their findings. To understand geology, or any of the Earth Sciences, we need to also understand the history of the science, the history of the ideas and the history of the people involved.

By telling stories--true stories--about the people who made the great breakthroughs in geology, our students may become inspired, may find role models with whom they can identify, and may realize that a person of any background, including one from the most humble of origins, may become a great scientist.

This past August, my wife Cheryl and I had the good fortune to spend some time in England and Scotland. We visited the regions of Bath and Oxford, where William “Strata” Smith laid the basis for the science of stratigraphy. Given that the greenery of England covers most of the rocks from Oxford to Bath, and we were not present during the digging of canals across the countryside as William Smith was in the late 1700s-early 1800s, our best view of the strata in the area was in the geology display at the Oxford University Natural History Museum. What an incredibly rich array of fossils are found in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rock formations that William Smith examined! While in the museum, we scoped out the famous Iguanodon fossil, the first complete dinosaur skeleton to be reconstructed under the gaze of modern science, which powerfully illustrated the fact that creatures of the past could be totally unlike present-day species, yet show signs of common ancestry (i.e. reptilian ancestry.) In addition, we saw a plaque commemorating the famous 1860 public debate that Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, had with Thomas Huxley, zoologist and defender of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, which took place in the museum.

We also toured the northern Highlands of Scotland, where the theory of thrust faulting was first established in the English-speaking world. Cheryl and I spent part of a day at Knockan Crag, a geological park in the northern Highlands. The geopark, with its geology displays and trails to the rocks, is an example that should be studied by public lands managers in the United States. The landscape that provides the setting of the geopark consists of isolated peaks of arkosic sandstone rising unconformably from a boggy moorland of gneiss. Closer at hand the displays and trails in the geopark lead to the Moine Thrust. We each experienced the geological thrill of simultaneously touching the hanging wall and footwall of this famous fault, mylonitic schist on one hand and fractured limestone on the other. This sequence had earlier been interpreted by Sir Roderick Murchison as a completely conformable sequence, with schist on top of limestone. We may now shudder that somebody would think schist could possibly overlay limestone as part of a conformable sedimentary sequence, but little was known of the origin of metamorphic rocks at the time. It was not until the end of the 1800s that Ben Peach and John Horne, working for the British Geological Survey, produced detailed maps of the northern Highlands with cross-sections, and the existence of the famous Moine Thrust was established. Since then, thrust faults have been recognized as important in the structural history of many regions.

Finally, we spent a day in Edinburgh, where James Hutton, the “Father of Modern Geology,” developed the Plutonian theory for the origin of rocks such as diabase and granite. We walked along Salisbury Crag in Holyrood Park on the edge of town. At Salisbury Crag, James Hutton made observations that he published as evidence of an intrusive origin, in molten form, of the basaltic rock that forms the crag. This contradicted Neptunian theory, popular at the time, that such rocks were precipitated from a primeval ocean. In modern terms Salisbury Crag is a sill. Even without its place in the history of geology, the Crag is a great place to go for a walk, with a steep, fractured cliff of basalt and contact-metamorphosed sedimentary rock rising to a promontory with excellent views overlooking the city of Edinburgh.

The experience of looking at the rocks and reflecting upon the history of our first modern geologists was truly fascinating. Because these geologists worked so hard to understand the history of the Earth, and documented their work, they were great scientists, even if, as in Murchison’s case, we think they made some major mistakes. We can literally follow in their footsteps, examine the same evidence they examined and reconstruct their thought processes that led to their conclusions. Such consideration of the history of geology can help us as we teach our students how to study the Earth scientifically.

Dr. Ralph Dawes, Wenatchee Valley College

On-the-Go

Joe Hull, Seattle Central Community College

Cassie Strickland has migrated downstream from YVCC, Grandview to Columbia Basin College in Pasco, WA.  Cassie received her BS from the University of Toledo (Ohio) and her MS from Kansas State (go Wildcats!).  She worked at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory before joining YVCC.

Welcome to Katie Gagnon, new full timer at Seattle Central Community College teaching oceanography and environmental science.  Katie's doctorate at UC-San Diego deals with subduction zone geodesy at the Peru-Chile trench.

Davene Meehan, our excellent OEST coordinator, has moved to Florida. The southest section of the NAGT is lucky to have her!

State by State

British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington

Idaho

State Councilor: Shawn Willsey

Idaho Science Teachers Association, Oct. 4 & 5, 2007.  The Fall conference for the Idaho Science Teachers Association will be held in Boise, ID, on October 4^th and 5^th. For more information, go to: www.stoller-eser.com/ista/conference.htm

Washington

State Councilors: Joe Hull & Jeff Tepper

Washington Science Teachers' Association, Oct. 12-13. WSTA will hold its annual Fall Conference in Tacoma. It will be held at the Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Rodger Bybee and Dr. Bonnie Dunbar.  Featured speakers will be Dr. Terry Bergeson and Dr. Michael Klentschy.  For information and to register go to www.wsta.net

GeoVentures Hawaii, August 2008

Jenny Thomson, Eastern Washington University

Announce to your geology students!  GeoVentures Hawaii 2008- Geology on an Active Hot Spot, Big Island, HI- A Geological Society of America-sponsored field trip, August 1 - 10, 2008 designed especially for students!  Instructors Dr. Jennifer Thomson (Eastern Washington University) and Dr. Bart Martin (Ohio Wesleyan University).  This eight-day field course (excluding two travel days) on the Big Island of Hawaii will serve to introduce students to plate tectonics, hot spot volcanism and the geologic features and hazards associated with living on an active volcano.  We will discuss volcanic edifices, eruption styles, magma evolution, and see features such as various types of lava flows, lava lakes, lava tubes, fault scarps, rifts, craters and calderas and active lava flows.  The learning sites are located on the Big Island of Hawaii primarily within the boundaries of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  Sites to visit may include, but are not limited to:  Kilauea Caldera, Thurston Lava Tubes, Crater Rim Drive, Halema’uma’u, Chain of Craters Road, Steaming Bluffs and Sulphur Banks, Devastation Trail, Kilauea Iki, Mauna Ulu and Pu’u Huluhulu, Pu’u Loa Petroglyphs, Ka'u Desert, Mauna Iki, South Point, Green Sand beach, Lava Tree State Park, Kalapana.  A trip to the Mauna Kea KECK observatory is also included.  Space is limited to 20 participants.  Please check www.geosociety.org/GeoVentures for information as it becomes available.

From the VP:

Ramblings of an organizational nature

Ron Metzger, Southwestern Oregon CC

With best laid plans of a procrastinator, here I sit amidst in-service week following four days crammed with meetings. Now I have a moment to clear my head along with the cool crisp air that hints of a fast approaching fall, and catch up with my thoughts. In a few days I will be meeting with several of my colleagues in the second cohort for a Title III grant that is addressing “best teaching practices.” This gave me pause to ponder (and also a perfect segue) to the Pacific Northwest section field conferences. While I work on this grant with various faculty departments, from adult learning skills, computer networking, Shutter Creek correctional facility and more, I reflect upon of the collegiality that has developed in recent years with the resurgence of the Pacific Northwest section of NAGT. In this, one of the things I most appreciate is the laid back way that we share what works in the classroom, what doesn’t and present it without the stigma of the “paradigm, dogma, flavor of the month.” As our small cohort of seven prepares to meet on campus, it makes me think of several organizations and events that I am affiliated with and how difficult it is to get people to turn out. This in turn leads to ruminations about PNW annual conference attendance, and how many people actually participate in the yearly conference. With the effort and care that our hosts put into the conferences, it would be great to see stronger levels of participation. Ironically, I suppose, the forty or so people that attend also makes for one of the strengths by allowing a camaraderie that might not exist with larger groups.

Enough ramblings. Here is a heartfelt thanks to the dedicated group that coordinated and hosted the 2007 conference in Portland as well as to all of you that were able to attend. Personally, I know that the trip produced a few new and different stops that I will be able to incorporate into my own Columbia Gorge trip (hopefully the PSU crew or someone else up there will get the restrictions on The Dalles’ “calcite pineapple” site loosened.) I also think of the terroir trip fondly; any time that you can combine Oregon Pinot Noir and a geology field trip, that is a success in my book! With our return to Portland this past year, I still see an opportunity down the road…after eleven years in Oregon, I haven’t spent much time on Mount Hood and the cancelled Elliot Glacier trip was one I was looking forward to…so maybe in another seven or eight years we’ll be able to get there. Elsewhere in the newsletter you’ll be getting a preview of the 2008 conference that David Huycke (Yakima Valley Community College) and Cassie Strickland (Columbia Basin College, Yakima Valley Community College Grandview) have volunteered to host. They have been actively arranging the schedule and I know that I am looking forward to heading to Yakima next June. The rumor of terroir and wine tasting in Washington’s next hot wine region isn’t a bad prospect either. By the next newsletter I am hoping to be able to announce a 2009 conference location…we’ve bounced around Idaho and British Columbia for the future; now is the time to start firming up those commitments. Listening to the section members, field based conferences are obviously important, and we are indebted to the exceptional work of the hosts past, present and future, or the folks that travel and attend. See you in Yakima!

Celebrate Earth Sciences at UBC

UBC’s Pacific Museum of the Earth

Mary Lou Bevier, UBC

On October 13th the Pacific Museum of the Earth will invite the general public for a rare Saturday visit in order to recognize both Earth Science Week and National Science and Technology Week. In addition to offering an opportunity to view all of our displays, including the Precious Minerals Vault, on a weekend, visitors will be able to take advantage of a series of special demonstrations and activities illustrating topics in geology, atmospheric science, geophysics, and other Earth Science related fields. A rock, mineral, and fossil identification table will be open all day for those visitors who'd like more information on objects in their collections.

Although the above activities will primarily be aimed at K-12 students and teachers and the general public, the museum will also feature a public evening lecture and panel discussion for those with a deeper interest in Earth Sciences. The lecture will be given by UBC EOS's own Phil Austin and will focus on climate change, a topic of great public interest recently.

Check the Pacific Museum of the Earth homepage for updates and further details: www.eos.ubc.ca/resources/museum/index.html

Outstanding Earth Science Teacher: Do you know one?

The Section welcomes our new Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) coordinator, Deron Carter. Deron teaches geology, oceanography and chemistry at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon. OEST awards are given to exceptional geoscience teachers at the middle and high school levels. As OEST coordinator, Deron is responsible for receiving and reviewing OEST nominations. Nominations are then voted upon by NAGT officers, and winners are selected at the section and state levels. One of the biggest challenges of the coordinator position is soliciting nominations. Historically, nominations have been low. If you know of an outstanding Earth Science teacher, please take time to make a nomination! The recognition is only part of the package; the material rewards are also significant. Individuals may nominate themselves, also. Nominations are due by February 1^st. Please access the OEST homepage for a nomination form (www.nagt.org/nagt/programs/oest.html), and then send the completed form to: Deron Carter, Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany, Oregon 97321, carterd@linnbenton.edu

OEST 2007 Award Winners

Ron Metzger, Southwestern Oregon Community College

Davene Meehan, former OEST coordinator

The Pacific Northwest Section OEST award this year goes to Clay Good who retired in 2007 after many years of teaching oceanography classes at Juneau-Douglas High School in Alaska. He offered students a variety of ways to meet class requirements, thereby empowering his students in assessing their own progress and grades. He incorporated the local setting into almost daily field trips and seminars. He also organized 21 teams for academic competition at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, operated a student salmon hatchery, and developed scientist-shadowing opportunities for students. He served on numerous school and community committees such as president of the Juneau Education Association and as JDHS science department chair. He was the 2000 Marine Educator of the Year, and in 2005 four of his students presented regional issues at a Washington D.C. symposium. His interactions with organizations provided the school with a $30,000 aquarium, trips out to sea for all his students, trips to the wastewater treatment facility of Juneau as well as cruise ships, and visits to the Coast Guard's Search and Rescue Command Center.

The British Columbia provincial winner is Chris Loewen, from W.J. Mouat Secondary School in Abbotsford. From teaching in China to an inner city school with a high population of ESL students, he visualizes and works toward a single class that is an integration of Earth Science, Science, PE, and Community Recreation. He uses diverse methods to reach his students—and his students exceed district and provincial averages in their 12th grade geology provincial exam. During class he combines his MS PPT lectures with the Internet for instruction, and works hard to motivate struggling students. He provides after-school and evening study sessions, and authors a great website for geology teachers and students:www.mouatonline.com/Teachers/Cloewen/geology12/geo12index.htm

The Idaho State winner is Mike Emory of Woodland Middle School in Coeur d’Alene. Mike teaches Earth Science. He also finds time to be the president of the Idaho Earth Science Teachers Association (IESTA) and is involved with the Yellowstone workshop in July and an important website for Earth Science teachers:www.idahogeology.org/Services/EarthScienceEducation/Resources.htm . He has been designated the school district building technology leader for his school and has acquired a grant from the Excel Foundation for his integrated curriculum using GPS combined with water quality.

Sheila Guard is the Washington State Winner. Sheila teaches integrated science, including Earth Science. She coaches science teams, which participate in Science Olympiad and Decathlon competitions that have taken the teams to state and nationals. She emphasizes instruction on scientific writing and employs novel methodologies to encourage assessment skills and promote inquiry. She passionately presents difficult concepts in a manner relevant to middle school students. She is a member of the National Science Teacher and WA Science Teacher’s Association, serves as the NW Science Olympiad Board chair in which she organizes nearly 50 local school teams, is on the Teaching and Assessment Research Committee, is National Board certified, and has earned a WA Initiative Scholarship and Seattle Pacific U’s Mathematics in Teaching scholarship.

Congratulations to all of our winners!