ENHANCING AN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY COURSE THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF SHALLOW GEOPHYSICAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY (GIT) INTO FIELD-BASED LABORATORIES

A recent NSF CCLI grant has facilitated the integration of near-surface geophysics into the Geoenvironmental Studies curriculum of the Department of Geography and Earth Science at Shippensburg University. Our approach differs from traditional models in that we incorporate aspects of geophysics in multiple geography-geology courses rather than add a string of geophysics courses. This novel approach has enhanced instruction in our undergraduate courses and enriched individual student research experiences. The grant allowed us to purchase three major geophysical tools for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electrical Resistivity (ER), and Electromagnetic (EM) induction surveys. All pieces of equipment have been used in several classes by both undergraduate and graduate students in the department. The discussion here focuses on one of the GPR projects given to students in a non-majors Intro Geology course. GPR is user-friendly and visualization of raw radargrams is possible directly in the field with simple instructions and guidance. The objective of the collaborative field-lab was to detect a buried stream channel using GPR. In the field students inspected and described an active stream to generate observations to help with interpretation of 2D radargrams collected by student pairs. Due to pre-lab mapping using Google Earth’s historical imagery, students projected the location of the buried stream channel and oriented 22 different 2D transects to hopefully intersect it. During data collection (and after the field experience) pairs of students were guided to interpret the reflectivity patterns from their 2-D transects by comparing them to patterns observed in the active stream. Through inquiry-driven, hands-on use of GIT, students in this intro-level class are acquiring critical research and analytical skills that are essential in STEM fields. Overall, students have expressed tremendous satisfaction with the hands-on approach and, at the same time, increased understanding of scientific inquiry as applied in the geosciences using advanced geotechnology. Nevertheless students can still be uncomfortable with uncertainty in their interpretations, so performance assessments need be structured to minimize the focus on having the right answer in favor of assessments that measure other learning outcomes.