Edition 12 of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual. Photo by Vince Cronin.
Help for the wonderful humans who are introducing the Lab Manual to adopters and potential adopters
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Cronin, V.S., [editor], and Tasa, D., [illustrator], 2020,
AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology
[12th edition]: New York, Pearson, 461 p., ISBN-13 978-0-13-583697-2, ISBN-10 0-13-583697-2.
You are encouraged to view the NAGT webinar available at https://nagt.org/nagt/profdev/webinars/lab_manual/index.html for more information about the new 12th edition of the Lab Manual.
- The Lab Manual Is Well Suited For Online/Remote/Hybrid Learning
The format of each chapter in the Lab Manual, with a significant amount of relevant text provided to help students prepare to do the activities, makes it well suited for use in flipped and online labs where students are responsible for learning basics before attempting laboratory activities.
The question on the mind of many geoscience educators is "How do we teach an introductory physical geology lab course online?" Specifically, "How do we teach about rock and minerals, and do lab experiments?"
The current editor of the Lab Manual, Dr. Vince Cronin, is a Professor of Geoscience who has taught an undergraduate "Introduction to Physical Geology" course for 32 years, mostly in face-to-face settings. He now teaches the course online with either an online or hybrid lab. He is building a TeacherPortal to help answer some of these questions, by example: https://croninprojects.org/TeacherPortal/index.htm
- The Lab Manual Is Supported by Mastering Geology
There is an implementation of Mastering Geology that has been created for the Lab Manual, allowing teachers the ability to conduct relevant pre-quizzes and post-lab quizzes that are automatically graded and recorded in the Mastering gradebook. Mastering Geology can integrated with the campus learning management system, or it can function independent of the LMS.
- The Lab Manual Is Affordable
The Lab Manual is available in three formats:
- the classic spiral-bound paper version with 17 chapters and 105 lab activities, available with Mastering Geology or as a stand-alone resource
- an eText of the Lab Manual, available with Mastering Geology and as a stand-alone resource
- a custom edition whose component chapters are specified by the adopter. Custom versions can include from 1 to 16 chapters, and can be very helpful to supplement home-made labs for a given course, including courses other than traditional "introductory physical geology" courses. For example, many of the Lab Manual chapters are appropriate for courses in Earth science, Earth materials, physical geography, and other introductory courses.
- Sales of the Lab Manual Benefit AGI and NAGT
Royalties from the sale of the Lab Manual provides important income for the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). That direct association with important national geoscience organizations is one of the important and unique features of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, as is the direct participation of these organizations in the continued positive evolution of this educational resource.
The fact that sales of the Lab Manual provide financial benefit to the greater geoscience community makes it unique among the lab book options on the market.
- The Lab Manual Is A Community Resource
The AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology has been developed and maintained through the efforts of hundreds of geoscientists and geoscience educators associated with the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, universities, and research labs since its first edition was first published in 1986. It is created by geoscience educators for geoscience educators and their students.
- The Lab Manual Is Continually Updated
Although the Lab Manual has a long history of serving students and the geoscience education community, it is not a static resource. For example, the new 12th edition has...
- ... an entirely new chapter on Climate Change,
- a renewed emphasis on Earth System Science,
- 11 new or extensively revised laboratory activities for student work
- expanding video support for remote/online learning
For more information about the new 12th edition of the Lab Manual, see the NAGT webinar available at https://nagt.org/nagt/profdev/webinars/lab_manual/index.html
- The Lab Manual Editor Teaches With The Lab Manual
The current Lab Manual editor, Vince Cronin, teaches with the Lab Manual and produces resources for use with the lab manual that are available online through a Teacher's Portal: https://croninprojects.org/TeacherPortal/index.htm
Among these resources is a YouTube channel, Cronin-Geoscience-Ed, featuring "tiny videos" of lab experiments, specimen descriptions, and "unknown" rock and mineral specimens that can be used in lieu of physical specimens for online learning.
- The Lab Manual Editor Is Available To Help You
The Lab Manual editor is available to talk with you or with any adopter or potential adopter at any time about the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology.
The Lab Manual editor is not only "available if needed," but enthusiastically encourages interaction with teachers and Pearson folks about the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual. Input from adopters, potential adopters, and Pearson reps is essential if we are to serve our undergraduate students well. It is also informs our decisions about developing useful resources for teachers to use, with both the current 12th edtion and the edition that is now being developed for future publication.
Vince Cronin's public contact information:
- email: Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu or Vince_Cronin@CroninProjects.org
- website: https://CroninProjects.org
- Geosciences Department, Baylor University, faculty website
- Other contact information: https://croninprojects.org/Vince/ContactInfo.html
- Vince will supply his mobile phone number privately upon request for more direct communication.
Other Notes from Vince Cronin
I was contracted by AGI in 2015 to serve as the content editor and primary revision author of the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology. In doing this work, I collaborate with other geoscientists and geoscience educators so that this lab manual remains connected to the active geoscience community as it evolves. I seek-out relevant resources in the public domain (photos, maps, web resources) to use in the lab book, including resources from organizations such as NASA, USGS, NOAA, UNAVCO, and IRIS. I take photographs in support of this project, at no cost to AGI, NAGT, or Pearson. These photos include high-resolution focus-stacked images of rock/mineral specimens. Ownership of all of my photos used in the Lab Manual is transferred to AGI so they can be used for any future edition without cost or hassle. I also create drafts of all new or revised artwork, which is then finalized by Dennis Tasa.
In other words, the costs associated with developing revisions and publishing this Lab Manual are kept as low as possible while retaining its high quality.
The terminology used in the Lab Manual is consistent with current usage as defined in the AGI Glossary of Geology and in other authoritative discipline-specific publications. References used to develop each of the chapters are listed in the Instructor's Manual, which is available online to recognized adopters of the Lab Manual.
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All of the original content of this website is © 2020 by Vincent S. Cronin