LOCAL EXPOSURE: OFFERING COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS A FIELD-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN HISTORICAL GEOLOGY

Field experience is an essential component to any geology course and easily attracts student enrollment in community college classes. However, field-based research activities can often require a skill set beyond what introductory students may possess. Here, we present a scaffolded, inquiry-based field project completed by students at Thomas Nelson Community College that builds on concepts discussed in most historical geology courses, and is adaptable to any location with an accessible fossiliferous exposure.

The project focuses on geological interpretation of a single outcrop, using three lines of analyses: sedimentology and stratigraphy, paleoecology, and taphonomy. The activity emphasizes the complementary nature of working with both the physical and biological aspects of the geologic record. The project was completed at the end of the course, after students were exposed to basic concepts of sedimentology, stratigraphy, and paleontology. The work was divided into several components and completed during weekly lab periods. The first week included a classroom-based introduction to the Eastover and Yorktown Formations (the geological units of study), orientation of the units using topographic and geologic maps, and a survey of the major fossil groups present in these units, all using primary literature as reference material. Students were also assigned to one of the three focus groups at this time, and discussed what type of data collection would be most pertinent for their analyses with the instructor. The following week students were taken to an outcrop along the James River in southeastern Virginia to complete their field survey. Students were provided the opportunity to explore the outcrop individually and with their groups. All students were required to take field notes, with emphasis on observation rather than interpretation. Each group collected sediment samples or fossil material for future analysis. During the third week, students used the lab period to collect data, focusing on grain description using microscopes, determination of fossil diversity and abundance, and variability in fossil preservation. In the fourth week, students completed a group oral presentation highlighting their methodology, results, and interpretive conclusions regarding the depositional environment of the site.