KARST-BASED LEARNING: USING ISLAND KARST AS A PLATFORM FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

Island karst environments offer ideal settings for undergraduate field-based and project centered learning. These settings provide an engaging and exotic learning environment that enables students to take an active role in the learning of geomorphology, cave mapping, karst hydrology, and many other geoscience concepts. Our current format has students as active learners, and the students are encouraged to choose a project from a variety of topics provided. The students conduct all aspects of the research, including literature searches, sample collection, analyzing and interpreting data, report writing, and presenting of the results. Students participating in our island karst field course are required to take an independent study during the spring semester. This enables the professors to further encourage continuous participation and completion of the projects. Through this process, island karst project-based learning experiences enable students to expand their view of the geologic world, while encouraging problem solving skills, and enhancing the enjoyment of putting geoscience concepts to work in an authentic and unique setting.