PACE AND COMPASS-TO-GPS AND GIS: AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO TEACHING STRUCTURE AND STRATIGRAPHY

Fieldwork is the figurative backbone in the development of all geologists. With this perspective, Lafayette College has been enhancing its undergraduate geology program through the incorporation of field experiences in all of its courses. Recently through a college initiative, the Department of Geology has developed an innovative, cross-disciplinary approach to integrating topics traditionally taught in sedimentology and structural geology courses. While these courses are often taught as separate entities, they rely upon many of the same principles and often utilize the same outcrops for field study. In this two course sequence, basic field mapping and structural measurements are integrated into the more traditional sedimentary geology class while advanced stratigraphic principles and basin analysis concepts are blended in with concepts traditionally covered in the structural geology course. This new method of teaching these topics enhances the students’ field skills through weekly local section measuring/mapping exercises, and includes an extended field experience that allows students to enhance their skill-sets by completing a large-scale mapping and stratigraphic analysis project. This field experience was conducted in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming where students spent five days during the College’s fall break defining the stratigraphy and exploring the structure of the Sheep Mountain Anticline. Students utilized their knowledge of sedimentology and stratigraphy to build stratigraphic models of the basin and use structural field mapping and analysis techniques to interpret the depositional and deformational history of the area within a broader tectonic framework. Fieldwork was done with GPS units on an imagery base. The field maps created during the experience were then digitized in a GIS for the students’ final maps. There is no substitute for learning proper field methods in the geosciences. With the help of cutting edge technology, high quality digital data, and innovative teaching methods current geology students at Lafayette College are learning how to blend traditional field methodologies with state-of-the-art digital presentation techniques. We believe this new approach provides our students with a robust skill set for producing comprehensive geologic interpretations.