Using Interdisciplinary Geologic Microscopy to Teach the Scientific Method

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The Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts seeks to engage undergraduate students in critical thinking and practicing the scientific method by using geologic microscopy to introduce students to the basic concepts of physical geology at the earliest possible course level in the geology program. Geologic microscopy appeals to the natural interest that students at all levels have in examining geologic materials at a scale outside of the realm of daily life experience. The goal of this project is to train both majors and non-majors in methods of analyzing problems, evaluating observations, and drawing solid conclusions with confidence. Presentation of observations (data), analytical pathway, and conclusions, to other students in group microscopy sessions, will build students' confidence in their ability to make simple observations and to extrapolate them to conclusions about geologic processes on a spatially and conceptually large scale. The observational microscopy component of the geology major curriculum will be used to enhance student perception of geology as a collection of closely interrelated fields. The development of a new introductory physical geology course targeting first year students of all interests, entitled "The World Under a Microscope" will result from this project. This course will introduce the topics explored in typical introductory physical geology courses through the use of observational microscopy. The equipment requested will also enhance major revisions, already in progress, as well as the cohesion of the introductory geology-mineralogy-petrology-structural geology sequence. Revisions of the existing courses will involve microscopy-based student collaboration and independent semester-long student research projects. The major curriculum change resulting from this project will target students experiencing their first taste of the field of geosciences. In addition, the project targets earth science teachers who commonly enroll in introductory geology c ourses at the University of Massachusetts, and upon whom we depend to present geosciences as a legitimate field of study to the university students of upcoming decades.