Integration of Laboratory and Lecture within an IntroductoryGeology Course: Combining a Constructivist and Case Study Approach

该项目的目标是通过重新设计课程来增加大型物理地质学入门课程中科学的相关性：1)包括更少的主题，更详细地涵盖；2)在讲座中采用案例研究方法，最大限度地进行讨论/辩论；3)在实验室中采用建构主义方法最大化基于发现的学习；4)充分整合实验和课堂，使实验说明与课堂讨论相关的地质原理。课程将分为三个主要内容领域：一个介绍模块（矿物，岩石周期和地质时间）；一个外部过程模块（地下水、河流/洪水、地球能源）和一个内部过程模块（火山、地震、板块构造）。在课堂上，案例研究将成为课程的一个组成部分。背景资料和每个案例研究的“问题陈述”将通过为课程设计的一系列网页提供给所有学生。四组学生将合作进行额外的研究，并在课堂上讨论/辩论这些问题。每个学生将参与一个合作小组，所有学生将负责所有案例研究。讲师将负责这些讨论中所呈现材料的质量控制。实验室将通过探索性活动以及综合数据集的分析和综合来发展这些案例研究的背景原则。这项工作将产生三方面的影响：1)强调案例研究将使一般学生更加了解“真正的”地质和环境问题；2)实验的重点将从分类和识别转向批判性思维和解决问题；3)这些练习和案例研究将成为其他机构可以全部或部分采用的模型。

The objective of this project is to increase the relevance of science in a large introductory Physical Geology course by redesigning the course to: 1) include fewer topics that are covered in greater detail; 2) employ a case-study approach in lecture that maximizes discussion/debate; 3) employ a constuctivist approach in lab maximizing discovery based learning; and 4) fully integrate lab and lecture, so that labs illustrate the geologic principles relating to lecture discussions. The course will be divided into three main content areas: an introductory module (minerals, rock cycle and geologic time); an external processes module (groundwater, rivers/floods, energy from the Earth) and an internal processes module (volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics). In lecture, case-studies will form an integral part of the curriculum. Background material and the "problem statement" for each case-study will be available to all students through a series of web pages designed for the course. Four groups of students will do additional research collaboratively and discuss/debate the issues to the rest of the class. Each student will be involved in one collaborative group and all students will be responsible for all case studies. The instructor will serve as quality control for the material presented in these discussions. Labs will develop the background principles for these case studies through explorationtype activities as well as analysis and synthesis of integrated datasets. The impact of this work will be three-fold: 1) the emphasis on case studies will produce a general student populace that is more aware of "real" geologic and environmental issues; 2) the focus in lab will shift from classifying and identifying to critical thinking and problem-solving; and 3) the exercises and case studies will serve as a model that other institutions can adopt in whole, or in part.