Small-Scale Research Projects as a Means of Teaching Geological Techniques to Undergraduate Students

Geology, like other science disciplines in universities, requires students to learn a variety of techniques in addition to basic theoretical concepts. In the Sedimentary Petrology course taught at the University of South Alabama (USA), necessary techniques include sampling protocols, field methodologies, grain size analysis, graphical representation of sedimentary sections, and thin-section petrography. In order to provide rewarding writing and critical thinking opportunities during the 15 week long course, students are required to develop small-scale research hypotheses in three multi-week laboratory-based projects assigned during the semester. The first of these is a local sediment grain size project which they propose following a guided walk around the USA campus. Students can elect to work individually or in groups of up to four. Each student collects 10 sediment samples on which to conduct grain size analysis that they believe can evaluate their research hypothesis(es). The majority of student projects are confined to a wetland/lake environment on the main campus. Here students can investigate the role of fluvial currents in deposition, how dams influence sediment distribution, the baffling effects of plants on sedimentary particles, and many other processes. Research teams frequently elect to extract a short piston core in order to evaluate sedimentary changes over the 45 year life span of the wetlands thereby incorporating elements of stratigraphy and Earth history into their research. Students quickly learn that solving most research questions requires more effort than simply conducting 10 grain size analyses; however, by the time they realize this, they have become quite expert at the mundane task of particle size analysis. Subsequent small-scale research activities in the class provide critical thinking opportunities in other important aspects of sedimentary geology. The most successful projects are those that link these aspects to a student's personal interest(s) (e.g., biology, engineering, mathematics, geography, archaeology).