TEACHING AND LEARNING WITH MINERAL EVOLUTION

As Earth Science students move from the Introductory classes to their Junior and Senior courses, faculty expect them to find pertinent information from peer-reviewed journal articles, however, we give them little to no guidance on how to do this. An abstract is written in a specifically complex, lexicon-driven style designed to convey maximum data accurately to other experts in the field often in 500 words or less. Experts then digest the paper in a non-linear fashion as appropriate to their needs, i.e. conclusions, then method etc. Students’ experiences tell them to proceed from the beginning (abstract) to the end, and so they are often hopelessly confused before they reach the conclusions.

Using methods modified from C.R.E.A.T.E and the paper, Mineral Evolution, Mason students attempt to unravel the complexities and create an understanding of the major conclusions through a series of small assignments. Techniques include making graphs, annotations of text, bringing in other relevant materials, creating annotated drawings in teams on the processes, and answering questions based on the conclusions. Towards the end of the semester Dr. Hazen visits the class and talks to the students about his experiences, the ideas behind the paper, and what he is doing now. Students take the methods learned to other courses in Earth Science and different disciplines, showing that these skills effectively help them read journal articles.