SUMMER FIELD EXCURSIONS: A PILOT GEOSCIENCE PROGRAM FOR UNDERGRADUATE NON MAJORS, DESIGNED AND TAUGHT BY GRADUATE STUDENTS

The large number of colleges and universities offering geoscience field trips for majors and non majors alike demonstrate the effectiveness of participatory outdoor education in generating student interest in the geosciences. The geosciences department at the University of Oregon, together with the Summer School program, has taken this idea a step further by employing graduate students to design and teach summer field trips for non majors, primarily to national parks and monuments. This practice simultaneously serves the undergraduates who attend the field trips, and the graduate student leaders, who gain valuable teaching experience.

Many students pursuing a graduate degree in the geosciences do so because they want to teach at a college or university, yet opportunities for teaching are often restricted to labs designed and controlled by instructors or professors. There are few opportunities for graduate students to design classes or learn about budgeting and recruitment issues. This experimental program allows graduate students to create and implement introductory field courses from the ground up, which better helps prepare them for teaching careers.

Our program offered two field trips in summer 2001, to Yellowstone NP and Mount St. Helens respectively, with resoundingly positive responses from the students who attended. We believe the enthusiasm and organizational skills typical of graduate students drawn to this type of teaching experience contributes greatly to positive student response.

Three trips have been approved for summer 2002, to the Oregon coast, Crater Lake/Newberry Crater, and Canyonlands NP. Possible future trips include Death Valley NP, Great Basin NP, Grand Canyon NP, and Owens Valley.

Problems that must be addressed for the program to succeed in the long term include a transient teaching population (graduate students) and lack of established infrastructure that would make it easy for new graduate students to step into the program.