A FIELD TRIP WORKSHOP FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS CONDUCTED IN SOUTHERN NEVADA AND SOUTHWESTERN UTAH BY A REGIONAL UNIVERSITY, A PARTICIPANT'S VIEW POINT

Near the end of the summer of 2004 the Department of Geosciences at Southern Utah University conducted a week-long field trip through southern Nevada and southwestern Utah to expand the knowledge base for the participating secondary classroom teachers. Most classroom teachers have a minimal experience with hand-on geology in the field during their formal education. This field trip was an opportunity to experience first hand a large variety of geological phenomena and situations. The trip was informal and included many stops, in all kinds of settings, to take pictures, collect rocks, and have in-the-field lectures/discussions. Evaluations were based upon participation during the trip plus two complete lesson plans per participant that were shared among the group. This gave each of us 20 classroom ready geoscience lessons. It was a beneficial experience that added greatly to my preparation as a classroom teacher.