Geological Education Research Articles

Fleshing out the Landscape: Two centuries of Australia’s geological heroes

Australian Geology, from its beginning, was linked to the development of resources, in a number of distinct colonies, often with little co-operation between them. While the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901 saw the beginning of an Australia-wide approach to geological studies, the former colonies, now states, still guarded certain rights, acting independently, in as far as possible. Separate colonial geological surveys continued as State bodies, focussed largely on resource (including water) studies. Geological education was mainly through a few universities, where research on broader issues was undertaken, with results published in separate, largely colony/state oriented, society journals. The Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, formed in 1888, was a major influence in bringing geologists into direct contact, and marked the beginning of attempts to rationalise results and focus on Australia-wide aspects. Post World War 11 saw the expansion of geological research, formation of a Commonwealth Survey and the Geological Society of Australia, with the latter providing a medium for promulgation and discussion of ideas. The paper discusses the role of some 180 geologists through two centuries.

Developing Transferrable Geospatial Skills in a Liberal Arts Context

Geology education usually takes place within the context of a broader curriculum, but specific synergies between disciplines have rarely been explored or exploited. Here, we have assessed the spatial visualization skills of undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines to determine which are most compatible with a geology curriculum. Spatial abilities are considered one of the most important cognitive skills in the geosciences but there has been little comparative work among disciplines (and particularly non-Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines). Our results demonstrate that geology students had the highest average spatial test scores (a mean of 16.4 out of a possible 20) among the 11 disciplines assessed, and this remained true even after correcting for the effects of gender and grade point average. Both physics and fine arts students also performed well on this assessment. A major implication of our study is that geology students can deliberately enhance their spatial abilities by taking courses in other fields, such as the fine arts, which are known to build those same abilities. In this way, geology curricula may be developed to maximize the benefits of a broad education and thus, ultimately, produce higher-performing geologists.

Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches

Earth science students are challenged to acquire the depth and breadth of knowledge and skills needed for professional work. How are they being educated to observe; reason spatially and temporally; measure and analyze data with new technologies; assemble fragmented and insufficiently documented data from varied sources, including geophysics, lab analyses, and observations; test hypotheses; compile maps by various methods; and report orally and in writing as part of the development of critical thinking skills? Similarly, how are future middle and high school teachers being trained in the earth sciences to prepare their students to be a scientifically literate populace prepared for work in a modern world? Are field-based geoscience classes adequately preparing students for careers in the geoscience and science education? The 25 papers in this special text reveal the thinking behind geologic pedagogy (i.e., geoscience instruction) through (1) education in field camps, (2) use of modern instruments and technologies in field instruction, (3) student-led original field research, (4) field instruction for primary and secondary school teachers, and (5) assessment of field education methods. Because we have a stake in the training of the next generation of geoscientists, it is important for working professionals and technical societies to monitor and support geoscience education. Faculty are constantly challenged to update curricula and integrate new technologies as part of educating competent scientists. The authors of this special text describe how universities are successfully rising to this challenge by integrating field studies within the entire geoscience curriculum rather than merely having a few weekend field trips and a stand-alone bedrock mapping course. The geoscience educators also describe how the preparation of students …

Chapter 13 The Australian years: Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at Melbourne 1900–1904

Gregory arrived in Melbourne, without his family, and was welcomed by the Professorial Board on 23 February 1900. He probably stayed initially with the Professor of Biology, Walter Baldwin Spencer (1860–1929), an enthusiast for fieldwork, who had written to him offering the use of his house as his wife and children were away (letter with A. Mendell). He must have made a favourable impression amongst the academic community because he was awarded a Melbourne University DSc almost immediately by ‘ ad eundem gradum ’ (Univ. Melb. Archives). This was not an honorary degree but recognition that he had achieved the same degree in another university of repute, in this instance, London. Of course, since his 1893 London DSc, he had published more than enough to gain another DSc if he had chosen to apply. According to Lim (1975), his duties were to devote the whole of his time to the work of his department; to conduct and mark examinations and to deliver two courses of lectures of three hours a week each and associated fieldwork instruction. According to the newspaper The Age of 26 February 1900, Gregory's predecessor at Melbourne (who had come from a Chair at Queen's University, Belfast to the Chair in 1854, initially taught almost all the science in the university), ‘the late Sir Frederick McCoy never took his students into the field at all so they had no such practical work or contact with mining in the colony whereas Dr Gregory intends to promote field work, mineralogy, links with mining and palaeontology teaching in geology, especially as regards the sequence of beds’ (Fig. 13.1). Fig. 13.1. Professor Frederick McCoy, later knighted (Selleck 2003). With permission of the University of Melbourne Archives. Although he had been led to believe that the university had a ‘very fair collection …

Chapter 10 The move to Melbourne University

According to E. Lim (1975), in a letter dated 15 August 1899, John Madden (1844–1918), Chancellor of the University of Melbourne wrote to the Agent General (in London) for the Colony of Victoria, asking him to invite applications for a new Chair in Geology and Mineralogy. This was necessitated by both the death of the previous holder of the Chair of Natural History (from 1854–1899), Professor Sir Frederick McCoy (1817–1899), and the creation of separate Chairs of both Chemistry and Biology, subjects that had previously been included in Natural History (Selleck 2003). This left geology teaching and research, including palaeontology, in abeyance. The emphasis was to be on ‘mineralogy so that the new Department may be brought into line with any future extensions of Mining and Engineering.’ The advertisement was placed in Nature on 28 September and applications had to be received in London by 20 October 1899. The London appointing committee consisted of four FRS's: A. Geikie, Director General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, J. W. Judd, Dean of the Royal College of Science, John Edward Marr (1857–1933) Woodwardian Professor of Geology at Cambridge, and Charles Lapworth (1842–1920), Professor of Geology at Birmingham. Gregory, who had (on 3 October 1899) asked for, and received from, Geikie a fine testimonial for the post, wrote to Geikie on 5 October stating that given that Geikie would be on the appointing committee in London, he would not submit the testimonial (Edinburgh University, Geikie Archives). The following day, 6 October he wrote to Lapworth asking if he would give him a testimonial, perhaps in place of Geikie's, presumably because he did not realize Lapworth was also on the committee (Lapworth archives, H22). The committee considered ‘the claims of Dr Gregory are so far above those of any of …

The efieldbook program: A teaching resource for geology

The eFieldBook program is a geology teaching tool with high didactic potential that guides a student’s work in the field using multimedia and other resources. This program allows the collection of geo-referenced geological information as well as its storage and transmission, if necessary, as soon as it is collected. The data can be collected as in traditional field notebooks or on maps and photographs. The information can be used as soon as it is collected and can be exported to other programs such as Word, Excel, Georient or statistical packages. eFieldBook safely stores and backs up user information by sending any data collected to a selected Internet target at regular time intervals.

Six Syllabi from the Early Years of American Geological Education, 1817-1838

Between 1817 and 1838 professors at the University of Pennsylvania, South Carolina College, Yale College, and Columbia College published six syllabi for earth science courses. All stressed geology. These syllabi give unique insight into classrooms of almost 200 years ago. The greatest difference between the six syllabi involved historical geology. Some pioneer professors viewed observation as the only basis for interpreting geological history. Others viewed Biblical revelation as the dominant, or at least an important, guide to deciphering the history of Planet Earth. Eventually differing approaches to historical interpretation led to a well-documented religion-geology confrontation. It culminated in a much-publicized attempt to impeach a college president who taught an observation-based geology course. After 1832, the year of this failed impeachment, known syllabi continued to emphasize observation. By 1834 the once exonerated college president and his entire faculty were fired. By 1840 research in the Alps showed that widely distributed high altitude earth-surface sediments of mixed clastic character, generally called the Drift, are of glacial origin. This observation-based view was gradually accepted by much of the scientific community. Before 1840 some earth science teachers saw all occurrences of the Drift as clear proof that the Flood of Noah covered the entire planet, including the highest mountains. The Drift and the Noachian Flood were major themes in some science classrooms. Today, the Drift is less controversial. Evolution is the new battleground but the conflict is the same. It is an impasse between the interpretation of Biblical revelation and the interpretation of observation.

地学教育への応用地質の関わり

中部支部では, 毎年夏休みの期間中に普及活動として「親子体験ツアー」と称した企画を実施している. この企画は, 感受性の高い小・中・高の時代から, 自然を対象とする体験学習を行うことで, 最近の若者の「自然離れ」を少しでも改善できれば, さらにこうした活動が, 応用地質学の発展にも寄与できるのではないかと考え, 立案されたものである. 平成16～21年度までに5回のイベントを開催し, 延べ62家族, 152名が参加した. 内容は, 地震, 土砂災害, 化石・鉱物の見学・採取, 室内実験などである. 回を重ねるにつれ, 参加者の採取した化石やその写真の専門家による鑑定を取り入れ, 引率型から参加者主導型のイベントに発展してきている. ツアー募集には新聞広告も取り入れ, 定員の2倍の応募がある. 社会は自然離れというが, 一方で社会は「自然との触れあい」を熱望しているのではないか. ただ, そのきっかけがわからないだけなのではないのか. ならば, その機会を提供することも学会の使命ではないだろうか.

Rudolf Trümpy (1921–2009): scientific achievements of an outstanding personality with a life-long commitment to teaching and research in geology

Over the years Rudolf Trumpy gave the Swiss and the international geoscientific community an enormous stimulus by revealing intimate interdependencies between stratigraphy and mountain building. However, brilliant talks, excellent teaching, engaged thesis supervision, unforgettable excursions, and lively and critical discussions were possibly just as important to all those who directly encountered this outstanding personality with a life-long commitment to teaching and research in geology.

Geology; its principles, practice and potential for Geotechnics

Abstract Three themes are developed in this paper. The first deals with those principles basic to the science of geology and thus to the use of geology in geotechnical engineering; namely, the principles of superposition and uniformitarianism; their use is illustrated with reference to commonly occurring geotechnical situations. Then the application of these principles in practice is explained, together with the difficulties that follow if little thought is given to the demands they make for their proper use. Two common causes for difficulty are considered; namely, using an inappropriate description and working at an inappropriate scale. Finally, the potential geology has to open new areas of research is illustrated with examples, ranging in dimension over almost 14 orders of magnitude, the largest involving regional structure, the London Basin. The examples that follow are of progressively smaller volume: displacements in landslides, the failure of crystalline rock, the response of mineral surfaces to contact with water, the possible effects of strain energy stored in minerals, and the characters of silica gel, a material that could influence and possibly govern the geomechanical and geochemical response of silicate particles. Each of these subjects could lead to an understanding of geological materials that changes the development of geotechnical engineering. Each is capable of becoming a scientific area to which engineers refer for solutions to problems in ground engineering and guidance in the use of soils as a construction material. In developing these themes mention is also made of the roots of engineering geology in Britain, as these throw light onto the similarities and differences between engineering geology and geology for engineers, and between engineering geology used in practice and that needed to develop the subject. The greatest danger at present comes from the lack of education in practical and theoretical geology for many who enter engineering geology; it is that which will do most to limit the extraordinary potential for advances in geotechnical engineering that can be provided by geology.

A importância dos Geoparques no ensino e divulgação das geociências

The creation of geoparks, at fi rst in Europe but nowadays in the whole world, allowed the establishment of new strategies for the teaching and interpretation of the geosciences. Geoparks promote not only the interpretation of geological knowledge but also the values of responsible citizenship, based on a sustainable use of well-protected geological heritage. In order to achieve these aims, geopark staff must include experts in geosciences education, and must maintain a close relationship with the local community. This paper develops these topics, and discusses several examples of geological education and interpretation in European geoparks.

The power of deep time in geoscience education: linking 'interest', 'threshold concepts', and 'self-determination theory'

Geological time is a pivotal concept in geological education, yet it often fails to be included explicitly in UK school curricula. The careful application of existing educational theory can assist geoscience educators in their role of enhancing learners' understanding of Earth's deep history and providing a deep time conceptual framework for environmental change education. Three bodies of theory are reviewed with teachers' imperatives in mind. These relate to interest, conceptual change and motivation. First, the psychological construct of interest can be analysed in terms of situational and individual interest. Second, threshold concept theory is presented as a recent addition to conceptual change theory. Third, learner motivation is examined in the context of self-determination theory. Such bodies of educational theory are rarely progressively cumulative because new ideas are typically presented in a relatively independent fashion. Further fragmentary theorising may generate minimal new insight, but combining such bodies of theory into a coherent whole may provide greater assistance to educators in their planning, teaching and assessment. Many such teachers have strong subject loyalties and orientations, so this three-fold blend is developed in the context of geoscience, using deep time as the dominant threshold concept. A 3-by-4 cellular model combines the key elements of interest and self-determination theory in relation to the threshold concept of deep time. Teachers can use the model to plan curricula or to diagnose learner motivation and cognition.

O jogo “Ciclo das Rochas” para ensino de Geociências

It is quite easy to find educational games and toys, as well as papers, for teaching of different disciplines, specially Mathematics. There are however few experiences of games for Geology teaching. The “Rock Cycle” game aims to stimulate teaching by means of a simple and easy-to-construct “board-and-playing-cards” structure. The problem - to build a model of the rock cycle - develops some typical reasonings of the Geosciences and, or, more specifically, Geology. The small groups of players cooperate and/or compete to solve the problem. The playing cards yield information the players need to fulfil a diagram of the cycle. There are two card types: the (red) “process cards” describe the main processes (weathering, erosion etc.), while the (blue) “product cards” refer to natural materials (rock types, sediments etc.). Hint-cards provide information to help plotting a given card on the board. The board models (diagram structures) provide “basic” and “advanced” difficulty levels. The basic-level board model is a diagram of the rock cycle, whose boxes should be filled by the players. The advanced-level board model increases the complexity by a similar box network, without the underlying diagram. The choice depends both on the school level and the familiarity with Geology concepts by participants. The practical tests suggest games to be highly positive for teaching-learning. The proposal can be an educational tool, therefore largely exceeding the functions of an entertainment object, because the “Rock Cycle” game helps to popularize new theoretical concepts related to the subject

O jogo “Ciclo das Rochas” para ensino de Geociências

It is quite easy to find educational games and toys, as well as papers, for teaching of different disciplines, specially Mathematics. There are however few experiences of games for Geology teaching. The “Rock Cycle” game aims to stimulate teaching by means of a simple and easy-to-construct “board-and-playing-cards” structure. The problem - to build a model of the rock cycle - develops some typical reasonings of the Geosciences and, or, more specifically, Geology. The small groups of players cooperate and/or compete to solve the problem. The playing cards yield information the players need to fulfil a diagram of the cycle. There are two card types: the (red) “process cards” describe the main processes (weathering, erosion etc.), while the (blue) “product cards” refer to natural materials (rock types, sediments etc.). Hint-cards provide information to help plotting a given card on the board. The board models (diagram structures) provide “basic” and “advanced” difficulty levels. The basic-level board model is a diagram of the rock cycle, whose boxes should be filled by the players. The advanced-level board model increases the complexity by a similar box network, without the underlying diagram. The choice depends both on the school level and the familiarity with Geology concepts by participants. The practical tests suggest games to be highly positive for teaching-learning. The proposal can be an educational tool, therefore largely exceeding the functions of an entertainment object, because the “Rock Cycle” game helps to popularize new theoretical concepts related to the subject

Engineering Geomorphology: Theory and Practice

Most practicing engineering geologists have an intrinsic appreciation for applied (engineering) geomorphology, mostly from the innate recognition that landform analysis provides a valuable tool for deducing the real nature of subsurface geologic detail. In fact, does it not follow that the exposed surface of an individual geomorphic feature generally has its own subsurface “roots” in form and physical character? Peter Fookes has had a remarkably intense and productive, worldwide, fifty-year career in engineering geology, and he has never missed a beat in observing and passing his lessons learned on to us. Together with his general writings since the early 1970's, and his 2005 edition of Geomorphology for Engineering (with Mark Lee and George Milligan; reviewed by Hatheway [2006]), Fookes has now truly established and defined this very important sub-discipline of our profession (Fookes, 1997; Fookes and Voughe, 1986; Fookes and Perry, 1994; Fookes et al., 2005). Fookes is a self-admitted philosophical renegade, who, beginning in UK classical geological education, has transported his keenest observational powers from pre-Cretaceous terranes into Neogene surficial materials, where mankind has come to dwell. Fookes has gathered a cadre of diverse geoscience practitioners who have produced an organized mass of highly useful knowledge. The value of this text is that it bundles together so much useful technique, so that the perceptive reader …

From the beginning: faith and geology at evangelical Wheaton College

Abstract Geology has been part of the curriculum at Wheaton College, Illinois, since it was established in 1860 as a non-denominational, Christian liberal arts college. The school continues to maintain a strong identity with evangelical Christian theology and subculture. The first president Jonathan Blanchard recruited George Frederick Barker to teach geology and natural history on the personal recommendations of the renowned geologists Agassiz, Silliman and Hitchcock. Barker taught at Wheaton for only one year, and was followed by a succession of other young scientists who kept geology in the curriculum to the end of the nineteenth century. These teachers respected the geological evidence for an ancient Earth and interpreted the creation days in Genesis 1 as representing extended epochs of God's creative activity. In the early twentieth century, Professors James Bole and L. Allen Higley harmonized mainstream geological history and the Bible through the gap or ruin–restoration interpretation, wherein eons of geological time preceded six days of Edenic re-creation only thousands of years ago. Higley's background in geology, his role in recruiting additional science faculty staff, and his influence among fundamentalists set the stage for the acceptance by subsequent Wheaton geologists of mainstream geology and their rejection of emerging popular fundamentalist ideas about a six day creation and Flood geology. Geology was established as a major subject in 1935 and an independent Geology Department was established in 1958. Geology education at Wheaton College was profoundly influenced by the tension over creation issues in the evangelical subculture, and different models for understanding the relationship between science and Christian theology have been employed by teachers and students.

Scientific institutions and the beginnings of geology in Russia

Abstract There were three major scientific centres in Russia at the turn of the nineteenth century: the Imperial St Petersburg Academy of Sciences; the Mining Department with its attached Mining School; and the Moscow University. Geology was only then emerging in Russia, where it was mainly focused on mineral prospecting and imported European concepts. However, Alexander I initiated major reforms of science and education, founding new universities in which geological education in Russia found a foothold. The first scientific societies – the Moscow Society of Naturalists and the Mineralogical Society – also played an active role in the consolidation of Russian geology.

Geo-Engineering Education and Training. The Past and the Future

A brief background on education and training in Soil Mechanics, Rock Mechanics and Engineering Geology is presented, highlighting some facts which influenced the development of these sciences. The interplay between them is stressed. The International Societies (ISSMGE, ISRM and IAEG) role in promoting education at different levels is emphasised. The performance of scientists and engineers teams from different backgrounds for the study, design, construction and rehabilitation of major infrastructures and for the solution of many geoenvironmental problems is illustrated. These disciplines are taught today in University undergraduate courses in Civil Engineering, Geological Engineering and Geology and graduate courses are tending to be jointly attended by professionals coming from these three branches. The Bologna Declaration introduced significant modifications in University education and most European countries have already adjusted their education systems to its requirements. Based on some principles of this declaration, perspectives are presented concerning future education and training in geoengineering.

Taking to the Field: Geological Fieldwork and National Identity in Republican China

This paper explores the significance of fieldwork for identity formation in three phases of modern Chinese geologic education: the prerevolutionary overseas phase (1903–12), the Geological School period (1916–18), and the early years of the Peking University Department of Geology (1918–28). This examination demonstrates the importance of the body in connecting the physicality of the individual to the dignity of the national collective and argues that Chinese identity was defined by the willingness to remake oneself for the sake of the nation, rather than by any intrinsic qualities of “Chineseness.”

The future of engineering geology

Abstract In recent years, there has been much debate about what constitutes engineering geology and how it should develop in the future. In the special session on. ‘The Future of Engineering Geology’ at the 10th Congress of the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG), it was agreed that: engineering geology was now a defined profession with status and recognised roles within the broader field of geo-engineering; continuing and improved education and training is the most important issue for the future; there needs to be a greater involvement in projects relating to environmental change and geohazards; there needs to be better communication with society as a whole about what engineering geologists do and the benefits they produce; there needs to be pro-active stewardship of the profession. As the international society responsible for the promotion of engineering geology, the IAEG must increase the effectiveness of its activities and those of the IAEG national groups. In particular, the IAEG must encourage the continuing development of technical knowledge through its Technical Commissions. In addition, engineering geologists must establish a genuine research agenda for their subject; universities must be willing to appoint practitioners as lecturers who may not have a conventional academic track record; Quaternary geology and geomorphology must be incorporated far more into engineering geology teaching; employers must actively support Masters' degree programmes and research in engineering geology; employers need to set up clear career paths for engineering geologists with an identified programme of continued professional development (CPD).