STUDENTS' AFFECTIVE RESPONSES TO THE INHERENT SOCIAL, ADVENTURE AND NOVEL ASPECTS OF GEOSCIENCE FIELD PROGRAMS

Geoscience pedagogy includes student field experiences as an important component to student learning. This research examines the association between the affective domain and student's perceptions by answering the question “How do students affectively respond to the inherent social, adventure and novel aspects of geoscience field programs?” This research included eight post-secondary geoscience field programs from Universities around the country. Five of the programs were advanced geology field courses and three were introductory, multi-disciplinary geoscience courses. All of the programs were located in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem of Northwestern Wyoming and Southern Montana and were structured as either residential camps with dormitories and cabins, or as traveling, camping groups that stayed in tents. The programs involved had student populations of ten to fifty of which five to ten student volunteers participated in the focus groups. These student participants were interviewed in a group, semi-structured setting. The hour-long session was digitally recorded and the scripted questions were centered on the students' perceptions of their program experience including how they used free time and how camp life affected their academics. Initial findings included that students in programs with regular access to nearby towns do not spend downtime engaged in activities they define as exploratory/adventurous while those in programs with intensive camping experiences do. Students in all field camps reported that immersion in the subject area was academically helpful and had a positive effect on their relationships with their instructors. Most students also reported that they were learning life skills beyond the subject of geology and that most of their downtime activities were social in nature. Students in advanced field camps reported that in addition to social activities, their downtime was spent relaxing and was necessary to ‘reboot' in order to do their best during academic fieldwork. Most students in advanced field camps also thought their academic group work improved over the time of the course due to socialization with peers during downtime. This was a result of better communication, feeling more comfortable with each other and understanding each other's strengths, weakness' and boundaries.