Structural Geology Courses Research Articles

Google Earth Mapping Exercises for Structural Geology Students—A Promising Intervention for Improving Penetrative Visualization Ability

ABSTRACTThree-dimensional thinking skills are extremely useful for geoscientists, and at the undergraduate level, these skills are often emphasized in structural geology courses. Google Earth is a powerful tool for visualizing the three-dimensional nature of data collected on the surface of Earth. The results of a 5 y pre- and posttest study of the three-dimensional visualization abilities of undergraduate students (N = 75) enrolled in a structural geology class at a small, liberal arts college are presented. The data suggest students achieved statistically significant gains in three-dimensional visualization skills over the course of the semester. Mean pretest scores for female students tended to be lower than those of male students. This gender gap, however, was no longer statistically significant in the posttest scores, with female students showing higher average gains in spatial skills compared to their male counterparts. These data show a correlation between the introduction of Google Earth map interpretation exercises, available on the Science Education Resource Center's Web site and developed by Tewksbury, and improved student visual penetrative thinking ability. Results support the hypothesis that individuals with greater contextual knowledge are able to more successfully circumvent lower three-dimensional spatial visualization ability. The exercise appears to be most effective in improving penetrative visualization ability for those students who have sufficient background knowledge. Those with less geological knowledge appear to benefit less from the Google Earth–based intervention studied here.

Using the Scanning Electron Microscope for Discovery Based Learning in Undergraduate Courses

Laboratory exercises incorporating a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) encourage undergraduate students to explore geologic concepts and methods. A variable pressure (VP) SEM, with attached Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and Electron Backscatter Diffractometer (EBSD), has been used in introductory, mineralogy, petrology and structural geology courses to examine sand morphology, quantify mineral chemistry, estimate the temperature of metamorphism, identify microfossils, and pursue student-designed research questions. Student response to using the SEM has been overwhelmingly positive. The undergraduate students, regardless of course level, tend to master the basics of operating the SEM quickly. After a half hour (or so), most students feel confident enough to take control of the SEM and use it to answer questions, or test ideas. Laboratory exercises are designed to allow students some freedom to pursue their own ideas and hypotheses within the framework of a broader geologic question or concept.

Indoor Field Study for Structural Geology Course

Structural geology courses at Wheaton College in northeastern Illinois conclude with a three-week geologic mapping simulation. It is preferable to have class participants learn basic mapping skills in the field. However, time and geographic constraints are such that the Geology Department now resorts to an indoor exercise as a prelude to the required summer field camp.The Geology Department's large basement lab space provides a flexible environment to create an artificial field area. Books, color coded to a set of distinctive hand specimens, are distributed throughout the room in patterns representing geologic-suite outcrops. These in turn correspond to a diversity of tectonic terranes. Books are oriented so as to portray structural information. Structural and petrologic data enable the students to synthesize a geologic map, cross sections, annotated geologic column, and ultimately, a report of investigation with historical narrative. Several years' experience indicates that the simulations meet or surpass expectations. Participants enjoy the puzzle-like challenge and integration of concepts. Those who have completed the exercise are typically more confident and able to synthesize data during actual field work than those who have not.

Developing Successful Learning Strategies in Structural Geology

Geologic fieldwork requires much more than knowledge of the basic skills learned in the standard undergraduate curriculum. Synthesis of the skills into a mental construct called a schema must be done before one can address the kinds of problems that arise when doing field investigations. Schema-development cannot be taught explicitly, but a teaching strategy that includes gradational sets of exercises contributes to the kind of synthesis that is needed to develop a functional understanding of a subject. Appropriate use of descriptive geometry and trigonometry in Structural Geology courses does two fruitful things: it provides students with sets of tools they need to analyze three-dimensional structural patterns, and it stimulates the ability to visualize in three-dimensions. Both of these results are needed to develop a functional understanding of a complex project such a mapping exercise in a moderately complex area.

Using AutoCAD for descriptive geometry exercises: in undergraduate structural geology

The exercises in descriptive geometry typically utilized in undergraduate structural geology courses are quickly and easily solved using the computer drafting program AutoCAD. The key to efficient use of AutoCAD for descriptive geometry involves taking advantage of User Coordinate Systems, alternative angle conventions, relative coordinates, and other aspects of AutoCAD that may not be familiar to the beginning user. A summary of these features and an illustration of their application to the creation of structure contours for a planar dipping bed provides the background necessary to solve other problems in descriptive geometry with the computer. The ease of the computer constructions reduces frustration for the student and provides more time to think about the principles of the problems.

A Faculty Survey on Field Trips in Undergraduate Structural-Geology Courses

A survey designed to determine the various activities, logistics, and pedagogical approaches that faculty employ on course-related field trips was sent to faculty who teach undergraduate structural-geology courses in the North-Central Section of the Geological Society of America. This paper describes the results and discusses the significance of the survey. Seventy-five colleges and universities were sent a questionnaire, and thirty faculty members responded. Eighty-six percent of respondents regularly run a required field trip as part of their structural-geology courses. Only sedimentology/stratigraphy field trips (100%) are more commonly required.Approximately 90% of structural-geology field trips require at least two days in the field, and more than 70% require travel of at least three hours to reach their destination. The most common destination for trips in the area surveyed is Baraboo, Wisconsin (48%). Department funds pay the transportation costs for most (66%) trips. About 55% of leaders give pre-trip lectures, and 63% provide students with a field guide. Most trips (80%) involve the use of discovery rather than lecture-based exercises. The exercises include gathering structural information, taking field notes, and constructing a geologic map. Virtually all respondents commented that field trips in geology courses are essential, and, in an era of diminishing financial support for such trips, these findings constitute a strong argument that course field trips are indispensable in an undergraduate geoscience curriculum.

An Integrative Geologic Mapping Project for Structural-Geology Courses

Geologic map interpretation is an important component of most undergraduate structural-geology courses, but these courses rarely teach geologic mapping skills. Geologic mapping is a holistic endeavor that requires the ability to use a variety of skills and understand different geologic disciplines. I have developed a semester-long interactive project that requires students to integrate geologic skills in order to decipher the geologic history of a region, produce a geologic map, construct geologic cross sections, and write a geologic report. Weekly laboratory exercises are integrated into the mapping project. Students use various geologic techniques to decipher the geology of the study area. Laboratory exercises require students to draw on outside knowledge and become adept at doing structural geology. Geologic maps and cross sections are created using off-the-shelf graphics software, enabling students to become proficient with computers.

A Modern Solution to the Classical Three-Point Problem

The three-point problem is a classical exercise in all structural geology courses and has many practical applications in mapping and exploration geology. The solution presented here uses a newly derived parametric approach. The theory is implemented by a microcomputer program which eliminates the need for manual calculations or graphical constructions.

A Macintosh Program for Improving Three-Dimensional Thinking

3-D Perception is a program for Macintosh computers that is designed to be used in geology and structural-geology courses. The program, designed with HyperCard, presents a series of structured exercises which test the student's ability to visualize the shape of objects in three dimensions from two-dimensional drawings. The ability to think in three dimensions is an essential skill for the interpretation of geological maps, cross-sections, and block diagrams. At the beginning, 3-D Perception presents the student with some preliminary forms which he has to fill in with information regarding the geology courses he has taken. These data will help in the final assessment of his performance. The two testing sections of the program follow: Part 1 consists of 28 cards of common objects and geometrical shapes for which the student has to indicate one possible relative position (top, front, side) among the four presented. Part 2 includes 22 problems on geological block diagrams and cross sections which must be comp...

A Review of Deformation Microstructures

Microstructural geology is playing an ever more important role in structural geology, yet it is only slowly being incorporated into structural geology courses because of the difficulties in demonstrating the great variety of deformation processes. We have found that the combination of a video program showing real-time formation of microscopic deformation features in rock analogues and lectures on deformation is a good way of introducing this material. Our method introduces students to an atomistic view of dislocations and related deformation mechanisms such as twinning, kinking, and glide. Development of these features is shown to be related to the development of crystallographic preferred orientations. On the microscopic level, dislocation motion manifests itself as subgrain formation and recrystallization. The video shows how S-C structures can be used to determine the sense of movement along shear zones in metamorphic rocks. Furthermore, students are introduced to the concept of grain-boundary sliding ...

A Plea for Changes in Undergraduate Structural Geology Courses

A Plea for Changes in Undergraduate Structural Geology Courses