TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING AT LSU GEOLOGY FIELD CAMP: INTEGRATING COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS

The LSU Field Camp has a long tradition of teaching students field skills such as geologic mapping, measuring section, learning geophysical techniques, and data management. While these activities are indispensable for reinforcing fundamental concepts and linking classroom knowledge with the natural environment, an exclusive focus on these skill sets may not yield optimal benefits for students, given their limited direct applicability to academic and industrial positions. Recently, the curriculum has been modified such that lectures, feedback and assessments are targeted towards scientific communication. The field camp has partnered with the LSU program “Communication-Across-the-Curriculum” which has focused on student support and training in discipline-specific communication since 2005. Students must practice visual, technological, and written communication skills for each project. Creating visuals such as maps and cross sections is a natural outcome of traditional field camp exercises, but instructors actively discuss the critical role of visuals as a key communication tool among scientists. Technology is strategically integrated to enhance these skills and better equip students for the workforce. Students use iPads to map and a variety of programs (e.g MATLAB, Excel, QGIS and FieldMove) for plots, calculations, and visuals. Written communication in the course is a priority because students must write effectively about their data and interpretations in the workforce. This skill is taught incrementally throughout the summer with many lectures and a significant amount of feedback for each write-up. This culminates in a final project where they synthesize the geology of the entire region and integrate multivariable datasets into interpretations. To facilitate improvement and self-reflection, students have access to all their past work and instructor comments, ensuring that this iterative process serves as an effective tool for their growth over the summer.