THE TENNESSEE GEOCONCLAVE: A NOVEL OPPORTUNITY FOR PROGRAM SELF-EVALUATION

Assessments of student ability is traditionally achieved by exams and classroom projects. The first test of student prowess outside of the classroom may not occur until graduates begin as professional geologists, attend field camp, or begin graduate school. Often it is not until this point that faculty can gauge how prepared their students are as compared to other university-trained geology majors. In 1979, Tennessee geology programs began a unique competition that provides the students with the opportunity to meet with other geology majors in a field setting for friendly competition allowing students and faculty to gauge their depth of geology training while having fun. Fall Creek Falls State Park rangers proposed gathering undergraduate geology clubs, and by extension their programs for fellowship and competition. "Geoconclave” was patterned after similar forestry programs. Geoconclave is now the oldest continuously running event in the geosciences. Participating universities rotate organizing the three-day event that center around the core activities of geology. Events include technical competitions (rock identification, mineral identification, fossil identification, pace and compass mapping, and geologic map interpretation) followed by nontechnical events (geode rolling, rock hammer throwing, and a mystery event designed by the host school (“geo-golf”, “geo-twister”) for entertainment. Events are inclusive to all students. The culminating event is the Rock Bowl, in which teams compete to demonstrate program academic strength by answering undergraduate-level questions from all areas of geology. Host teams organize a one-day field trip the day to explore a nearby geologic site and allow students from different schools to compare concepts and ideas or visit classic sites in Tennessee. Geoconclave remains a student-run enterprise with a constitution and funding system. The Geoconclave model is a unique way for programs to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the in-class training; as well as, their student’s comprehension of geologic concepts and skill development necessary for developing well-trained professional geologists. University programs have the opportunity to compare to peer and non-peer institutions outside of the traditional and formal evaluations typical of SACS reviews.