1. A “Jigsaw” Activity for a Natural Hazards Course
Cody Kirkpatrick
Lecturer, Indiana University
Earth Educators Rendezvous 2017

2. The course “Extreme Weather and Its Impacts”
Gen Ed Natural Science, no lab
Mostly non-science majors, taught at the freshman level
One of the only geoscience courses many students will ever take!
The course

3. Students have a recommended reading assignment (it’s in your handout)
Answer questions online in the LMS before coming to class; for credit
Goals: learn basic vocabulary; begin practicing with the day’s concepts
Before coming to class

4. What weather variable do you have? Can you interpret the data given?
Where are the maxima? Minima? Large gradients? Other peculiar features?
How does your ingredient contribute to fire weather?
The activity: Phase 1

5. “Where do all the ingredients come together to create the most dangerous fire weather conditions?”
In your new teams, determine the area of “extreme” fire weather risk.
And a larger area of “general” risk
Draw outlines of these on your map
The activity: Phase 2

7. After the activity, display some of the student maps on the projector
And show the “right” answer!
Reflection about what they liked, what they found confusing, etc. Make small adjustments to these every year.
Close the loop

9. “Student Engagement Techniques” has a chapter dedicated to the Jigsaw activity
(and four dozen other ideas, too!)
More information