23 New Challenges in Paleontological Education

Thursday, 4 April 2002
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

USING THE CONCEPT OF APPARENT AGE TO INVITE CREATIONISTS ON BOARD THE GEOLOGICAL BANDWAGON

Paper number: 23-6
Program: SYMPOSIA SESSIONS
Time: 9:40 AM – 10:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

Most undergraduate students take geology courses only as the perceived least painful option to fulfill their institution's general education laboratory science requirements. The vast majority of these students sign up for some combination of freshman level physical and/or historical geology classes in large lecture sections where there is little opportunity for sustained personal contact between students and instructors. Many of these students, especially in large state-supported schools like Clemson University, bring religious viewpoints and perspectives to their studies which espouse profoundly negative views about evolution and the geologic time scale. Students in this category will grudgingly memorize the minimum amount of geological information they need to pass the course, but will let the instructor know that they don't believe a word of it is true. This type of situation doesn't help the student, the class morale, or the greater goal of scientific literacy for all people.

One successful instructional strategy to combat this problem in both physical and historical geology classes is to introduce the concept of apparent age prior to discussing the geological time scale or the age of the earth in the lecture setting. By acknowledging up front that special creation is a possible option, so long as that creation carries the imprint of apparent age, the tension among students is relieved and geological processes and concepts can be investigated in good conscience based on the apparent age of rocks, fossils, or landscapes. With students no longer on the defensive, they are free to study geology without feeling like they are betraying their religious faith.