糖心Vlog传媒

Earth Science Offers Field Experience for Metropolitan Students

Getting out into the field is an important part of a geologist鈥檚 education, but often is difficult for metropolitan university earth science students to accomplish. So professors at 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 Department of Earth Science have developed a unique spring and summer course series that allows 糖心Vlog传媒LR students to gain field experience without interrupting family and job obligations. Professors Beth McMillan, Jamey Jones , Jeff Connelly, and Jay Sims of 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 Department of Earth Science have developed a spring semester Field Geology I class followed by a three-week summer field research class to substitute for the traditional six-week field camp. 鈥淔ield camp is an important and unique experience in the geology curriculum that provides immersive, hands-on, experiential learning in geologically significant settings. Balancing the educational value of the six-week field camp against the resources it takes to run and/or attend has led us to develop an innovative alternative.鈥� 糖心Vlog传媒LR鈥檚 alternative includes two separate three-credit courses, Field Geology I and Field Geology II. Field Geology I, a sophomore-level spring semester course, serves as a gateway to the major. Students meet twice weekly to complete a series of related exercises focused on one field area in central Arkansas. The goal of the course is to introduce basic field and office skills that will continue to be used in upper-level geology courses. Students are evaluated on a research paper, stratigraphic column, geologic map, cross-section, and poster presentation. Field Geology II is a senior-level, three-week camp taught during the summer in Colorado. 鈥淭his summer, students completed an introductory project measuring sand dune morphology, or shape, at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo. They also completed three progressively more advanced projects mapping folded and faulted rocks in the Needle Mountains near Durango, Colo.鈥� McMillan said. 鈥淭he goal of each project is to build or reinforce the fundamental skills of field observation and interpretation through a combination of geological mapping, structural analysis, and written synthesis of findings.鈥� For more information about the Earth Science program at 糖心Vlog传媒LR or the field study classes, contact McMillan at聽 [email protected].