Sufficient Knowledge Of Geology To Qualify For A Bachelor Of Science
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 which the Department of Geography and Geology converted to a ranking 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 Limited Mastery ranking.
Indicator
Successful Completion Of Field Camp
All students must attend a six credit hour Field Camp that is externally evaluated on the following basis: Mastery, Limited Master, Adequate Comprehension, Limited Comprehension, and Very Low Comprehension. 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 Mastery reflecting mastery of taught and examined modules as well as high levels of precision in final field review stand-alone projects. A ranking of Limited Mastery reflects mastery of one or more modules but with some imprecision; a ranking of Adequate Comprehension reflects broad comprehension but demonstrates a lack of sophistication in the use of basic course material; rankings of Low Comprehension and Very Low Comprehension 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 Limited Mastery Ranking By The External Evaluator Of The Field Camp
60% of students will achieve at least a limited mastery ranking or better by the external evaluator of the Field Camp.
Finding
Field Camp Results From External Evaluators
This year 12 students attended field camp sponsored by the University of Missouri. Seven attained mastery three attained limited mastery, so 83% achieved limited mastery or better. The field camp director wants us to clone at least 8 of our students and send them year after year. The field camp director did not comment on any weaknesses of the groups as a whole this year, in fact she was very impressed with their skill levels coming into camp. Anecdotal evidence indicates a similar impression by other field camp directors. The field camp director from Southern Utah University commented that our three students at their camp "were always on time, prepared for the day, and turned in great work. This group was also the only group in the entire class to notice a relay ramp in one of our mapping areas. I was impressed with their level of preparedness, geologic knowledge,and professionalism." Last year three students attended field camp at Sul Ross State University and received the three highest grades, and one was offered a graduate position there. He starts their graduate program this Fall. The person we sent to Sul Ross this year obtained the highest grade in the class. She had already accepted a graduate position at Texas A&M. Four out of five students attending field camp with Oklahoma State University achieved at least a limited mastery ranking, with two of them getting the top two grades in the entire group.
Action
Response To External Evaluation Based On Field Camp Performance
Our response to the feedback from students and field camp directors over the past number of years was to develop an introductory field methods course. Dr. Joseph Hill first offered this course Fall 2013. The difficulty with offering the course during a regular semester was that all the field trips had to be run on weekends, sometimes having to leave Thursday afternoon. This was a major disruption to student schedules. Therefore, we decided to try offering it again during May minimester 2014. This way they were able to focus on field methods in places like Palo Duro Canyon and New Mexico. We offered field methods again in May 2015, except this time we sent Dr. Pat Harris along to help Dr. Hill work the 25 students taking the course. Once again, anecdotal feedback from students taking field camp is that the introductory field methods course put them at an advantage over many other students at the various summer field camps. And the feedback that we are receiving from field camp directors is that they are very impressed with the preparation that we have provided to our students.
Goal
Deliver Core Curriculum Education Appropriate To The Geology Discipline
The Department of Geography and Geology provides discipline-specific offerings to the Core Curriculum.
Objective
Apply Basic Components Of Geology
Students completing the core curriculum courses will demonstrate an understanding of the basic components of a geological perspective and will recognize geological themes.
Indicator
Core Curriculum Geology Comprehensive Exam
All students enrolled in core curriculum geology classes complete a final comprehensive exam related to the foundations of geology.
Criterion
Average Of At Least 75% Accuracy
The average score of core curriculum geology students will be at least 75% on the final comprehensive exam.
Finding
Geology Pre- And Post-exams
This is embarassing, we do not have results for these exams this year. We have to chalk it up to a changing of the guard. Dr. Chris Baldwin and Dr. Brian Cooper always took it upon themselves to administer these exams in their introductory courses, and do the evaluations of the results. The faculty members assigned to do the testing this year administered a pre-test (but not the one that was requested), and then forgot to administer any sort of post-test. Apparently, they did not understand or appreciate the importance of this exercise. Perhaps the department chair did not communicate the importance in a way that they would understand.
Action
Geology Exams
The department chair will write, help administer, and evaluate the exams this year.
Goal
Development Of A Geologic Knowledge Base
Each student is required to have developed a level of knowledge in various areas of geology prior to attending the capstone geology field course.
Objective
Mineral Recognition
After completing Geology 3404, students will be able to recognize minerals.
Every geology student must take Geology 3404, Mineralogy. One of the objectives of this course is to be able to recognize minerals, which is a skill that will be needed when they take the capstone geology field course.
Indicator
Final Mineral Practical Exam
Students completing Geology 3404, Mineralogy, must take a final practical exam that requires the recognition of minerals.
Criterion
Student Scores
60 percent of the students will be able to recognize 15 or more of the 30 minerals presented to them on the final mineral practical.
Finding
Mineral Practical Scores
90% of the students (35 of 39) were able to recognize 15 or more of the 30 minerals presented to them on the final mineral practical, up from 70% last year and 57% the year before.
Action
Mineral Practical Performance
Increasing the emphasis on learning the distinguishing properties of minerals as opposed to memorizing what they look like seems to be helping, but there is still a long way to go. It is time to raise the bar because even with this apparent improvement on the final practical exam there is insufficient carry-over into the subsequent course (Petrology). The plan is to change up the format again, both in terms of the lab meeting times and the organization of the course. There will be more day to day and lab to lab continuity than in any of the previous formats. In the past, students were required to have six notebooks or a binder divided into six sections. This coming semester, there will only be two notebooks required. There will be a greater emphasis on mineral recognition, and will include exercises requiring the recognition of minerals in rocks to provide that experience for students prior to Petrology.