The Good Earth is the product of collaboration between the content rigor provided by Earth Science specialists and the results of research on learning. The Good Earth has been explicitly designed to be compatible with active learning teaching strategies in the college classroom. The structural elements of this text will allow the instructor to incorporate these student-centered teaching methods into their Earth Science course. The authors have tested the book's content and pedagogy in large Earth Science classes for non-majors that are populated with mostly freshmen. Their experiences show that the materials and methods in The Good Earth can improve students' learning, increase daily attendance, reduce attrition, and increase students' enthusiasm in comparison with classes taught following a traditional lecture format.