9 National Association of Geoscience Teachers: Field Trips—Their Importance in Geoscience Education

Tuesday, 7 May 2002
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

EXTENDED FIELD TRIPS IMMERSE STUDENTS IN THE GEOSCIENCES

Paper number: 9-4
Program: THEME SESSIONS
Time: 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM

Authors

Abstract

For many years, our respective departments have maintained very aggressive field trip programs for non-geology students, university staff, and community members. These trips have been very well attended, illustrating the tremendous popularity of geology to a wide audience, and providing a foundation for continuing support of our geology programs. While we welcome the interest and involvement of individuals with limited geological backgrounds, we have discovered that our own upper-level geology students suffer from attending trips that lack rigor appropriate to their level of background. To remedy this situation, our upper division geology and natural science majors are provided opportunities to participate in field trips of 10-day to 5-week duration. These extended field experiences allow students to travel to classic localities and world-class exposures, which are often unavailable on shorter time schedules. From southern Utah, trips have been conducted into the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, the Basin and Range of Nevada, and the desert regions of southern California. From central Minnesota, students have examined the geology and natural history of the Colorado Plateau, the Cascades and coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, and the Bahamas.

Prior to each trip, students are given a series of broad overviews and introduced to the appropriate geological literature of the region. Following this introduction, students are expected to become the "expert and field trip leader" for a day and a specific locality visited during the trip. Students prepare a written report of their locality, which will include a discussion of the general geology, illustrations and maps, and references. Each of these reports is compiled into a field guide provided to each student at the beginning of the trip. In addition, students are expected to maintain both a written and photographic journal of their field experiences. With careful, long-term planning, we have discovered it is possible to make contact with geologists from local universities, the U.S. Geological Survey, state surveys, or the National Park Service who are willing to spend one or more days with our students. These local "experts" are important because they add an additional dimension to our student's experience.