MK
Matt Kohn
Fri, Jun 2, 2023 2:49 PM
Not sure about naphthalene-camphor, but Boardman and Youngblood (1975; Journal of Geological Education) describe an experiment with a eutectic for naphthalene-diphenylamine. The temperatures are perfect – between about 80 and 30 °C.
For eutectics (in petrology class, not mineralogy), I run an experiment with different salt solutions. Nick Pollock, now at Westminster College, figured out much of the procedure. The disadvantage is that you can access only the water-rich side of the diagram because of nucleation problems for the salt-rich side. You can still get the eutectic, though The advantage is that you can see how composition affects the eutectic temperature. We investigate various salts (usually whatever happens to be in the low-T geochemistry lab), including the salt that is used for clearing sidewalks in the winter. We use dry-ice – alcohol slurries to get temperatures low enough.
Best,
Matt
On May 31, 2023, at 11:41 AM, Marion E Bickford via MSA-talk msa-talk@minlists.org wrote:
Dear Wendy: I used to have my classes do a phase equilibrium experiment. Somewhere (I don't seem to find it easily) there is an elegant experiment in which two organic salts---I think naphalene and camphor---are mixed, heated, and allowed to cool and crystallize. You must, of course, record the temperature at which the several mixtures crystallize. When these data are plotted you get a nice simple binary phase diagram.
I used simple hot water baths, a thermocouple for temperature, and an old strip-chart recorder. I am sure there are more elegant ways of getting the data now, and you can certainly use a computer to record and display the data.
I have always tended to emphasize phase equilibrium in my teaching of mineralogy and petrology. This made a fun, "hands-on" class exercise that most of the class could participate in.
Let me know if this interests you and you can find how to set it up.
Best regards,
M. E. Bickford
Syracuse University
From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 5:13 PM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org <msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>
Subject: [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu_______________________________________________
MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org
To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk-leave@minlists.org
Not sure about naphthalene-camphor, but Boardman and Youngblood (1975; Journal of Geological Education) describe an experiment with a eutectic for naphthalene-diphenylamine. The temperatures are perfect – between about 80 and 30 °C.
For eutectics (in petrology class, not mineralogy), I run an experiment with different salt solutions. Nick Pollock, now at Westminster College, figured out much of the procedure. The disadvantage is that you can access only the water-rich side of the diagram because of nucleation problems for the salt-rich side. You can still get the eutectic, though The advantage is that you can see how composition affects the eutectic temperature. We investigate various salts (usually whatever happens to be in the low-T geochemistry lab), including the salt that is used for clearing sidewalks in the winter. We use dry-ice – alcohol slurries to get temperatures low enough.
Best,
Matt
> On May 31, 2023, at 11:41 AM, Marion E Bickford via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org> wrote:
>
> Dear Wendy: I used to have my classes do a phase equilibrium experiment. Somewhere (I don't seem to find it easily) there is an elegant experiment in which two organic salts---I think naphalene and camphor---are mixed, heated, and allowed to cool and crystallize. You must, of course, record the temperature at which the several mixtures crystallize. When these data are plotted you get a nice simple binary phase diagram.
>
> I used simple hot water baths, a thermocouple for temperature, and an old strip-chart recorder. I am sure there are more elegant ways of getting the data now, and you can certainly use a computer to record and display the data.
>
> I have always tended to emphasize phase equilibrium in my teaching of mineralogy and petrology. This made a fun, "hands-on" class exercise that most of the class could participate in.
>
> Let me know if this interests you and you can find how to set it up.
>
> Best regards,
>
> M. E. Bickford
> Syracuse University
> From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 5:13 PM
> To: msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org> <msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>>
> Subject: [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
>
> I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
>
> Thank you,
> Wendy
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
> Associate Professor of Geosciences
> Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
> 2150G Science Complex
> 7850 York Rd
> Towson University
> Towson, MD 21252
> 410-704-3133
> wrnelson@towson.edu <mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu>_______________________________________________
> MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>
> To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk-leave@minlists.org>
MJ
Mary Johnson
Fri, Jun 2, 2023 5:15 PM
Hi, Wendy, Bernie, Sarah, et al.,
Check with the editors there first, but you might also consider
submissions to Mindat as projects. They have expanded from minerals to
rocks, fossils, and gemstones.
--Mary Johnson
On 6/2/2023 7:17 AM, Sarah Carmichael via MSA-talk wrote:
I second creating for Wikipedia in lieu of a paper! I have done that
in a few classes (I am pretty sure that some of you may have received
emails from my Petrology students in 2021 for this project on
different rock units that did not have Wikipedia pages). My students
got SO much out of that, and were so proud of their work, and have
even linked to their pages they made on their CVs. The WikiEDU program
is useful for training, although I do recommend modifying the
exercises and completion credits via your own course management system
to be specific to what you want them to do.
I'm not going to lie, this can be an enormous amount of work to
evaluate (depending on class size, and because Wikipedia pages are
living documents you need to go deep in the history to see the
students edits if another person edits before you get around to
grading them), but it is such a useful teaching tool and I found that
students are really engaged when they know their work matters and will
be read by an audience that isn't just you.
Sarah
On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 10:02 AM Saini-Eidukat, Bernhardt via MSA-talk
msa-talk@minlists.org wrote:
Hi Wendy,
For Mineralogy, I moved away from term papers to having students
do a similar exercise, but by creating a new Wikipedia page for a
mineral that does not have one yet – there are many. (A hands-on
deep dive Petrology project using instrumentation happens in that
semester). The Wikipedia assignment ties together all aspects of
mineralogy so the students get to “apply” what they have learned.
Students also learn some markup skills. And, best of all, their
work becomes part of the permanent open literature (subject to
ongoing Wikipedia edits, of course!) rather than simply graded and
relegated to the digital trash can. A random example is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnitite
Importantly, the Wikiedu Foundation (separate from Wikipedia)
provides training materials and a dashboard (like a content
management system) which helps the instructor and students track
progress. It also provides technical mentors which can be called
upon for help by the instructor and the students. Wikiedu is
taking applications for courses now - see https://wikiedu.org/.
I’m happy to provide more info if you or anyone else is interested.
-Bernie
--
Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat /(He/Him)/
Professor - Dept. of Earth, Environmental and Geospatial Sciences
North Dakota State University
Dept. #2745, P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108-6050 USA
p: +1-701-231-8785 - www.ndsu.edu/eegs <http://www.ndsu.edu/eegs>
*From:*Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org>
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:14 PM
*To:* msa-talk@minlists.org
*Subject:* [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to
mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve
been doing a more traditional literature style research project
that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to
practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate
reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you
do to get your students to think a little more deeply about
something mineralogy and to practice a life skill
(writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy
and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new
powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu
_______________________________________________
MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org
To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org
MSA-talk mailing list --msa-talk@minlists.org
To unsubscribe send an email tomsa-talk-leave@minlists.org
Hi, Wendy, Bernie, Sarah, et al.,
Check with the editors there first, but you might also consider
submissions to Mindat as projects. They have expanded from minerals to
rocks, fossils, and gemstones.
--Mary Johnson
On 6/2/2023 7:17 AM, Sarah Carmichael via MSA-talk wrote:
> I second creating for Wikipedia in lieu of a paper! I have done that
> in a few classes (I am pretty sure that some of you may have received
> emails from my Petrology students in 2021 for this project on
> different rock units that did not have Wikipedia pages). My students
> got SO much out of that, and were so proud of their work, and have
> even linked to their pages they made on their CVs. The WikiEDU program
> is useful for training, although I do recommend modifying the
> exercises and completion credits via your own course management system
> to be specific to what you want them to do.
>
> I'm not going to lie, this can be an enormous amount of work to
> evaluate (depending on class size, and because Wikipedia pages are
> living documents you need to go deep in the history to see the
> students edits if another person edits before you get around to
> grading them), but it is such a useful teaching tool and I found that
> students are really engaged when they know their work matters and will
> be read by an audience that isn't just you.
>
> Sarah
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 10:02 AM Saini-Eidukat, Bernhardt via MSA-talk
> <msa-talk@minlists.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Wendy,
>
> For Mineralogy, I moved away from term papers to having students
> do a similar exercise, but by creating a new Wikipedia page for a
> mineral that does not have one yet – there are many. (A hands-on
> deep dive Petrology project using instrumentation happens in that
> semester). The Wikipedia assignment ties together all aspects of
> mineralogy so the students get to “apply” what they have learned.
> Students also learn some markup skills. And, best of all, their
> work becomes part of the permanent open literature (subject to
> ongoing Wikipedia edits, of course!) rather than simply graded and
> relegated to the digital trash can. A random example is
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnitite
>
> Importantly, the Wikiedu Foundation (separate from Wikipedia)
> provides training materials and a dashboard (like a content
> management system) which helps the instructor and students track
> progress. It also provides technical mentors which can be called
> upon for help by the instructor and the students. Wikiedu is
> taking applications for courses now - see https://wikiedu.org/.
>
> I’m happy to provide more info if you or anyone else is interested.
>
> -Bernie
>
> --
>
> Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat /(He/Him)/
>
> Professor - Dept. of Earth, Environmental and Geospatial Sciences
>
> North Dakota State University
>
> Dept. #2745, P.O. Box 6050
>
> Fargo, ND 58108-6050 USA
>
> p: +1-701-231-8785 - www.ndsu.edu/eegs <http://www.ndsu.edu/eegs>
>
> *From:*Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:14 PM
> *To:* msa-talk@minlists.org
> *Subject:* [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
>
> I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to
> mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve
> been doing a more traditional literature style research project
> that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to
> practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate
> reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you
> do to get your students to think a little more deeply about
> something mineralogy and to practice a life skill
> (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy
> and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new
> powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
>
> Thank you,
>
> Wendy
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
>
> Associate Professor of Geosciences
>
> Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
>
> 2150G Science Complex
>
> 7850 York Rd
>
> Towson University
>
> Towson, MD 21252
>
> 410-704-3133
>
> wrnelson@towson.edu
>
> _______________________________________________
> MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> MSA-talk mailing list --msa-talk@minlists.org
> To unsubscribe send an email tomsa-talk-leave@minlists.org
CM
Chris Mattinson
Fri, Jun 2, 2023 5:47 PM
Hi All,
I have each student pick a sample, we send off for thin sections,
students do an annotated bibliography and also get a little SEM data,
and they present their results in a 5-7 min class presentation (everyone
in the class is required to provide feedback on each presentation as
part of their grade) and a written report. I offer students bonus
points for doing an extra-nice job on any of the components of the
project. I have lots of my own samples for students to pick, or they
can use a sample of their own.
To keep costs low, I have students pick their sample the previous
quarter (I teach Mineralogy in Winter) so we don't have to pay rush
charges but can still get the thin section by mid-quarter. We get
standard (covered) thin sections, then for the SEM part we make 1" epoxy
plug mounts that each contain small pieces from 3-4 samples - not as
good as polished sections for everyone, but cheap and quick. In some
cases, I've had students collect XRD data as well.
Mid-way through the quarter, students do an annotated bibliography so
they get to find and digest some primary scientific literature relevant
to their sample.
For thin section photos, I used to have the students use our instructor
microscope that has a digital camera, but more recently I just have them
use their cell phones to take photos. We got a few of the NeXYZ holders
from Celestron that work pretty well. I also have an online discussion
board where students can post their favorite photomicrographs (with
explanation of what the photo shows and why they find it
interesting/cool) each week to get a few bonus points.
Chris
On 5/30/23 2:13 PM, Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk wrote:
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy
classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more
traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get
students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly,
I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like
some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little
more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill
(writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and
petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD,
desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu
MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org
To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org
--
Chris Mattinson (he/him)
Professor
Department of Geological Sciences
Central Washington University
Hi All,
I have each student pick a sample, we send off for thin sections,
students do an annotated bibliography and also get a little SEM data,
and they present their results in a 5-7 min class presentation (everyone
in the class is required to provide feedback on each presentation as
part of their grade) and a written report. I offer students bonus
points for doing an extra-nice job on any of the components of the
project. I have lots of my own samples for students to pick, or they
can use a sample of their own.
To keep costs low, I have students pick their sample the previous
quarter (I teach Mineralogy in Winter) so we don't have to pay rush
charges but can still get the thin section by mid-quarter. We get
standard (covered) thin sections, then for the SEM part we make 1" epoxy
plug mounts that each contain small pieces from 3-4 samples - not as
good as polished sections for everyone, but cheap and quick. In some
cases, I've had students collect XRD data as well.
Mid-way through the quarter, students do an annotated bibliography so
they get to find and digest some primary scientific literature relevant
to their sample.
For thin section photos, I used to have the students use our instructor
microscope that has a digital camera, but more recently I just have them
use their cell phones to take photos. We got a few of the NeXYZ holders
from Celestron that work pretty well. I also have an online discussion
board where students can post their favorite photomicrographs (with
explanation of what the photo shows and why they find it
interesting/cool) each week to get a few bonus points.
Chris
On 5/30/23 2:13 PM, Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk wrote:
> I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy
> classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more
> traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get
> students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly,
> I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like
> some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little
> more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill
> (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and
> petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD,
> desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
>
> Thank you,
>
> Wendy
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
>
> Associate Professor of Geosciences
>
> Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
>
> 2150G Science Complex
>
> 7850 York Rd
>
> Towson University
>
> Towson, MD 21252
>
> 410-704-3133
>
> wrnelson@towson.edu <mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org
--
Chris Mattinson (he/him)
Professor
Department of Geological Sciences
Central Washington University
MS
Matthew Steele-MacInnis
Fri, Jun 2, 2023 6:45 PM
On Jun 2, 2023, at 8:49 AM, Matt Kohn via MSA-talk msa-talk@minlists.org wrote:
Not sure about naphthalene-camphor, but Boardman and Youngblood (1975; Journal of Geological Education) describe an experiment with a eutectic for naphthalene-diphenylamine. The temperatures are perfect – between about 80 and 30 °C.
For eutectics (in petrology class, not mineralogy), I run an experiment with different salt solutions. Nick Pollock, now at Westminster College, figured out much of the procedure. The disadvantage is that you can access only the water-rich side of the diagram because of nucleation problems for the salt-rich side. You can still get the eutectic, though The advantage is that you can see how composition affects the eutectic temperature. We investigate various salts (usually whatever happens to be in the low-T geochemistry lab), including the salt that is used for clearing sidewalks in the winter. We use dry-ice – alcohol slurries to get temperatures low enough.
Best,
Matt
On May 31, 2023, at 11:41 AM, Marion E Bickford via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org> wrote:
Dear Wendy: I used to have my classes do a phase equilibrium experiment. Somewhere (I don't seem to find it easily) there is an elegant experiment in which two organic salts---I think naphalene and camphor---are mixed, heated, and allowed to cool and crystallize. You must, of course, record the temperature at which the several mixtures crystallize. When these data are plotted you get a nice simple binary phase diagram.
I used simple hot water baths, a thermocouple for temperature, and an old strip-chart recorder. I am sure there are more elegant ways of getting the data now, and you can certainly use a computer to record and display the data.
I have always tended to emphasize phase equilibrium in my teaching of mineralogy and petrology. This made a fun, "hands-on" class exercise that most of the class could participate in.
Let me know if this interests you and you can find how to set it up.
Best regards,
M. E. Bickford
Syracuse University
From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 5:13 PM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org <msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>
Subject: [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu_______________________________________________
MSA-talk mailing list -- msa-talk@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org
To unsubscribe send an email to msa-talk-leave@minlists.org mailto:msa-talk-leave@minlists.org
Might be getting a bit off topic from the original post, but seeing as there has been some discussion of benchtop petrologic experiments: I’ve always found this paper fun and cool. Even just reading the descriptions of what happens in the experiments is fascinating and insightful in my view. So much to explore and appreciate through pretty straightforward experiments.
http://www.science.smith.edu/~jbrady/Papers/Magma_in_Beaker.pdf
https://doi.org/10.3749/canmin.47.2.457 <https://doi.org/10.3749/canmin.47.2.457>
Cheers,
Matt
————————————————
Matthew Steele-MacInnis
Associate Professor
Dept. of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
1-26 Earth Sciences Building
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3
https://sites.ualberta.ca/~steelema/
————————————————
> On Jun 2, 2023, at 8:49 AM, Matt Kohn via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org> wrote:
>
> Not sure about naphthalene-camphor, but Boardman and Youngblood (1975; Journal of Geological Education) describe an experiment with a eutectic for naphthalene-diphenylamine. The temperatures are perfect – between about 80 and 30 °C.
>
> For eutectics (in petrology class, not mineralogy), I run an experiment with different salt solutions. Nick Pollock, now at Westminster College, figured out much of the procedure. The disadvantage is that you can access only the water-rich side of the diagram because of nucleation problems for the salt-rich side. You can still get the eutectic, though The advantage is that you can see how composition affects the eutectic temperature. We investigate various salts (usually whatever happens to be in the low-T geochemistry lab), including the salt that is used for clearing sidewalks in the winter. We use dry-ice – alcohol slurries to get temperatures low enough.
>
> Best,
>
> Matt
>
>
>
>> On May 31, 2023, at 11:41 AM, Marion E Bickford via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Wendy: I used to have my classes do a phase equilibrium experiment. Somewhere (I don't seem to find it easily) there is an elegant experiment in which two organic salts---I think naphalene and camphor---are mixed, heated, and allowed to cool and crystallize. You must, of course, record the temperature at which the several mixtures crystallize. When these data are plotted you get a nice simple binary phase diagram.
>>
>> I used simple hot water baths, a thermocouple for temperature, and an old strip-chart recorder. I am sure there are more elegant ways of getting the data now, and you can certainly use a computer to record and display the data.
>>
>> I have always tended to emphasize phase equilibrium in my teaching of mineralogy and petrology. This made a fun, "hands-on" class exercise that most of the class could participate in.
>>
>> Let me know if this interests you and you can find how to set it up.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> M. E. Bickford
>> Syracuse University
>> From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>>
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 5:13 PM
>> To: msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org> <msa-talk@minlists.org <mailto:msa-talk@minlists.org>>
>> Subject: [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
>>
>> I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
>>
>> Thank you,
>> Wendy
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
>> Associate Professor of Geosciences
>> Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
>> 2150G Science Complex
>> 7850 York Rd
>> Towson University
>> Towson, MD 21252
>> 410-704-3133
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CW
Cornell, Winton
Fri, Jun 2, 2023 8:11 PM
well, this is fun. so many wonderful/instructive approaches to teaching MIN/MIN-PET. not sure (given the length of the thread), though, if reference has been made to MSA resources, so here they are (again?)
http://www.minsocam.org/msa/Monographs/mono03.html
and
https://msaweb.org/teachingminpet/
related - from SERC:
https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/search.html?search_text=mineralogy
related - from opengeology.org (share with your incoming freshmen):
https://opengeology.org/Mineralogy/
especially loving the WIKI and MINDAT ideas, and if you're into Sketchfab:
https://sketchfab.com/rocksandminerals
Winton Cornell
From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk msa-talk@minlists.org
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:13 PM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org msa-talk@minlists.org
Subject: [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edumailto:wrnelson@towson.edu
well, this is fun. so many wonderful/instructive approaches to teaching MIN/MIN-PET. not sure (given the length of the thread), though, if reference has been made to MSA resources, so here they are (again?)
http://www.minsocam.org/msa/Monographs/mono03.html
and
https://msaweb.org/teachingminpet/
related - from SERC:
https://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/search.html?search_text=mineralogy
related - from opengeology.org (share with your incoming freshmen):
https://opengeology.org/Mineralogy/
especially loving the WIKI and MINDAT ideas, and if you're into Sketchfab:
https://sketchfab.com/rocksandminerals
Winton Cornell
________________________________
From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:13 PM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org <msa-talk@minlists.org>
Subject: [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu<mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu>
RC
Rex Couture
Fri, Jun 2, 2023 8:24 PM
On 5/30/23 4:13 PM, Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk wrote:
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to
mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been
doing a more traditional literature style research project that is
scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their
writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their
final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your
students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and
to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just
mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic
instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS
detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu
Gerald Wasserburg used to assemble a spectacular collection of
minerals and invite students observe them, discuss them, and see what
they could figure out about them. It is amazing what you can see just
by looking.
Rex
--
Rex Couture, Ph. D.
Dept. of Earth, Planetary, and Environmental Sciences
MSC 1169-204-110
Washington University in St. Louis
1 Brookings Dr.
St. Louis MO 63130
Voice: (314) 935-4194
Fax: (314) 935-7361
rex@wustl.edu
On 5/30/23 4:13 PM, Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk wrote:
>
> I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to
> mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been
> doing a more traditional literature style research project that is
> scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their
> writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their
> final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your
> students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and
> to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just
> mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic
> instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS
> detector, XRF).
>
> Thank you,
>
> Wendy
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
>
> Associate Professor of Geosciences
>
> Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
>
> 2150G Science Complex
>
> 7850 York Rd
>
> Towson University
>
> Towson, MD 21252
>
> 410-704-3133
>
> wrnelson@towson.edu <mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu>
>
Gerald Wasserburg used to assemble a spectacular collection of
minerals and invite students observe them, discuss them, and see what
they could figure out about them. It is amazing what you can see just
by looking.
Rex
--
Rex Couture, Ph. D.
Dept. of Earth, Planetary, and Environmental Sciences
MSC 1169-204-110
Washington University in St. Louis
1 Brookings Dr.
St. Louis MO 63130
Voice: (314) 935-4194
Fax: (314) 935-7361
rex@wustl.edu
HE
Haroldson, Erik
Wed, Jun 7, 2023 11:40 PM
I have recently expanded a crystallization lab into a course project. This worked well during the pandemic because students could work on it at home and present via zoom. But it is equally fun in our post pandemic world and I plan to keep using it into the future.
The students are given a variety of crystal growth supplies (sugar, salt, alum, jars, food coloring, etc.), And they're asked to develop an experiment on their own in which they test a way to get crystals to grow bigger, or more euhedral, or whatever they determine.
The experiments can take several weeks which makes it a good semester project. Afterwards they're asked to write a report of their findings, and they draft a poster and we have a poster session at the end of the semester.
Some of the students have done some really neat things, like shaking the growth jars once a day to simulate earthquakes. Another idea was to test if minerals grow better with rock music or classical music, sort of like has been done with plants. Often they test temperature or compositions of the solution. Even when they test something simple, like how different colors of food coloring change the growth (which it doesn't), they still get the experience of designing and carrying out the experiments.
I'm glad to share my instructional prompt materials if anyone is interested.
Best,
Erik
Dr. Erik Haroldson
Associate Professor – Geology
Austin Peay State University
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
PO Box 4418
Clarksville, TN 37044
Office: 931-221-7449
haroldsone@apsu.edu
www.erikharoldson.comhttp://www.erikharoldson.com
Pronouns: he, him
From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk msa-talk@minlists.org
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:13 PM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org msa-talk@minlists.org
Subject: [External] [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
*** This is an EXTERNAL email. Please exercise caution. DO NOT open attachments or click links from unknown senders or unexpected email - APSU IT Security. ***
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edumailto:wrnelson@towson.edu
I have recently expanded a crystallization lab into a course project. This worked well during the pandemic because students could work on it at home and present via zoom. But it is equally fun in our post pandemic world and I plan to keep using it into the future.
The students are given a variety of crystal growth supplies (sugar, salt, alum, jars, food coloring, etc.), And they're asked to develop an experiment on their own in which they test a way to get crystals to grow bigger, or more euhedral, or whatever they determine.
The experiments can take several weeks which makes it a good semester project. Afterwards they're asked to write a report of their findings, and they draft a poster and we have a poster session at the end of the semester.
Some of the students have done some really neat things, like shaking the growth jars once a day to simulate earthquakes. Another idea was to test if minerals grow better with rock music or classical music, sort of like has been done with plants. Often they test temperature or compositions of the solution. Even when they test something simple, like how different colors of food coloring change the growth (which it doesn't), they still get the experience of designing and carrying out the experiments.
I'm glad to share my instructional prompt materials if anyone is interested.
Best,
Erik
Dr. Erik Haroldson
Associate Professor – Geology
---------------------------------------------
Austin Peay State University
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
PO Box 4418
Clarksville, TN 37044
Office: 931-221-7449
haroldsone@apsu.edu
www.erikharoldson.com<http://www.erikharoldson.com>
Pronouns: he, him
________________________________
From: Nelson, Wendy R. via MSA-talk <msa-talk@minlists.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2023 4:13 PM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org <msa-talk@minlists.org>
Subject: [External] [MSA-talk] Mineralogy class project ideas
*** This is an EXTERNAL email. Please exercise caution. DO NOT open attachments or click links from unknown senders or unexpected email - APSU IT Security. ***
________________________________
I have a question for those that teach undergraduate intro to mineralogy classes: What do you do for your class project? I’ve been doing a more traditional literature style research project that is scaffolded to get students into the literature and to practice their writing. Frankly, I’ve reached a point where I hate reading their final papers. I’d like some new ideas. What do you do to get your students to think a little more deeply about something mineralogy and to practice a life skill (writing/presenting)? My class is just mineralogy (not mineralogy and petrology). We have some basic instrumentation in house (new powder XRD, desktop SEM with EDS detector, XRF).
Thank you,
Wendy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Wendy R. Nelson
Associate Professor of Geosciences
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Geosciences
2150G Science Complex
7850 York Rd
Towson University
Towson, MD 21252
410-704-3133
wrnelson@towson.edu<mailto:wrnelson@towson.edu>
