Hi folks - I'm developing my first planetary science class this summer and looking for any examples/advice on active learning applied to planetary science topics. I've got resources for physics and geology and they're helpful, but anything more specific would be neat.
If it's helpful - the class is on planetary impacts, so it covers the physics of impacts at all scales, and while I have lectures prepared, notes for sections on derivations, and time allocated for discussion, I'm a little stuck on some good active learning moments to include.
I don’t know if I have it anywhere but I used to do an activity with an image of Mars & an overhead transparency (I got it from a NASA website I think)—I’d ask them to use 3 colors of overhead markers to trace ‘big craters’, ‘small craters’ & water channels, and use that to infer the order of events
There was also a fun interactive display at Meteor Crater that I could imagine turning into an activity for class, where you could choose the velocity, diameter, density & impact angle, and the target object/terrain. It gave a simulated outcome—add a prediction phase & it’s active? The creators:
