DEVELOPING AN ACTIVE LEARNING GEMOLOGY STUDIO COURSE FOR NON-SCIENCE MAJORS

A new course in gemology for undergraduate non-science students was created to entice non-STEM majors to become more interested in earth science. In an introductory course, students must learn basic concepts in topics such as mineralogy, petrology, physics, and chemistry. Studying gemology they can make measurements and apply these to solve problems of identification and origin. They can synthesize data to contrast gem materials and learn monetary values related to economics. Unlike other science classes where basic concept applications can sometimes be unfamiliar, gemology and the search for and development of mineral resources is a fundamental concept already known to students, and identification and evaluation of gems creates an immediate application for concept development. Students can quickly grasp real-world pertinent problems, and new examples can always be found that have the potential to excite students’ interests.

A new active learning introductory gemology studio course with a lab component was created at Queensborough Community College with the goals of increasing student awareness of learning and retention by promoting student participation in the learning process and in research. Lecture and lab are linked for registration in the new course. An emphasis on active inquiry-based approaches to learning necessitated development of new educational materials that will be presented including web-based materials. Lecture and lab are linked and students presented results from each studio meeting. Educational materials and pedagogical methods in geology and mineralogy have been adapted and implemented to create new course units for entry-level students. The course uses peer-based learning and problem solving by creating student groups that discuss observations and measurements. Discussion groups are required to observe, synthesize, and evaluate data for presentations. The goal is to empower student learning and peer based teaching and to recruit early career, often non-STEM students, to earth science. Students engage in reflections on their learning as well. In this presentation we will discuss the implementation and evaluation of the course at our college and demonstrate products produced by our students as they researched various topics in gemology.

This work is supported by an NSF TUES grant.