DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN IN-FIELD ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL FOR AN INTRODUCTORY FIELD GEOLOGY COURSE

We present a new assessment (grading) scheme which improves evaluation of in-field competencies of students taking a seven-day geology field school (60 students, 4 instructors, and 2 graduate TAs) held at the end of an introductory field geology course. Our aims are to improve student learning of field skills and procedures, to provide increased formative feedback, and to decrease the stress level of novice students by emphasizing in-field performance in our assessments rather than grading based only on the quality of submitted work (e.g., geologic maps, cross sections, and reports).

An in-field assessment protocol was established whereby instructors marked students daily on their preparedness, field techniques (e.g., measuring strike and dip), and critical thinking skills (e.g., synthesizing outcrop data, making decisions such as how to interpret geologic relationships or choose where to traverse). Students received generic sample assessment questions and a grading rubric describing instructor expectations in advance. After a 2-day grace period wherein students practiced in-field responses to questions, each student’s progress was formally evaluated and tracked for 5 days. Instructors used a marking system from 1 (inadequate) to 5 (outstanding) and the in-field assessments counted for 30% of the field school grade. Most instructors did not know the students prior to the field school, providing some level of objectivity.

Results indicate that over the week, 57% of the students demonstrated improved field competencies, 39% of the students stayed the same, and 4% of the students showed a slight deterioration in competencies. We are continuing to revise our assessment scheme and course procedures based on follow-up interviews with students and instructors.