Educational Materials Development for a General Education Course on Art and Geology

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College courses that integrate the teaching of science and art are an increasingly popular approach to non-science majors' instruction. These interdisciplinary courses provide a rich environment for science teaching and learning, and one that is well-suited for applying science education "best practices" such as hands-on, in-context, and active learning. Recent conference sessions and journal publications have documented the utility of teaching geoscience with art; however, a major barrier to the concept's widespread dissemination is the lack of publicly available educational materials in support of geology and art courses. The goal of this proof-of-concept project is to develop as a prototype two chapters of an introductory-level college textbook on art and geology. The project team brings together faculty with expertise in geology, art, and educational research, as well as experience in the design, development, and teaching of a geology and art course and the development of commercially published multimedia educational materials. Project activities include: 1) the development of prototypical art and geology chapters, including external review, 2) pilot-testing of the materials in a core curriculum course team-taught by the PIs, 3) evaluation and subsequent refinements of the products, and 4) dissemination to the geology and art communities about the prototype and overall initiative, highlighted by a faculty workshop offered at a major professional meeting. These activities are establishing the foundation for progressing from the proof-of-concept stage to full-scale development, the goal of which is the production of a publicly available and widely adoptable art and geology textbook with supporting multimedia materials.