HELPING STUDENTS SEE THE VALUE OF GEOLOGY FOR ANY CAREER PATH

When teaching introductory geology courses, many instructors encounter students who feel that geology is a requirement that has no relevance to their major or career choice. To achieve success in teaching these students, the instructor needs to demonstrate that the material is pertinent to the students. Finding methods to do this can be difficult.

A process that can be successful in working toward this goal is to discuss how geology can be used in various career paths throughout the term. Then, the students can assimilate the material from these discussions and lecture material into a written assignment where the student must relate geology to their own major or career choice. Although challenging in some cases, this connection can be shown for any career from interior design to fire fighting.

One idea is to have the students write a short essay-style paper in which they explain the ways that geology can be used in their major. Then in the second part of the assignment, the students assemble their information into a creative brochure aimed at showing others of the same major that geology is a good choice for their general education science requirement because it is relevant in any career. The final result of the assignment is that students are able to see through their own work how geology is important to them, and is therefore a valuable course in their college experience.