DIRECTING UNDERGRADUATE CLASS RESEARCH PROJECTS; LUMPING AND SPLITTING TO FIT STUDENT NEEDS

Finding projects that are appropriate in size and level of difficulty for students to incorporate into a laboratory-based class research project is always a problem. Small projects often lack the necessary challenge and larger projects can be over whelming. An important event for the professor teaching structural geology was remembering that a large project is only the synthesis of a group of small projects. With that in mind several larger projects were investigated and a decision was made to study the structural geology of the Parowan Gap area, Iron County, Utah, located 20 miles north of our campus.

The large project was subdivided into seven smaller parcels at logical boundaries. They overlapped each other enough to make a continuum. For safety, transportation, and camaraderie most of the parcels were assigned to two member teams. The professor took each team into the field initially to introduce the students to the project. This introduction was followed up with at least two more visits during the semester to check on the team's progress. The final results were reported in a format that simulated professional standards (as PowerPoint® presentations) at an evening Geology Club meeting so the class members had a reasonable sized audience to present to. Other students, spouses, and a few parents in the audience had an opportunity to learn what was going on in class. The projects and presentations provided a reasonably detailed look at the structure of the Parowan Gap area. The students experienced a project-based laboratory assignment, and had a good learning experience.