Improvement of the Earth Science Curriculum and Undergraduate Research with X-Ray Diffraction

这个项目的主要目标是在高招生的地球科学概论课程中为本科生提供实践研究经验，并通过在二年级、三年级和四年级让学生参与发人深省的、现代的实验室体验来培养更多的本科生研究。为了做到这一点，该系将定量矿物鉴定按顺序引入本科课程，从高入学率的地球科学入门课程开始，随着越来越复杂的程度进入中级水平，最终进入高级课程和独立研究项目。地球科学导论专业的学生正在花3周的时间研究一个关于该地区土壤中膨胀粘土的项目，并正在生成数据，这些数据可以转发给地区农业事务办公室。中级课程“岩石和矿物”的学生将获得与仪器分析和样品制备相关的理论背景和实验室经验。这门课的学生在一个小组项目中应用他们的知识，每年研究一套不同的材料，最后写一份报告来做报告。最后，更高级课程的学生，包括矿物学、岩石学、细粒沉积物岩石学、高级矿物学和结晶学以及火成岩岩石学，能够从事各种独立的研究项目。该部门正在调整其计划，升级旧的X射线衍射系统，这是进行矿物鉴定分析的最合适和最通用的仪器。新的实验室体验既提供了全面改进的本科课程，也为入门级别的非专业学生提供了更亲密的科学体验，这是美国科学促进会关于文科教育和科学的项目最近确定的需求。

The primary objectives of this project are to provide a hands-on research experience to undergraduates in the high-enrollment Introduction to Earth Science course and to foster more undergraduate research by engaging students in thought-provoking, modern, laboratory experiences in the sophomore, junior, and senior years. The department is doing this by introducing quantitative mineral identification into the undergraduate curriculum in a sequential manner, beginning with the high-enrollment Introduction to Earth Science course, progressing with increasing sophistication into the intermediate level, and culminating in the upper-level courses and independent research projects. The Introduction to Earth Science students are spending 3 weeks working on a project concerning swelling clays in the area soils and are generating data that can be forwarded to the regional agricultural affairs office. Students in the intermediate level course, Rocks and Minerals, are being provided with the theoretical background and lab experience pertaining to instrumental analysis and sample preparation. Students in this class apply their knowledge in a group project, working on a different set of materials each year, eventually writing a report for presentation. Lastly, students in the more advanced courses, including Mineralogy, Petrology, Petrography of Fine-Grained Sediments, Advanced Mineralogy and Crystallography, and Igneous Petrology, are able to engage in a variety of independent research projects. This department is adapting its programs by upgrading an old x-ray diffraction system, which is the most suitable and versatile instrument for conducting mineral identification analysis. The new laboratory experiences provide for both an overall improved undergraduate curriculum and a more intimate science experience for the introduction-level nonmajors, a need recently identified by the AAAS project on Liberal Education and the Sciences.