THE IMPORTANCE OF FIELD TRIPS FOR TEACHERS (K-12) TO UNDERSTAND ARKANSAS GEOLOGY

The Arkansas Geological Survey (AGS) actively engages in hands-on learning for teachers through summer workshops. Earth Science is a fairly new requirement in the Arkansas curriculum, therefore teachers usually lack the knowledge required to teach geology and related subjects. The AGS has been leading field based teacher workshops for the past five years for Arkansas teachers. Each workshop is field trip based and includes a minimum of one day in the field followed by classroom instruction. Workshop topics vary from mineral and rock identification to relative age dating, fossils, landforms and karst. Other activities include geologic float trips, and geology of the state and national parks.