Environmental Geology Laboratory Excercises In Environmental Geology PDF Download

Student retention of information and development of critical thinking skills are the primary objectives of instructors. Various methods in the presentation of information have been tried, and an abundance of delivery methods are currently in use. As technology has advanced, the use of computers has brought about major changes in education. Many colleges and universities are presently engaged in a race to present as many online degrees as possible. The advent of online classes has forced instructors to rethink methods of presentation. Changes in work schedules and lifestyles of students have made these online courses much more attractive than traditional on-site classes. Some researchers have cited improved student learning with online courses. Dawes (2003) cites virtual field trips as having a significant impact in classes when combined with problem solving exercises. Dawes further states "the virtual field sites provide an excellent resource that can be used to help achieve high-level geologic learning outcomes." I have used several virtual filed trips in an online setting, and students have expressed a high interest in them. I have found them to be quite beneficial to student learning when incorporated into online classes. While no single approach has universal success in education, online field trips have been very successful and have enjoyed a high popularity among my students. Educational research has long supported the belief that experience is the best teacher. In the words of John G. Richardson at North Carolina Cooperative Extension: Experience in a learning situation enhances the educational process and retention of knowledge gained. In the learning system, the experience component involves the inclusion of program delivery methods that allow the learner to participate in ways that involve senses, emotions, or social interaction, depending upon the content being provided. This experience may range from simply touching or feeling an object to actually constructing or dissecting an object. The experience may be recitation of words or seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and in some conditions hearing some stimulating situation or phenomenon. By having an opportunity to experience the information provided, the learner can retain the educational input considerably longer than if the information is only presented in the conceptual form. I began teaching environmental geology online with an accompanying online lab in 2002. The lab manual was designed for a traditional face-to-face class. I was very concerned with the validity of the course material and how well the students would learn and retain the information. Student achievement proved to be acceptable, but their interest level seemed less than it would have been in a face-to-face class, mostly due to problems with the lab manual. The format was not easily adapted to online use, and much of the material was from distant areas that were unfamiliar to most of the students. I believe information with which the students have some direct experience will help increase retention of information. Many of the areas of geological interest in New Mexico are familiar to my students, and I feel this familiarity will provide a good starting point for the assimilation of information about environmental geology. With these ideas in mind, I proposed to my Division Chair and to my Advisory Committee that I develop a suitable lab manual for the existing online environment The resulting lab manual develops geology topics from the state of New Mexico and incorporates my photographs, drawings, diagrams, and website.