HR: 1340h
AN: ED33B-1223    [Abstracts]
TI: Reflections by a student and a faculty member on student-faculty collaborative geophysical field research
AU: Bank, C
EM: charly.bank@utoronto.ca
AF: Department of Geology, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B1, Canada
AU: * Rotzien, J
EM: jon.rotzien@gmail.com
AF: Departments of Economics and Geology, The Colorado College, 14 East Cache la Poudre, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, United States
AB: More and more students and faculty engage in collaborative research. Field geophysics provides a fascinating venue, as it always contributes to interpersonal relations, usually involves off-campus work, and often allows us to meet new people and explore a different culture. Tackling an authentic research problem keeps a faculty member excited about her/his discipline, while allowing a student to engage in the process of science, follow a researcher's thoughts and contribute to a real project. The exchange of ideas and the generation of new knowledge is rewarding to the student as it facilitates her/his academic growth. Despite the obvious advantages of including students in field-based research, few students are allowed such an opportunity because of the institutional commitment in time and money that is necessary for success. Other challenges in field-based geophysical research include steep learning curves related to the use of equipment, unknown outcomes (data that is often difficult to interpret), and a true commitment to the project on the student's part. The faculty member on the other hand faces additional challenges because of the responsibility for students in the field, scheduling constraints, limited funding, and students' diverse academic goals. This presentation will be given by a faculty member and a student who have engaged in various authentic research projects. Projects ranged from afternoon lab exercises on campus (eg, microgravity survey over a tunnel on campus), course projects connected to field trips (eg, magnetic study and subsequent potential field analysis), summer research projects (eg, georadar survey of Deboullie Lake rock glacier), to year-long undergraduate thesis projects (eg, potential field studies at igneous centres of the Navajo Volcanic Field). We will present highlights of these projects, examine their pedagogical merits, and discuss the advantages and rewards we earned as well as the challenges we faced. Despite all challenges, we find that the outcomes, the sense of accomplishment, the rich interpersonal exchange, and the intellectual as well as personal growth of students is well worth the effort that goes into planning and executing such projects. Our aim is to promote collaborative and authentic research, and to find out about creative ways to bring such an experience to a wider range of interested students.
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting