WHAT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT AND HOW WE HAVE TO THINK

General education classes for college students, delivered on-line or face-to-face, provide a chance to teach the nature if science by using a discipline specific approach. Whether one chooses to concentrate on a broad understanding of most topics or deeper understanding of few, a lecture/lab course taught in several sections by several instructors demands a laboratory strategy to concentrate on common material. To accomplish this we have used lab manuals in Physical and Historical geology classes written by the department, allowing us to tailor the topics to lecture discussion. While some authors present manuals to compliment textbooks, we have found that changing texts often can result in faculty headaches and further cost for students. In the age of technology, a paper copy of a lab manual becomes problematic. But we still want our students to know the basis of what they are doing as opposed, for example, to pointing their smart phone and reading off 192º 32°W for a strike and dip. Research into cognitive methods and knowledge inventories can inform how we should teach our students. Assessment can help us understand how effective and relevant our strategies might be, and whether we teach students more in the classroom or on-line setting. Anecdotal evidence can inform us of possible differences in our student populations from national and regional averages. We must consider all these resources when designing a new lab manual for our classes to answer the needs of faculty, students and the institution.