“VARIED INSTRUCTION PROMOTES STUDENT ENGAGEMENT”

Reaching today’s community college students who come with varied experiences, ability levels, and backgrounds is a formidable challenge in an open enrollment classroom. Constantly working to meet this challenge requires dedication and use of a broad pool of resources and instruction to engage and educate these students. Learning to know and understand the nature of the "just-give-me-multiple-choice beast" is essential in laying the foundation for successful learning. Although most BRCC students are taking geoscience courses in a college/ university transfer track, many come with average or lower skills into a four-credit lecture-lab course, with six hours of instruction per week, and most are not prepared to do the work, learn, and apply what they have learned.

It is important to spark student interest and engage them early so they will observe and appreciate the world around them differently than ever before. In addition to the content, another objective is to foster basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking/ problem-solving. Working with faculty across the curriculum (English, History, Learning Communities, etc.) to engage students in the study of geoscience topics can help improve these skills, especially when studying real-world problems/ issues from the present or the past.

A varied instructional approach is necessary today to keep the students engaged and on track for learning in any classroom. At BRCC, encouraging the formation of study groups, providing study strategies, offering peer tutoring, and giving frequent assessments early in the course help set the stage for successful student learning. This helps identify the types of learners in the class, and their needs as well. Hands-on activities are essential, and the power of the visual is paramount. In addition to lab and field experiences, exposure to geospatial technologies like Google earth, ArcGIS, remote sensing, and LiDAR broadens the skills base. Applying what they have learned, and having students share their experiences helps them realize the relevance and importance of the geosciences in their everyday lives.