THE USE OF PRACTICAL PROJECTS IN INQUIRY BASED LEARNING IN ENVIRONMENTAL GEOSCIENCE

Bowling Green State University's Geology department is closely aligned with an interdisciplinary program in environmental studies. Subsequently the student s in the environmental geoscience classes have diverse backgrounds and original knowledge bases. Group projects have proved to be successful way of stimulating learning and providing skills, which will be essential in the job market of today. Projects have been designed that are based on faculty research on real world problems. One such project is based on the Ballville Dam decommissioning study. The Ballville Dam study has been successfully used in both the BGSU's GEOL403: Introduction to GIS class, as well as, the ENVS402: Environmental Impact Statements class. Each class used the Dam Project not only to collect primary data about the area (learning how to perform the required studies - GIS mapping of the Study Area, and collecting Environmental Impact data in the region), but also for answering complex questions about the proposed dam decommissioning. Group Projects served several functions. First, they involved the students in the faculty research. Second, they stimulated the working place environment where team members of various are often brought together on larger projects. Finally, they allow the students to discover that the science and course material have real world implications and can directly translate to important policy issues.