WHERE GEOLOGY AND BIOLOGY MEET – TEACHING A COLLABORATIVE BIOLOGY/GEOLOGY FIELD RESEARCH LAB COURSE FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

Since 2004, Irvine Valley College has been offering field research courses co-taught by geology and biology faculty members. This course demonstrates a successful collaboration, where the faculty stress and model the interactions between the two science disciplines. The course was initiated when fossils donated to the college were being prepared for display, and there was a need for comparative anatomy discussions. Mixed groups of geology and biology students have recently been working on ocean-related projects, in partnership with local non-profit and state agencies, with a biologist and geologist co-teaching the course.

The students enrolled in the course come from varied educational backgrounds from traditional community college students fulfilling undergraduate transfer requirements with little science background, to university graduates desiring field experience. Students work individually and/or in small groups collecting field data and scientifically documenting their project area. Final project presentations include student’s personal interpretations of collected field data, with most recognizing and discussing topics that cross between the two science disciplines. The course faculty actively works with the students, taking them through the process of field investigation, data analysis, interpretation, and proposing next-step and improved methodologies for subsequent work. It is permissible for students to repeat the course for credit, and thus extend their projects.

We are encouraging future involvement and expansion of this course to include collaborations with the sociology, economics, and art departments at the college, with the hope of exposing greater numbers of students in non-science majors to STEM fields and the experimental approach to learning that is central to science. Additionally, the collaboration with local partners allows students to work in the community, developing a service-learning and stewardship component to their undergraduate educational experiences.