Geology Courses Research Articles

Mapa Geológico de parte da Folha Arroio América - SH-22-Y-A-IV-1 (MI 2995/1) - Nota explicativa

Esta nota explicativa se refere ao mapa geológico de parte da Folha Arroio América (SH.22-Y-A-IV-1 / MI 2995/1) e tem por base os resultados obtidos durante o Projeto Arroio América, executado em 2003 por professores e alunos do Curso de Geologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Diversas unidades litoestratigráficas foram reconhecidas, algumas das quais são inéditas e formalmente designadas. A principal estrutura regional reconhecida é denominada Zona de Cisalhamento Arroio América (ZCAA), composta por diversas zonas miloníticas subverticais de direção NE e cinemática transcorrente esquerda dada por lineação de estiramento de baixo caimento. Significativas reativações de antigos lineamentos em condições rúpteis são encontradas, bem como estruturas rúpteis de direção NW que afetam o embasamento e as rochas sedimentares de idade neoproterozoica a permiana. As sequências de embasamento mais antigas são ortognaisses do Complexo Cambaí, e as rochas supracrustais do Complexo Metamórfico Arroio Marmeleiro (CMAM). Os Dioritos Arroio Branquilho formam uma unidade inédita de biotita-hornblenda dioritos e quartzo-dioritos foliados, que compreendem duas subunidades cogenéticas – a fácies equigranular média e a fácies fina. As relações estruturais observadas indicam que seu posicionamento é anterior à ZCAA. O Tonalito Arroio dos Carros (TAC) e os Granitoides Rincão dos Encerrados (GRE) são também unidades inéditas, correlacionadas à Suíte Lagoa da Meia Lua. O TAC compreende hornblenda tonalitos foliados, de granulação média a grossa, e sua foliação magmática grada para uma foliação milonítica devido a seu caráter sintectônico à ZCAA. Os GRE são biotita tonalitos a granodioritos equigranulares finos a médios, tardi-tectônicos em relação à mesma zona de cisalhamento. O Granito Passo da Chácara, igualmente inédito, é a unidade granítica mais jovem, compreendendo biotita leucossienogranitos fracamente foliados a maciços. A Formação Maricá é composta por arenitos arcóseo-líticos com intercalação subordinada de conglomerados e folhelhos. Evidências localizadas de condições anquimetamórficas são constatadas, bem como clivagem ardosiana em composições pelíticas. É subdividida em duas fácies, uma resultante de sistema fluvial anastomosado e outra formada em condições marinhas rasas. O Monzonito Tapera, bem como as formações Hilário, Cerro da Pedra e Acampamento Velho, são subunidades do Grupo Bom Jardim. No Monzonito Tapera são reconhecidas quatro fácies com base em características texturais e composicionais: monzonítica plutônica, leucodiorítica plutônica, diorítica plutônica e hipoabissal monzonítica. Nas rochas encaixantes do CMAM, são descritos efeitos de metamorfismo de contato em condições de fácies hornblenda cornubianito. A Formação Hilário compreende derrames andesíticos e diques de andesitos e lamprófiros. A Formação Cerro da Pedra é definida neste trabalho como um pacote de conglomerados formados em sistemas de leques aluviais. A fácies proximal é reconhecida na forma de para- e ortoconglomerados oligomíticos, enquanto a fácies distal é representada por ortoconglomerados polimíticos. A Formação Acampamento Velho é representada por um domo de lava e diques riolíticos associados. A Formação Rio do Sul, de idade permiana, pertencente ao Grupo Itararé, é restrita ao extremo norte da área mapeada, onde ocorrem camadas de arenito fino intercaladas com siltitos.

Introduction to the Twelfth Glossop Lecture

Fig. 1. E. N. Bromhead. Edward Bromhead is Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Kingston University London. Eddie was born in Germany in 1948 and like many children of Service families had a roaming childhood. In 1966 he commenced the then new Council for National Academic Award (CNAA) 3 year BSc in Civil Engineering at Portsmouth College of Technology, missing the start of Portsmouth’s Engineering Geology course by 1 year. Graduating in 1969 he worked for Freeman Fox, Arup and ECC Quarries, and studied the MSc in Soil Mechanics at Imperial College (1971–1972). Subsequently, he took up a lecturing post at Kingston Polytechnic, becoming a Chartered Civil Engineer in 1976, a PhD graduate of Imperial College (by part-time study) …

Getting to the Core of Geology LibGuides

This paper examines geology LibGuides from forty different U.S. academic institutions. It includes schools granting master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, and associate's degrees, as well as some offering geology courses only. Data on LibGuide structure, as well as databases, books, journals, websites, cartographic resources and instructional videos recommended within these LibGuides, are presented. Subtopics of geology covered by LibGuide pages and linked resources are also presented.

A call for increased public engagement in geology higher education

Rising fees are forcing higher education institutions to think critically about what students are offered for their money. In geology courses there appears to be a lack of guidance for alternative careers in academia or industry, and even a lack of education about wider social, political and economic impacts of the discipline. It is possible to detect a lack of high-impact geoscience among the popular science communication communities, such as online multidisciplinary blogging platforms. In order to enhance the student experience and the impact of geoscience on the wider public, universities need to look inwards at what they can do to help inspire and educate students to have broader career horizons and bigger public impacts through their research.

Tracking Student Pathways to Competency in Online Geoscience Learning

Tracking Student Pathways to Competency in Online Geoscience Learning Currently, more than 100,000 college students take introductory geology courses in online or blended learning formats. For the most part, these courses utilize a “competency-based” assessment rubric. Many geology professors contend that tracking students’ knowledge of subject material via competency-based testing may not be well suited to the geological sciences. One concern is that students can “guess” their way through exercises and produce the “appearance” of competency without actually gaining sufficient knowledge of the material.

Coding and Analysing Behaviour Strategies of Instructors in University Science Laboratories to Improve Science Teachers Training

The intention of this study was to determine how science instructors in the university laboratories spend time on instruction. The study, was guided by three research questions and two hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study employed a non-participant observation case study design. 48 instructors teaching lower and higher levels practical courses in Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, and Geology in Faculty of Science of Delta State University constituted the sample. A behaviour checklist called Science Laboratory Interaction Categories (SLIC) was the instrument used for data collection. A major finding of the study showed that science instructors spend most of the instructional time on; Demonstration of Procedure, Shows, Transmits, Listens and Non-lesson related behaviours resulting in less investigative teaching. Another finding of the study shows that among the six science disciplines the data revealed significant differences for all the instructor behaviours. It was concluded that the observation of what science instructors do in the university laboratories can be a source of valid information on how to improve science education in the universities and science teachers training for other levels of education and institutions.

Using Students' Sketches to Recognize Alternative Conceptions About Plate Tectonics Persisting From Prior Instruction

ABSTRACTShould instructors assume that students possess conceptual knowledge of plate tectonics when they reach a second college geoscience course? Five cohorts in a historical geology course over 5 y—a total of 149 students—completed an in-class assignment in which they drew sketches of plate boundaries with required annotations. Analysis of the sketches revealed that most students lack an explanatory mental model that links the locations of earthquakes, volcanoes, and magma generation to plate-boundary processes and hold a pervasive alternative conception of Earth's interior structure that does not distinguish between compositional and rheological boundaries. Students who drew sketches that illustrated the most alternative conceptions also scored lower on a beginning-of-the-course administration of the Geoscience Concept Inventory, showing that conceptual understanding of plate tectonics correlates with overall conceptual geoscience knowledge obtained during previous course experiences. In addition, students tracking to the historical geology course via an introductory physical geology course showed stronger conceptual understanding of plate tectonics than those choosing an Earth-system science prerequisite, with those students previously enrolled in both courses illustrating the fewest alternative conceptions.

Using Sieving and Unknown Sand Samples for a Sedimentation-Stratigraphy Class Project With Linkage to Introductory Courses

ABSTRACTUsing sieving and sample “unknowns” for instructional grain-size analysis and interpretation of sands in undergraduate sedimentology courses has advantages over other techniques. Students (1) learn to calculate and use statistics; (2) visually observe differences in the grain-size fractions, thereby developing a sense of specific size ranges, weight percentages being plotted, and how grain composition and properties are a function of size; (3) are enthusiastic and observant as they search for clues of the origin of their sample, but discover that determining depositional environments using grain-size analysis is not the hoped for “fingerprinting” technique; and (4) enjoy learning the geographic origin and depositional environment of their sample. Plus, sieving equipment generally is less costly to acquire and maintain than “black box” techniques, and sieving is a commonly used procedure in industry. Using unknown sand samples results in some students making “incorrect” interpretations, which allows for illustrating that a scientist may have an excellent data set and a valid interpretation based on that data but, although the data are sound, the interpretation may be erroneous. Moreover, using a suite of unknowns allows students in a class to collectively be exposed to sands from a range of environments and geographic locales without the need for local sediment-rich environments. Building a set of unknowns is aided by recruiting students in introductory geology courses to collect and document samples during their school-break travels for future “unknowns,” thereby linking courses and creating interest among nonmajors. When these students venture into the field to collect a sample and characterize the environment, they are enticed into thinking about sedimentary processes and possible anthropogenic effects, such as beach nourishment, while on break.

Effect of the Use of Information and Communication Technologies ICT Resources on the Scholastic Performance of Middle School Students in Biology and Geology Courses

The performance in Mathematics and Sciences of a large proportion of Moroccan students in middle and high schools has been ranked recently below expectations. The Center of Information Technology Innovation (CITI) for human development at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) is investigating how IT-based education could improve both motivation and performance of students in middle and high schools. To demonstrate the positive effect of these ICT resources on the scholastic performance of middle school students, CITI experimented the project in two pilot middle schools. The two schools belong to two different socio-economics environments; one is located in Ifrane (small city) and the other in Fez (large city). In each school, two groups, of 20 students each, have been selected randomly at the beginning of the academic year for the three middle school levels. For each level, one of the groups is the experimental group and the other is the control group. In each the three levels in each middle school, both groups were taught the Biology and Geology course by the same teacher.For each academic level, we developed electronic content matching the intended learning objectives of the Biology and Geology course to be taught using information and communication technologies to the experimental groups in both cities. The control groups in each level learn the same course material from the same instructor using the traditional (non ICT) means. It should be noted that each middle has been equipped with an ICT enabled classroom where experimental groups where taught the Biology and Geology course. For each level, both groups were evaluated using the same tests.Having designed and run the experiment described above for one semester, we conducted statistical analysis to compare the performance of the experimental and control groups for each level in each middle school. The analysis revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group for the three levels in the Fez middle school with a 85% confidence. In Ifrane middle school, the performance of the experimental group was superior for the third level but was found to be similar to the control group for the first and second levels with the same confidence level.

Popularizing Geological Education Among Civil Engineering Students

ABSTRACT The sustainable development of an economy and a society cannot be realized without the help of modern geoscience. Engineering geology knowledge is necessary on a civil engineering construction site to ensure the construction work goes smoothly. This paper first discusses the importance of geoscience, especially the study of engineering geology. Then, the current Chinese engineering geology course for civil engineering students is summarized. The engineering geology course at Shijiazhuang Tiedao University is described in detail, including its history, its content, and some teaching tactics for the course. The paper closes with an evaluation of the effects of the teaching tactics.

Incorporating Student-Led Field Trips and Learner-Centered Teaching in a Capstone Geology Course

ABSTRACT Capstone experiences are typically the culmination of an undergraduate program and allow students to integrate their content knowledge with communication and technical skills, many of which are desirable in the job market and graduate school. Learner-centered teaching fits well with a capstone course because it requires students to be more engaged in the material and take an active role in their education. The capstone course in the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Geology program has recently been revised to include more learner-centered teaching and a Spring Break field trip. Each student in the course chose and led a field trip that illustrated a specific geologic feature or process. The majority of assignments for the course revolved around preparing, leading, and reporting on the field trip topic. The students generally enjoyed the course, found it beneficial, and learned geologic content because of their own inquiry. By shifting the course to emphasize learner-centered teaching, the students were more prepared for assignments, applied and enhanced their geologic content knowledge, gained exposure to new geologic settings, improved their communication skills, and bonded with their classmates.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum, 4: Evidence of Student Learning and Attitudes about Spreadsheets in a Physical Geology Course

Spreadsheets have been used in education for teaching math concepts for years. However, when faculty at the University of South Florida began using a new set of spreadsheet-based modules to help teach students math and geology concepts the students were not receptive. The complaint most often heard was that students spent more time learning how to use Excel than they did learning the concepts presented in the modules. We began to wonder if the learning curve for Excel was so great that it prevented our students from attaining the level of learning for the math and geology concepts that we had hoped for. Was Excel getting in the way? To investigate this question, we divided the students in two Introductory Physical Geology courses into two groups: one group was given a set of modules which instructed them to use Excel for all calculations; the other group was simply told to complete the calculations but was not instructed what method to use. We anticipated that students in the Non-Excel group would be less frustrated with the modules and thus their learning of the math and geology concepts presented in the modules would be deeper. However, it turned out that this was incorrect. The results of our study show that whether or not the students used Excel had very little to do with the level of learning they achieved. Despite the complaints by students that Excel was hindering their learning with the modules, students in the study attained high gains for both the math and geology concepts presented in the modules whether they used Excel or not. In fact, the only difference in learning we saw was based on which course the student belonged to. Students in the course led by the author of the modules had much larger gains in knowledge across the board than those in the course led by another instructor. It appears that the spreadsheet-based modules are a useful tool for teaching math and geology concepts to students but that the largest effect on the success of these modules lies in the teaching style and/or proximity to the author of the modules.

The Geology of Mexico: A Quantitative Evaluation of a Course Designed to Increase the Number of Hispanic Students Participating in the Geosciences at California State University, Sacramento

ABSTRACTWe present a quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of a newly developed introductory course, Geology of Mexico, in attracting Hispanic students, encouraging them to take more geology courses, and recruiting them to the major. The student population in the Geology of Mexico course was 93% Hispanic compared with 18.5% in Physical Geology. We found that Hispanic students in Physical Geology earned lower grades than did nonminority students, while Hispanic students in Geology of Mexico earned grades comparable with nonminority students in Physical Geology. Overall, Geology of Mexico students also showed more positive attitude changes and were more likely to take another geology course. The recruitment rate into the major for Hispanic students in Geology of Mexico was 4.7% compared with 3% in Physical Geology. The recruitment rate for nonminority students in Physical Geology was 4.9%. We believe the difference in outcome for Hispanic students is due to a strong cohort effect enhanced by (1) the required lab component and (2) many students knowing one another because they belong to the Hispanic-serving organizations on campus that promote our course.

Broadening Diversity in the Geosciences Through Teacher–Student Workshops That Emphasize Community-Based Research Projects

ABSTRACTThe Geosciences Institute for Research and Education at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has been an example of a successful and effective model in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. The program emphasizes involving middle school and at-risk high school students from the Detroit area public schools, along with their teachers in geoscience research projects, through a series of spring and summer workshops. The workshops introduce students to the geosciences by emphasizing how geology can be used as a tool to solve community-based environmental problems. Students work alongside their teachers and university faculty on projects ranging from an assessment of brownfield sites in southwestern Detroit to the installation of groundwater monitoring wells to the evaluation of how former land use is impacting groundwater and surface water quality. Spring workshops focused on students from three African-centered middle schools in Detroit, while the summer workshops focused more on middle school and high school teacher training, but included a small group of middle school and high school students. Instruments used to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops included the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument, the Geoscience Concept Inventory, and survey questions from the Watershed Task. Pre- and postworkshop questionnaires and separate teacher–student focus groups demonstrate that we have not only increased student awareness of the geosciences, but we have also motivated students to pursue career opportunities in science. For example, more than half of the students completing the workshop (boys and girls alike) have expressed a strong interest in pursuing a career in the geosciences. Since its inception in 2005, we have reached over 100 middle and high school students, and 75 teachers. During this same period, the Earth Science major at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has tripled in size, and we have quadrupled the number of minority students taking introductory geology courses.

Beyond map view: teaching the conceptualisation and visualisation of geology through 3D and 4D geological models

AbstractThe ability to visualise geological structures in three dimensions is an important skill developed during an undergraduate student's geology course. These visualisation skills include the ability to conceptualise a 3D model from a 2D geological map. A further higher order skill is to ‘see’ how 3D geological structures develop through time. To assist undergraduate students to improve competence in these key visualisation skills, and to aid university teachers, we present a series of interactive 3D digital models of geological structures. The geological models can be forward modelled and restored, allowing the user to visualise the formation and evolution of geological structures and relate this to the final model geometry and map pattern.

Using Google Earth and Satellite Imagery to Foster Place-Based Teaching in an Introductory Physical Geology Course

ABSTRACTStudents in an introductory physical geology course often have difficulty making connections between basic course topics and assembling key concepts (beyond textbook examples) to interpret how geologic processes shape the characteristics of the local and regional natural environment. As an approach to address these issues, we designed and implemented a semester-long place-based group project, which used satellite imagery and Google Earth as a means to improve both students' conceptual knowledge of geological concepts and their understanding of geological processes. The project provided the underlying framework for both lecture and laboratory activities and was designed to reiterate and strengthen the connections across topics. Findings suggest that when given the opportunity and tools to develop a sense of place in the local and regional environment, students improve their conceptual knowledge and ability to apply critical thinking skills. Consequently, student learning becomes more meaningful and relevant to their everyday experiences.

Use of Geochemistry Data Collected by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in Gusev Crater to Teach Geomorphic Zonation through Principal Components Analysis

This paper presents a laboratory exercise used to teach principal components analysis (PCA) as a means of surface zonation. The lab was built around abundance data for 16 oxides and elements collected by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in Gusev Crater between Sol 14 and Sol 470. Students used PCA to reduce 15 of these into 3 components, which, after quartimax rotation, very strikingly divided the surface traversed by Spirit's into three distinct zones. Students then used such concepts as the Bowen reaction series, typical minerals in Earth's basalts and andesitic arcs, the periodic table, and the Goldschmidt classification, together with Pancam images from Spirit and the Mars Orbiter Camera, to interpret the surfaces over which the rover moved. Students found this foray to Mars a challenging but enjoyable project, and it made PCA memorable to them long after the class had ended. Some variant on this lab could work for multivariate statistics courses in geology, geography, and environmental science, as well as advanced courses in the content of those disciplines, particularly those dealing with zonation.

Students’ Questioning and Creativity

University students must develop several higher-order skills along their higher education route. One of these fundamental skills is creativity. The practice of questioning is one of the modes to enhance creativity. In this paper, the authors illustrate how students’ approaches to creativity can be linked to the types of questions they ask in Higher Education. Several teaching and learning strategies were implemented in a geology course and a chemistry course, at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, as a way of promoting students’ questioning competence. The relationship between the kinds of questions asked and the students’ approaches to creativity is analysed and discussed.

2011 Service Award for Richard N. Pugh

2011 Service Award for Richard N. Pugh

Can Willingness and Hands-on Work Together? Teaching Biological Evolution and Dealing with Barriers

This qualitative research aims at first defining how pre-service science teachers think regarding the theory of evolution (TOE) with a particular hands-on and minds-on activity (The article by O’Brien (Am Biol Teach 62(8):578–582, 2000) entitled A toilet paper timeline of evolution: 5 E cycle on the concept of scale is modified and applied in the present research as an intervention process.) Finally, specific suggestions in instructional techniques are offered based on a geological time scale. At the end of intervention, the research follows how participants respond to what they found out or came across. If participants had common misconceptions regarding the TOE, these are revealed. The present research was conducted in two spring semesters of 2009 and 2010 in a geology course. The participant number of the study was 129. The research lasted three weeks. Research results showed that participants were generally misinformed regarding conceptual knowledge of the TOE. Approximately half of the participants did not believe (the term believing in or acceptance of the TOE does not affect research findings) in the TOE. Mostly, they thought that there is no place for human evolution in Islam. Few of them could reconcile scientific information with their own Islamic point of view. Even though they did not believe in the TOE, most of them accepted that they did not have adequate knowledge regarding the TOE. They mostly said they were shocked about the first appearance of human beings in the geological time scale, which is the main issue in the present research. After intervention, conceptual change was considerable, though this is a secondary concern. The results also show that even though students were quite prejudiced regarding the TOE, they were ready to explore it deeply. Such concrete activities might be helpful to push students to think over the TOE. However, there are numerous barriers such as ill-prepared science textbooks and websites, unwillingness of instructors, and official policy of the Ministry of National Education.