T3 Field-Based Geoscience Education I: Advances in Research, Program Evaluation, Pedagogy, and Curriculum

Sunday, 15 October 2023
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
328

PASSHE FIELD CAMP: TRAINING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE TO SOLVE GEOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Paper number: T3-8
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:35 AM – 9:50 AM

Authors

Abstract

Providing geology students with experiences that enhance their prospects for a career in Geosciences can be accomplished through a focused major curriculum accompanied by a well-developed “field camp”. Field courses provide hands-on training to apply geological tools to answer critical questions and serve society’s needs. With NSF support, the Pennsylvania (PA) State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) geology faculty combined expertise from across the state to provide a field course that focuses on geology, geoenvironmental issues, and economics. Throughout the 5-week course, students travel across the state between 3 regional hubs to develop a comprehensive understanding of the diverse geology of PA. Along the way, students meet local professionals who introduce them to potential careers and jobs in the region, economic attributes, and the importance of geology to solve problems. Projects are designed so students develop skills such as lithologic and stratigraphic descriptions, surficial and bedrock mapping, and geophysical and environmental analyses. Students collect, analyze, and interpret field-based data using current technologies, and enhance communication and problem-solving.

In Summer 2023, the second cohort (22 students) completed the course. Students gained experience working in the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Ridge and Valley, and Appalachian Plateau geologic provinces hosted by West Chester, Shippensburg, and Slippery Rock Universities. At each hub, a team of faculty and professionals led students through local field activities, lab protocols and analyses, and professional development experiences. By the end of the course, students completed assignments on the geologic history and the varied economic and environmental implications of accessing the resources of PA. The 2023 summer course satisfied the field-experience objective, and emphasized field safety and etiquette, professional behavior, teamwork and collegiality and time management. Student outcomes included a completed field notebook, geologic maps, stratigraphic cross sections and successions and accompanied reports. Based on feedback from the student participants the course exceeded their expectations, enhanced their skillsets, strengthened their geologic knowledge with a connection to the fundamental geologic principles and expanded their professional network.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-395299

© Copyright 2023 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.