RELEVANCE OF CONTEXT IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF CONCEPTS IN FIELD GEOLOGY

Over the last 20 years, experience in teaching a 3-week field methods course for geology majors, has demonstrated the effectiveness of various approaches in presenting classroom material that prepares the student for geologic field work. About 1/3 of the students in a typical class will have had only physical and historical geology in preparation for this course. These two courses provide the minimum background for understanding and benefiting from a course in field geology. Without this background -- which includes the ability to identify common rocks, minerals, and fossils, a basic understanding of geologic time and the geologic time scale, and the concepts of stratigraphic correlation and of the succession of life through geologic time – the student will not be ready to see and interpret relations between different rocks in the field.

The field methods course offers an introduction to surveying with the Brunton compass as well as measuring a stratigraphic section, measuring strike and dip of beds, foliation and fractures in the field and geologic mapping on topographic and aerial photographic bases.

Success in the course cannot be entirely predicted based on the accumulated coursework in geology for each individual student. Some students with a minimal amount of completed coursework excel in completing the tasks assigned to them and in many cases in leading the rest of the group through the field mapping exercises. However all of the students perform better when the field exercises are presented in such a way that the background and goals of the exercise are explained in a coherent manner prior to going out into the field. A history of geologic concepts and the history of geologic exploration of the particular region provide a good basis for starting the conversation about what they should look for and expect to find in their geologic explorations. Thus, the context in which these new (to the student) concepts of describing and mapping rocks in their natural environment are presented, make a significant impact in how the student is able to add the new information to their knowledge base and use it in the completion of their field exercises.