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Teaching in the Field Across the Curriculum

Teaching Geophysics in the Field

Field experiences are a critical part of a geoscience student's education and have long been one of the foundations of geoscience education. Geophysics offers unique opportunities to combine the benefits of field education with modern exploration techniques and technologies. Getting students out into the field to conduct near-surface exploration, characterization activities, or other geophysical investigations can be a great way of engaging them with the content and gives them an opportunity to develop valuable skills. Below, you will find links to presentations, posters, and teaching activities presented by participants at several workshops that speak to a variety of ways they have taught geophysics with and through field work.

Jump Down To: Integrative Field Experiences | Using Reflection and/or Refraction | Using Ground Penetrating Radar | Other Techniques | Field Guides and Databases


Field-Geophysics Teaching Activities

Browse all geophysics activities.

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Integrative Field Experiences

Field Geophysics at SAGE: Strategies for Effective Education (PowerPoint 6.2MB Aug14 10)
Larry Braile, Purdue University
Teaching Geoscience in the Field 2010

Using Geophysical Field Studies as the Basis for a Problem-Centered Learning (PBL) Course in Introductory Geophysics (PowerPoint 24MB Jul10 12)
Paul Kelso, Lake Superior State University
Link to the activity/assignment / Teaching Geophysics 2007

Teaching Near Surface Geophysics in the Field (PowerPoint 4MB Aug14 10)
Sarah Kruse, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Teaching Geoscience in the Field 2010

Integrating urban geophysics projects into urban and non-urban geoscience courses (Acrobat (PDF) 270kB Mar9 08)
William Montgomery, New Jersey City University
Urban Students, Urban Issues 2008


Using Reflection and/or Refraction

Seismic refraction and reflection studies and the traditional field camp (PowerPoint 8.3MB Aug14 10)
Bob Bauer, University of Missouri
Teaching Geoscience in the Field 2010

Field Refraction Exercise for a Hydrogeology Course (PowerPoint 5.6MB Aug13 07)
Devin Castendyk, State University of NY, College at Oneonta
Link to the activity/assignment / Teaching Geophysics 2007


Using Ground Penetrating Radar

GPR Investigation of a Cemetery: Interpretation (Acrobat (PDF) 117.2MB Jul16 12)
Andy R. Bobyarchick, University of North Carolina - Charlotte
Student Handout (Acrobat (PDF) 5.9MB Jul16 12) / Teaching Structural Geology, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012

Field investigations of abandoned Negro cemeteries using GPR (PowerPoint 11.8MB Mar9 08) 
Alison Henning, Rice University
Urban Students, Urban Issues 2008


Using Other Techniques

Free Air Gravity Exercise (PowerPoint 2.2MB Jul10 12)
Jeffrey Nunn, Louisiana State University
Link to the activity/assignment / Teaching Geophysics 2007

Radar, Seeing with New Eyes (PowerPoint 23.8MB Jul10 12)
Susan Sakimoto, The University of Notre Dame
Link to the activity/assignment / Teaching Geophysics 2007

Learning to Use Electrical Resistivity Soundings for Interpretation of (Sediment) Stratigraphy (PowerPoint 5.2MB Jul10 12)
Remke Van Dam, Michigan State University
Link to the activity/assignment / Teaching Geophysics 2007

 

Field Guides and Databases

The NAGT Field Trip Collection contains more than 50 field trips and examples. The examples in this collection share information about the design of the trips and their important characteristics in addition to providing easy access to field guides. In addition, you can find information for teaching in the field in these other collections:

  • Field Trip Safety: This page in the Cutting Edge Teaching in the Field module presents guidance and example policies and forms for addressing safety concerns when taking geoscience students into the field to learn.
  • The Montana-Yellowstone Geologic Field Guide Database - The Montana-Yellowstone Geologic Field Guide Database is a pilot project for making the field guide literature more accessible and useful to geoscience educators, students, and researchers. While the database is not an exhaustive listing of every published field guide, nor does it provide direct links to the full text of each reference (except for a few unpublished field guides which are reproduced as pdf files), the database is a fully-searchable listing of 50 of the best references for exploring the geology of this fascinating region.
  • NAGT's Far West Section Publications
  • Field Guides - Illustrated field guides for sites near Bozeman and Big Sky, MT.
  • Geologic Guidebooks of North America Database: This database from AGI and the Geoscience Information Society contains bibliographic references and location for published field guides.
  • The University of Texas at Austin has compiled a substantial e-library of field trip guides (more info) on their Walter Geology Library website.