Using National Parks to Transform Physical Geology into an Inquiry Experience

Journal of Geoscience Education, Jan 2009 by Newbill, Phyllis Leary

ABSTRACT

For an inquiry-based alternative to lectures and recall tests, I encouraged learners to become "geotourists"; that is, learners researched and developed a geologic guidebook to a United States National Park of their choice. Over the course of a semester, students wrote chapters on plate tectonics, the rock cycle, geologic history, groundwater and hydrology, geomorphology, and topographic maps. By applying the physical geology concepts to a particular location, learners found the material to be relevant and engaging. Keys to success included developing detailed rubrics, reading multiple drafts, and using appropriate instructional technologies. Students who participated in the class reported that the project involved considerable work, but was more interesting and relevant than lecture exams.

INTRODUCTION

To address the weaknesses of the lecture-andexam model science teaching, scholars have called for the development of inquiry and problembased learning to enhance the effectiveness of science education (i.e., Bransford et al., 2000; Herbert, 2006). Many scholars suggest using environmental problems to make the science relevant. However, individual professors are occasionally charged with teaching Physical Geology in a course that is distinct from Environmental Geology. How can geoscience educators make a course on earth materials and processes relevant to the non-science major?

I was inspired after attending a talk by a veteran geologist who essentially presented the story of his summer vacation. He told his story enthusiastically and in the context of the local geology. He had done his homework before he went. His real world application of the concepts of physical geology inspired a new focus for the physical geology course. Like many geologists (i.e., Kieffer, 2006), his understanding of deep time, plate tectonics, and earth systems allowed him to experience the beauty of the natural world with deeper appreciation. I hoped to give my students a taste of that deeper understanding by developing a physical geology course that would teach students the process for understanding the geology of a place. In short, students could be trained as geotourists.

The National Park system includes many beautiful, geologically interesting places. National parks have been extensively studied, and there are ample web and print resources available to help citizens understand their geology.

Excellent professional examples demonstrate how the physical geology curriculum can be used to explain places of interest. Harris, Tuttle, and Turtle's "Geology of National Parks" (2004) and "Lillie's Parks and Plates" (2005) are two of the best print resources available. Many other publications are for specific parks. For example, Art Palmer's "A Geological Guide to Mammoth Cave National Park" (1981) served as a model for the semester-long project that is described here.

THE GUIDEBOOK PROJECT

To address the problems with traditional teaching methods, the author created an inquirybased project in which students created geologic guidebooks to United States National Parks of their choice.

The complete guidebook consisted of seven chapters. Each chapter included some general information that was similar in all the projects and some specific information that applied the concept to each park. An outline of the guidebook is shown below:

1. Introduction

2. The theory of plate tectonics

a. Overview of plate tectonics

b. Description of earth's interior

c. Present-day tectonic environment of the park

3. The rock cycle

a. Original diagram of the rock cycle

b. Description of the rock cycle

c. Description of igneous rocks

d. Description of sedimentary rocks

e. Description of metamorphic rocks

f. Rocks, minerals, and processes found in the park

4. Geologic and tectonic history

a. Overview of geologic time

b. Tectonic history of the park

5. Topographic map

a. Topographic map

b. Description of topographic and water features on the map

c. Worksheet with topographic profile and calculations

6. Drainage and groundwater

a. Hydrologic cycle

b. Water in the park

c. Visitors and water

7. Geomorphology

a. Geomorphology

b. Forces

c. Explanation of surface features

In addition to receiving grades for each of the chapters, students were graded on the process. They were graded on participating in class, meeting deadlines, "publishing" their work, presenting their work orally, and writing a reflection on the whole process. The publishing requirement had the students create a hardcopy of their paper and bind it in a permanent or semipermanent manner with a title page and table of contents. The students were encouraged to keep their documents to refer to whenever they might visit the park they chose.

The course was most recently taught to a group of fourteen students, but the project has been used with as many as 22. In the most recent iteration, eleven students were new freshmen, one was a sophomore, one was a junior, and one was a senior. None of them were geology majors or even science majors at the beginning of the semester. (At least one changed to a geology major following the class.) There were nine women and five men. Twelve students were Caucasian, and two were African-American. The class was taught in a traditional face-to-face classroom with twice-weekly meetings plus a weekly lab time.