Spring Break in Arizona:
Objectives


John Merck

For a full understanding of natural sciences like geology, organismal biology, and ecology, nothing is as crucial as field experience. In most traditional majors, field courses are reserved for advanced upper classmen. This does not mean, however, that they are only meaningful to students with thick classroom resumes. In fact field experiences are often the most immediate way to introduce novices to the real focus of natural sciences, and to convey to non-scientists their excitement and wonders. Many have been brought into the natural sciences by direct life-changing experiences of nature. This site describes the reactions of mostly novice students to a week-long total immersion in the natural sciences.

GEOL288, the 2002 Spring break excursion to the natural history of Arizona resulted from a collaboration of the Life Sciences (LS) and Earth, Life, & Time (ELT) programs of College Park Scholars (CPS). CPS programs are thematically oriented but interdisciplinary academic enrichment opportunities for freshmen and sophomores at the University of Maryland College Park. Both LS and ELT are organized around the natural sciences (biological and Earth) and incorporate day and weekend field trips in their normal curriculum. The optional week-long Arizona experience is a natural extension of this normal routine for highly motivated students, providing an opportunity to introduce a wide range of information and highlight its interdependence. The program's leader, Tom Holtz and I are both paleontologists, giving us considerable experience in integrating geology, zoology, and evolutionary biology. Also, we are well informed amateurs in botany and archaeology. At the outset, we knew that we were bringing together motivated students, capable instructors, and spectacular and informative field sites. The resulting program didn't disappoint.

The organization of the itinerary was primarily based on geological sites and concepts, simply because we knew in advance where to expect specific types of rocks, whereas biological subjects were approached more opportunistically. As a result, although a wide range of material was addressed, the most coherent instruction was in basic geology. It's noteworthy that many participants had never studied rocks at all. Nevertheless, by the end of the week all participants were up to speed on basic rock types and the type of environments they record, and could identify them in outcrop and hand sample. Moreover, they could speculate, based on outcrops, on the geologic history they recorded. Other areas that were systematically covered included:

The net result was a week of enthusiastic learning centered on accessible and subtly interrelated concepts in the natural sciences. We're eager to go back.

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