Focus on Geology Preliminary Edition (Preliminary)

This Physical Geology textbook uses cutting edge research to guide the creation of carefully structured pages that cover topics commonly taught in introductory physical geology courses. The book is focused around images and emphasizes the key concepts

Research (e.g. Mayer, 2003) indicates that students learn more deeply:

- when extraneous material is excluded rather than included,

- from words and pictures than from words alone,

- when printed words are placed near rather than far from corresponding pictures, and

- when words are presented in conversational rather than formal style.

Most traditional geoscience textbooks do not address this research. Although geoscience textbooks are image-rich, the text is often separate from figures, generally with a note in the text referring the student to look at the image. Research indicates that many students just glance at the images or ignore them altogether, resulting in a less productive learning experience than intended by the authors.

Also, most textbooks, even "essentials" versions, tend to have more information than an introductory student can learn in a semester, and the students, therefore, have a difficult time distilling the key concepts from the details.

Images play an integral role in the textbook. There are no long blocks of text to read, but, instead, most information is presented incorporated in or around figures. Students therefore examine the images, integrating text and figures, which results in a deeper learning experience. Concepts are represented in multiple ways (photographs, written descriptions, detailed drawings, sketches, graphs, analogies, etc.) to maximize student learning.

Because research indicates that students have a difficult time pulling out the key points from images, many of the images in this book are simple, without too many realistic-but-distracting details. Many of the photographs are accompanied by a simplified sketch of the same area illustrating the important geological features shown. The process of comparing two images presenting the same information in different ways (e.g. a photograph and a sketch) directs students to observe the important features and requires students to integrate those two images, strengthening their learning.

Simple language is used when writing, and non-essential vocabulary words are omitted, so students will not focus on memorizing definitions without understanding the concepts. The book has a more conversational style than many current textbooks.

This textbook presents the key concepts in geoscience without additional distracting details. As a result, this book is shorter than other books currently on the market. The concise nature of the book encourages students to read it. Because it emphasizes the key concepts, students have a better understanding of the fundamentals and will come to class more prepared. Therefore, instructors will be able to cover additional information in class, because the fundamentals are already understood by the students.

The themes in the book are plate tectonics, water cycle, rock cycle and how geology and people affect each other. These are concepts that are key in understanding geoology and learning why it is relevant in today's society. These three themes are emphasized, and individual topics are related back to the overarching themes.