WNMU's Successful Approach to Teaching Geology Online

Western New Mexico University's successful on-line Physical Geology course has been developed as a team effort with careful attention to instructional design and by providing a rich content environment. The instructor's expertise is needed to identify content, define the learning outcomes, to design and select activities to promote learning and recognize potential difficulties that students may encounter. Our goal is to create an environment in which students interact and wrestle with learning materials directly, facilitated by the instructor. Class activities include reading assignments, quizzes on the readings, learning activities that include questions and active labs that engage students with different learning styles. Some of these activities include students sharing their earthquake experiences through discussions, writing a cinquain (poem) on a rock family, creating a class virtual rock collection, and testing the soil in their backyard.

In addition to the variables mentioned above, other components that help to create this rich online learning experience include organization, instructor responsiveness, and peer interaction. Consistency in the weekly lessons, knowing that someone is there, answering e-mails, grading assignments in a timely fashion, instructors responding to questions quickly, and being able to ask classmates for assistance helps when students get stuck and gives them the confidence that they need to succeed. Another important component is frequent assessment that allows students to monitor their learning. Weekly quizzes and assignments improve overall understanding and retention of terminology and concepts and encourage students to take responsibility for their learning.

Online courses can provide students with a customized learning experience that increases the opportunity for success in contrast to the face-to-face classroom, which is often dominated by a one-size-fits-all approach. Our goal is rather than replicate the face-to-face classroom we will move beyond it.