Students will acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the discipline that encompasses both theoretical and field-based practical skills.
Objective
Successful Completion Of An Externally Evaluated Geology Field Camp
All SHSU Geology majors must attend a six credit, externally evaluated capstone Field Camp as a required component of their degree program. Such field camps are typically open to suitably qualified upper level students from geology programs situated anywhere in the country. They are conventionally evaluated using a letter grade system.
SHSU Geology students must be nationally competitive at this capstone task as indicated by at least 60% of our participants achieving at least a B grade.
Indicator
Successful Completion Of Field Camp
All students must attend a six credit hour Field Camp that is externally evaluated on an A-F basis. Students are free to choose from a very wide range of applicable courses, each of which offers slightly different emphases in terms of geographical location and course structure. ALL courses offer a capstone-like review with a grade of A reflecting mastery of taught and examined modules as well as high levels of precision in final field review stand-alone projects. A grade of B reflects mastery of one or more modules but with some imprecision; a grade of C reflects broad comprehension but demonstrates a lack of sophistication in the use of basic course material; grades of D and F reflect low levels of understanding and effort and indicate inappropriate general preparation prior to field camp participation.
Criterion
60% Of Students Will Achieve At Least A B Grade By The External Evaluator Of The Field Camp
60% of students will achieve a letter grade of B or better by the external evaluator of the Field Camp.
Finding
Field Camp
100% of students received an A or B from their field camps. There were 5 A's and 3 B's. Participants were at 4 different camps: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, UT Arlington, SUNY Buffalo, University of Wyoming.
Action
Field Camp Completion Data
Since our students did very well, we will continue to require our students to be evaluated by external field camps.
Objective
Students Will Demonstrate An Awareness Of Significant Geological Knowledge
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic components of a geological perspective and will recognize major geological themes.
Indicator
Successful Completion Of Geology Comprehensive Exam
All students complete a common final comprehensive exam on the foundations of geology.
Criterion
Geology Exam
The average score of Geology students will be at least a 75% on this exam.
Finding
Geology Exam
The average score was approximately 61%. The scores varied widely between sections, but two areas were consistently lower. 74% of students answered the factual knowledge questions correctly; 74% of students answered the logic of science questions correctly; 50% of students answered the tentative nature of science questions correctly; 46% of students answered the logical constructs based on factual knowledge questions correctly; 40% of students answered the graph interpretation and inference/reasoning questions correctly and 38% answered the understanding that nature is governed by physical laws questions correctly. Thus, students had the most difficulty in all sections on graph interpretation and inference/reasoning and on understanding that nature is governed by physical laws.
Action
Geology Exam
We will place more emphasis in lectures and labs on two main concepts that students are struggling with: Understanding that nature is governed by physical laws and interpreting graphs and using inference and reasoning. This should help our students have a strong foundation in the basic geographical concepts. We will expand the exam questions to help us discover other areas to improve.