Integrating Research with Undergraduate Education through a Petrotectonic Study of Casco Bay, Maine

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Geology (42)The Casco Bay project brings research into the classroom. Recent pedagogical studies and reports recommend that undergraduate courses create opportunities for students to "do" science by engaging in research that provides them with life-long learning skills in problem-solving, quantitative reasoning, and communication. In essence, science and the skills learned by "doing" science are integral to everyone's life, regardless of background or (future) occupation. The Casco Bay region of Maine is readily accessible to Bowdoin College and it lends itself to multi-disciplinary studies, because the region includes felsic and mafic volcanics, pelites, and limestones that have undergone deformation and been variably metamorphosed from chlorite to sillimanite grade. Research on the Casco Bay region is being integrated into undergraduate geology courses and student thesis research. This project adapts and implements the successful practices of other educators by using regional geologic studies and by integrating research into courses. The Casco Bay project incorporates petrological, geochemical, structural, and geochronologic research in four undergraduate courses: Introduction to Physical Geology, Structural Geology, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, and Mountain Belts. Data are shared between students using a Geographical Information System's (GIS) database. Through the project, students become familiar with the geology that surrounds them and engage cooperatively in multidisciplinary research. In so doing, students make connections between geologic disciplines, recognize the benefit of approaching problems from different angles, and improve their field, quantitative, and communication skills.