Using Interdisciplinary Geologic Microscopy to Teach the Scientific Method

马萨诸塞州大学地球科学系旨在通过使用地质显微镜向学生介绍地质学课程中尽可能早的物理地质学基本概念，使本科生进行批判性思维和实践科学方法。地质显微镜呼吁自然的兴趣，学生在各级检查地质材料的规模以外的日常生活经验的领域。本项目的目标是培养专业和非专业的学生分析问题，评估观察结果，并得出可靠的结论与信心的方法。观察（数据），分析途径和结论的演示文稿，在组显微镜会议的其他学生，将建立学生的信心，他们的能力，使简单的观察，并推断他们的结论地质过程在空间和概念上的大规模。地质学主要课程的观察显微镜组成部分将用于提高学生对地质学的认识，将其视为密切相关的领域的集合。这一项目将为所有感兴趣的一年级学生编制一门新的物理地质学入门课程，题为“显微镜下的世界”。本课程将通过使用观察显微镜介绍在典型的介绍性物理地质学课程中探索的主题。所要求的设备还将加强已经在进行的重大修订，以及地质学-矿物学-岩石学-结构地质学序列的连贯性。现有课程的修订将涉及基于显微镜的学生合作和独立的学期学生研究项目。该项目产生的主要课程变化将针对学生体验地球科学领域的第一次尝试。此外，该项目的目标是地球科学教师，他们通常在马萨诸塞州大学参加地质学入门课程，我们依靠他们向未来几十年的大学生介绍地球科学作为一个合法的研究领域。

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.