INCORPORATING FIELD AND LABORATORY RESEARCH PROJECTS IN EARLY UNDERGRADUATE GEOSCIENCES AT DELAWARE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Students in the Physical and Historical Geology courses at Delaware County Community College have the opportunity to engage in an honors project designed to enhance their understanding of geology and the method of research at the early stages of the their studies. Students are able to conduct collaborative geological field and/or laboratory research outside of the normal class meeting times, and students who opt for the Honors Option and complete the work will receive designation on their transcript. Project work is typically completed in small groups and concludes with a presentation to peers. All geology course work addresses topics using a lab first then lecture format, which encourages inquiry and discovery methods for all the students, and the Honors Option also follows that sequence. Previous projects have included: an ArcGIS project mapping subduction zones in 3D using USGS earthquake data; field and laboratory sediment analysis of a former fluvial environment; 3-D Mapping of local Earthquakes using ArcGIS and LiDAR; a study of water contained within agates found to have fluid inclusions within their internal cavities. These community college students have conducted oral and/or poster presentations of their work at several GSA Section meetings.