IN SUPPORT OF CREATIVE EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

We have found many benefits to offering creative extra credit opportunities to students in our large, general education, introductory classes at Grand Valley State University, located in western Michigan. A primary reason why some opportunities are offered as extra credit and not required is that in large classes of greater than 80, scheduling activities like field trips outside of class time is logistically difficult. Also, extra credit commonly holds a certain "mystique", so students vigorously pursue extra credit regardless of how few points it is worth. Student enthusiasm may result from the attitude that they have nothing to lose and only something to gain from the extra work. Extra credit provides hope to those who may have faltered on an exam and also demonstrates the professor's interest and commitment to their education and success. In particular, field trips can be an opportunity for faculty to interact with smaller groups of students outside the usual classroom setting and for students to better get to know one another.

One of our favorite extra credit opportunities is a field trip to a nearby, abandoned, gypsum mine (now used as a storage facility). In the mine students see Mississippian gypsum, shale and dolomite, as well as plant fossils and sedimentary structures. Students hike through sticky clay and skirt pools of water in the tunnels in what is for many their first trip underground. Previously we have had students submit a more specific exercise on the gypsum mine (i.e., stratigraphic columns). Currently, we have replaced this traditional assignment with a more open-ended, "creative" one in which students submit a project of their own choice related to their experience in the mine. Projects have included poems, artwork, PowerPoint photo presentations, and music! The creative assignments allow students to reflect upon and interpret the gypsum mine through their own experience and talents. Interestingly, many students spend more time thinking about their creative assignment than they would for a traditional assignment. The project allows students to better connect to course material in an unexpected way, as many do not view science as "creative". Finally, as faculty, evaluating these projects is invigorating because it broadens our horizons and understanding as we observe the familiar through their “eyes”.