TEACHING GEOLOGY FIELD COURSES – A WEST OF IRELAND EXPERIENCE

The undergraduate Earth and Ocean Sciences (EOS) degree at the National University of Ireland, Galway is a four-year programme. Situated on the west coast of Ireland, the university is positioned in prime proximity to the Devonian Galway Granite, the Connemara Dalradian Complex, the Carboniferous platforms of the Burren, and the Ordovician\Silurian South Mayo Trough. Collaboration with the annual James Madison University Geology Summer Camp in Ireland has led to a sharing of ideas and experience, benefiting both Universities in the development of their field courses. The curriculum in Galway requires that third and fourth year students are instructed in the use of terrestrial and marine remote sensing and digital field mapping technologies. However, in light of the obvious benefits of digital mapping methodologies, experience with past field-courses has demonstrated that an elementary introduction to ‘traditional' field techniques and safety is necessary to avoid students solely relying on technology. Therefore, the second year geology field course involves students carrying out field-studies using basic triangulation methods on six-inch scale hard-copy Ordnance Survey sheets. Building on these fundamentals, third year students advance to using dGPS, EDM and GPR for an environmental geology group field-mapping task. Post field study analysis and digital map presentation is carried out using ArcGIS and MS PowerPoint, supported by a field report. Final year students are required to employ all the relevant field techniques learned throughout the degree programme to complete a final year independent field project and dissertation. The general consensus among staff is that the field course modules are essential in preparing students for careers and continued research in the geosciences domain. Most importantly, the attitude among students toward the field course modules is extremely positive, giving them the opportunity to work and feel like a ‘real' geoscientist.