GEOLOGY CAN BE FUN AND EXCITING: SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES DEVELOPED FOR LARGE INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY LECTURES IN 35 YEARS OF TEACHING

I have enjoyed and have had great success at teaching large introductory geology lectures during my 35 at the university level. The bottom line is that I have tried to show students that geology is relevant, everywhere, exciting, and can be fun and challenging. I start classes out with music of the day - popular music with a theme for the day's lecture. I have a library of over 50 tapes and cd's of popular geological music. Next, I cover the latest current events related to geology - many times going to a website for the latest details. I prefer to use two screens for the presentation - one with full size photos and the other with the powerpoint text in outline form for the lecture. Notes of the powerpoint are either available in copied form or can be downloaded from webct for the course. I encourage questions. Progress grades are posted throughout the course. Tests are mainly multiple choice, but always involved photos. Extra credit can be obtained by attending field trips, lectures and/or doing writeups of videos on geological topics related to the course. The field trips get them into the field and the writeups get them to write! I always tie the text into the lecture by giving pages in the text. Good interaction with the TA's of the lab is a must - try to keep ahead of the lab schedule. We also get the lab to take local field trips. Students can learn a lot and can also enjoy geology!