DOING MORE WITH LESS: PLAUSIBLE RESEARCH PROJECTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

It’s known that students learn more when exposed to and or required to conduct independent research projects. However, most community college students do not have access to appropriate resources and are usually not required to conduct research projects in their programs. Irrespective of the school’s location, several plausible research projects such as examining buildings stones, environmental issues ranging from waste disposal, water quality, pond/river ecology, and anthropogenic effect on landscape could be done with limited resources.

Some students in geology courses have conducted research on topics ranging from examining hillside seeps, using substrate to predict fish assemblage, best management practices and soil water quality, weathering of limestone, and sediment size distribution change. Most of these research projects/topics involved minimal resources. Professors and instructors should imbed individual or group independent research project in their courses. Several opportunities exist to involve community college students in research projects since undergraduate learning is enhanced through independent research projects.

Sample student projects requiring minimal resources will be discussed such as the use of simple water chemistry parameters like, pH, conductivity, temperature, and TDS to examine water quality distribution within a town/city. Sediment size distribution along the stretch of a creek/river can also be examined with minimal resource. Students were also able to find the relationship between surface water and ground water using student made seepage meters.