MY SPECIAL PLACE: USE OF A PLACE-BASED WRITING PROJECT TO IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING IN A LARGE INTRODUCTORY UNDERGRADUATE GEOLOGY COURSE

Use of writing as a vehicle for enhanced student learning of course content is a hallmark of literacy improvement efforts within university writing across the curriculum programs. I have approached the opportunity writing assignments afford from the perspective of content integration by building a large undergraduate general education introductory geology course around student exploration of a Special Place of their choosing. Students select places personally familiar and unique to them before engaging in focused writing assignments over the course of a semester in an attempt to explain the features observed at their Special Place. Course content relating to geologic processes producing outcomes visible at the earth’s surface such as the rock cycle, hydrology, glaciology, etc. is incorporated in student efforts to explain the structure of their Special Places. Students also use knowledge gained from these content areas to explain how the Special Place arose and the future it faces as geologic and anthropogenic processes continue to operate. In this study, the effect of the Special Place project on student learning has been measured. Learning outcomes of the geologic content areas applicable to the special place project are contrasted with the results from non-applicable subject areas, such as earth formation and internal structure. The data were measured in location neutral standardized tests of the type used in large lecture based courses.