The objective of this project is to increase the relevance of science in a large introductory Physical Geology course by redesigning the course to: 1) include fewer topics that are covered in greater detail; 2) employ a case-study approach in lecture that maximizes discussion/debate; 3) employ a constuctivist approach in lab maximizing discovery based learning; and 4) fully integrate lab and lecture, so that labs illustrate the geologic principles relating to lecture discussions. The course will be divided into three main content areas: an introductory module (minerals, rock cycle and geologic time); an external processes module (groundwater, rivers/floods, energy from the Earth) and an internal processes module (volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics). In lecture, case-studies will form an integral part of the curriculum. Background material and the "problem statement" for each case-study will be available to all students through a series of web pages designed for the course. Four groups of students will do additional research collaboratively and discuss/debate the issues to the rest of the class. Each student will be involved in one collaborative group and all students will be responsible for all case studies. The instructor will serve as quality control for the material presented in these discussions. Labs will develop the background principles for these case studies through explorationtype activities as well as analysis and synthesis of integrated datasets. The impact of this work will be three-fold: 1) the emphasis on case studies will produce a general student populace that is more aware of "real" geologic and environmental issues; 2) the focus in lab will shift from classifying and identifying to critical thinking and problem-solving; and 3) the exercises and case studies will serve as a model that other institutions can adopt in whole, or in part.
