LEARNING WITH ARCGIS WITHIN AN UNDERGRADUATE STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY COURSE AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY IN MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE

During the Fall 2016 semester, two Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) undergraduates used ArcGIS to learn about structure surfaces (structure contour maps), 3D representations of structure surfaces, structural domains, cross sections, geologic maps, and cratonic structural geology and tectonics. While the two self-selected undergraduates completed GIS exercises comprising approximately 25% of a semester-long structural geology course, ten self-selected undergraduates solved pencil-and-paper problems related to the same topics. The two had previously completed an introductory undergraduate GIS course, and they had also completed an academic year field course within the geographic area which they examined with ArcGIS. Many broadly similar projects involve Google Earth. Comparison of this project’s characteristics with characteristics of projects described in the literature suggests that education research on 2D and 3D visualization is relevant and that an effectively-executed project of this type would likely improve visual penetrative ability and spatial skills in general. Because the two students were able to complete ArcGIS exercises during Fall 2016 and the education literature suggests that exercises of this type are likely beneficial to students, very similar exercises were made available to MTSU structural geology students during the Spring 2018 semester. Of students enrolled in the Spring 2018 course, nine self-selected completion of the ArcGIS exercises, ten self-selected completion of the pencil-and-paper problems, and six self-selected completion of activities selected by the instructor from the National Science Foundation “Imaging Active Tectonics” and “GPS” Geodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI) modules.