A NOVEL SCIENCE EXPERIMENT ASSIGNMENT FOR NON-SCIENCE MAJOR, INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY STUDENTS

An essential but somewhat difficult concept to appreciate in introductory geology courses is that processes at slow rates relative to human time scales may result in larger, more visible changes over longer periods of time. To help students better understand rate-limited processes and cumulative change, I designed and conducted a mandatory, semester long, out-of-class science experiment for introductory geology (non-science major) students.

I set an example by shaving my considerable moustache in front of students during a lecture, and then allowing it to grow without any cutting for the semester. At the end of the course we calculate an annual rate (in cm/yr) at which my moustache hair grows and then compare it to rates of tectonic plate movement.

Students are responsible for choosing their own experimental object, subject to the constraint that it should exhibit little quantitative change week to week, but significant change by the end of the term. Students 1) conceive and execute the experiment, 2) collect weekly, quantitative data, 3) write a brief, scientific-like report in which data are tabulated, graphed, and analyzed, and 4) respond to a post-experiment survey of student attitudes.

Requiring students to choose their own experimental design invests their project with personal interest and provides an outlet for individual creativity. Beyond the more mundane choices for measurement such as body hair or fingernail growth, other experiments conducted include the growth of a pygmy goat, weight and circumference changes in a pregnant friend, decrease in measures of a bar of soap with use, and the degradation of a French bread loaf by mold. Some students used the project to begin a program of self-improvement through diet and/or exercise.

Attitudes of students to this project that requires a significant investment of time and intellect varies, of course. However, about 1/4 to 1/3rd of students report that they found the assignment very interesting, educational, social (because others were involved or interested), and many were surprised by an amount of change quite different from their pre-experiment predictions.

This project experience enhances student understanding and appreciation for contemporary or geological rate-limited processes, and for many students is just plain fun.