Initial Publication Date: July 20, 2016

Geo-Needs Action Plan for Broadening Participation in the Earth Sciences: Nina Baghai-Riding

Institution: , Delta State University

Author: Nina Baghai-Riding

Short Profile of Your Institution

Delta State University (DSU) is a rural undergraduate institution that serves the Mississippi Delta. Its primary mission is to provide excellence in education. The university does offer a few master degree programs as well as a PhD in nursing and Education. Large components of the student body (> 40%) are black minorities. Many students come from families who have not attended college before.
However, in recent years, DSU has been recruiting students from other areas of Mississippi as well as internationally. The President of the University has been networking with other institutions in Poland and Russia, for example. Students have been able to take courses abroad and obtain college credit. In addition, many student athletes come from areas throughout Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America. Additionally, some recent graduates in Environmental Science were from Biloxi, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; and South Africa.

How are the Earth Sciences situated in your institution?

Delta State University offers a Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science. Students can select three different concentrations in pursuing a degree in this field: General, Wildlife Management, and Geographic Information Systems. Dr. Baghai-Riding is the adviser for the General and Geographic Information Systems concentrations and Dr. Reza is the adviser for the Wildlife Management concentration.

A few earth science courses are integrated into the Environmental Science curriculum. A course entitled 'Physical Geology for Life Sciences' (BIO 314) is required of all students majoring in Environmental Science that are pursuing the GIS or General Concentration. This course also is an elective for General Biology majors. This is taught as an upper division course rather than a general 100 level class. Usually more than 10 students enroll in this class. This course is reguarly taught in Fall semesters. This course is taught by Dr. Baghai-Riding.

In addition, 'Environmental Geology' (BIO 414/516)is taught as a regular winter face-to-face intersession course. This course is an undergraduate/graduate level course. Any environmental science or biology major can take this class as an elective. Often more than 10 students enroll in this class. Dr. Baghai-Riding teaches this course.

Soil Science and Biology(BIO 416/516) is another course that is taught at DSU. This course will be offered in Fall 2016 for the first time in over a decade. This course will be taught by an adjunct professor.

Lastly, Dr. Baghai-Riding incorporates geoscience concepts into other environmental science that she instructs. For example, soil porosity, permeability, the rock cycle, water quality, soil colors, interpreting infrared lithographs, and more are integrated into her Foundations of Environmental Science (BIO 123) and Materials and Methods in Environmental Science (BIO 415) classes.

Brief Profile of the Students You Serve

DSU presently has 40+ students majoring in Environmental Science and 150+ majoring in biology. More than >40% are black minorities and the remaining 60% are white or of other nationalities. Most of the students are residents within the state of Mississippi. However, DSU does not charge out-of-state tuition so students from Tennessee, Arkansas, and other areas of the USA have been attending this institution in recent years. Most of the students that major in Environmental Science acquire employment rather easily. Some work for the Mississippi Department of Energy Quality (MDEQ), Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and so forth. Other students become accepted into graduate programs. This past spring several students were admitted into graduate programs with stipends to North Carolina State University, Nicholls State University, and Stephen F. Austin.

Brief Description of the Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program you are designing:

I would like to improve my Physical Geology for Life Sciences ((BIO 314) course. This course is face-to-face and has three hours of lecture and two hours of lab per week. It is usually taught during the Fall semesters and covers a breadth of geological issues. Topics covered include basic rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, geomorphological processes (landforms shaped by glaciers, wind, shorelines, and rivers), ground water applications, and a week of basic structural geology. Students become familiar with reading topographic maps, aerial photographs, landsat images as well. One week is also spent on geologic time; fossil preservation and correlating strata is presented during that week. This course is required of students pursuing a BS in Environmental Science (general concentration and GIS concentration). It also is an elective for biology science majors and Environmental Science wildlife concentration majors. Additionally, this course can serve as a science elective for education majors. Usually 10 – 12 students are enrolled in this class. This coming fall semester, 12 students have registered for this course.

Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program Goals

My general objectives when I teach Physical Geology for Life Sciences are three fold:
1. To understand and identify materials (rocks, minerals, fossils and landforms) that compose the Earth.
2. To understand many processes that operate beneath and upon the Earth's surface.
3. To appreciate the Earth and its surroundings from a geological and biological perspective.

Laboratory skills students acquire:
1. Observational - able to identify minerals, rocks and types of fossil preservation. They also can interpret and identify features pertaining to infrared photography, aerial photographs, topographic maps, and geologic maps.
2. Complete exercises pertaining to basic geomorphology and ground water phenomena: Topics covered include stream and ground water flow; coastal, volcanic, arid, and karst landforms and processes, and basic earthquake analysis
3. Understand and interpret field data pertaining to sedimentary environments and landform construction.
4. Being able to visualize 3-D relationships: structural geology, crystal symmetry.

Other skills students acquire is learning how to be an effective communicator. I gave three take-home tests and the questions are in essay format.

Understanding the earth's processes, having knowledge about basic soil types, rocks and minerals that comprise the earth, and how to decipher geologic landscapes (sinkholes, glacier landforms, coastal landforms, etc.) are necessary concepts for environmental science majors. Geology courses were not part of the Environmental Science curriculum before I became employed at DSU. Having advance degrees in geology, I am able to fill that void at DSU. Employers that hire students that graduate from DSU in Environmental Science are impressed with their knowledge about geological processes. I also try to make the course relevant to the Mississippi. For example, I address topics that focus on the Mississippi River, New Madrid Fault, swelling soils, flooding, and more.

This course has been a good recruiting tool with regards to getting students to major in environmental science. Students often take this course as an elective. Students that are commonly just biology majors prior to taking this course decide to double major in environmental science and biology or become just an environmental science major. (Environmental science majors do not need to take cell biology and genetics which often are weed-out classes.) Physical Geology for Life Sciences is fun to teach and students enjoy fun courses. Students especially like the hands-on activities and learning about geological processes. Making casts and molds, acetate leaf peals, breaking geodes, constructing maps, and so forth are some fun activities I include when time permits. In many situations, students will enroll in any course that I teach that incorporates geological awareness. Unfortunately, DSU cannot have a geology major program since it would impact programs at Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi.

Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program Outline

Main topics:
1.Introductory material, rock cycle, mineral identification – questions from the lab manual by Freeman, T. 2009. Geosciences Laboratory Fifth Edition. Wiley and Sons, 303 pp are given; practice quiz questions on Canvas, growing crystals, and being able to identify 30 basic minerals using assorted physical properties: streak test, hardness test, cleavage, color, magnetism, etc.
2.Igneous rocks and volcanic landforms – students learn about the Jackson, MS volcano and learn how to identify various igneous rock hand specimens. I also incorporate exercises pertaining to magma chamber (incorporates Bowen Reaction Series) and volcanic hotspots. We also make a volcano and explain what takes place when it erupts.
3.Sedimentary rocks and sedimentary landforms – More than 20 different hand specimens are provided for each student group. They learn how to identify basic sedimentary rock types: shales, sandstones, conglomerates, chert, etc. They also learn how to do basic paleoenvironmental analysis.
4.Fossil preservation – students learn various types of fossil preservation using hand samples: casts, molds, permineralization, complete replacement, etc. Students also learn how to correlate strata based on the relative age of fossils. Exercises on geologic time are incorporated as well.
5.Metamorphic rocks - Students learn basic metamorphic rock types. The instructor usually has about 20 different types of metamorphic rocks for each student group: metaconglemerate, slate, schists, marble, mylonites, etc.
Workbook exercises are assigned from Freeman (2009).
6.Topographic maps and aerial photographs – students learn important features of maps and aerial photographs: scales, north arrows, colors, layout, longitude and latitude, etc. Maps and photographs from the local area are emphasized.
7.Earthquakes – basic concepts of earthquakes are presented. Considerable attention is focused on the New Madrid earthquake. Information regarding the Alaskan 1964 earthquake is presented based on my Chautauqua course experiences.
8.Geomorphic landforms – glaciers, rivers, desert, etc. Four weeks are spent on these units. Exercises from Freeman (2009) and other sources, appropriate DVD's, and websites are incorporated.
9.Structural geology – students learn how to interpret basic faults and folds and the principles of strike and dip. They also learn how to interpret geologic maps. Students answer questions based from Freeman's (2009) workbook and internet sources.

What Strategies and Methods Will You Use? For example:

Strategies and methods I like to incorporate into teaching BIO 314 include inviting local speakers associated with the Memphis Geological and Archeological Society, Natural Resource and Conservation Service, or from sister institutions. For example, for three years I was on an NSF grant (2010-2012) with Dr. Brenda Kirkland from Mississippi State University (MSU) in the Geoscience Department. Dr. Kirkland mission was to recruit several of my environmental science students into her Master's of Science in Geology program. She was impressed in what my students knew when she came to visit my classes. She also would bring a tabletop SEM with her when she visited DSU, as a recruiting tool. Overall, more than 10 of my students participated in a ten-day intersession course that she would teach in May (the course was known as a Maymester course). Students would work on various geological projects that she assigned. Each project could be completed by the end of the course. Each student group also had to create a professional poster based on their project and present it at the Geological Society of America national conference. All of the posters were well received. This partnership also helped to acquire a JEOL SEM microscope at DSU which has been in operation for approximately 3 years.

Another strategy is to help my students acquire summer paid internships. This has been rather easy the past three years. Scientists at the USDA in Stoneville, MS are often asking for my students each spring. Students also are able to acquire internships with NRCS in Cleveland, MS, with wastewater treatment facilities in Senatobia, and more. Students who want an internship are usually able to secure one without difficulty.

What Additional Resources Will be Needed to Support this Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program?

I would like more animations and PowerPoint materials. Some of my PowerPoint presentations have not changed for several years.

What Barriers to Success Do you Anticipate; what strategies can you use to help ensure success?

Most of my students try to avoid mathematical applications. Fortunately, formulas pertaining to stream discharge, calculating distance, and deducing percentages involve only simple calculations.

What Strategies and Methods Will You Use to Ensure Success for ALL Students?

Most students that enroll in my Physical Geology for Life Sciences class obtain an A or a B grade. I have very few C grades or lower. Students, who decide to change majors even in mid-semester, seldom drop this class. I encourage my students to ask questions. The small class size allows for this opportunity. I also provide help outside of class time for students that request it. Additionally, I encourage students to participate on the optional field trip if one is scheduled or to engage in extracurricular research. Several of my students have one or more professional abstracts by the time they graduate. As mentioned above, many students are able to acquire internships. I would like to find some local co-op programs, however.

With the acquisition of a new SEM and petrographic microscopes, undergraduate research projects are available. Many students like doing projects. I try to incorporate projects into some of my 400 level courses. This method has worked well in other courses I teach such as Conservation Biology and Materials and Methods in Environmental Science.

What Institutional Support Will You Need? How will you engage these resources in your setting?

I will continue to need my lab/teaching facility that possesses a computer, projector, various lab supplies, and other teaching materials. A photo copier also is necessary for many of the lab activities since many students cannot afford textbooks, workbooks, etc. I would like to work more with admissions and grant sources that could help students afford more materials (textbooks, graph paper, colored pencils, etc). Students in the Mississippi Delta are strapped for funds and labs fees went up from $10 a course to $25 per course. I let them use my lab supplies every time we meet to help reduce their expenses.

Working with the DSU Environmental Science and Biology faculty curriculum committees is always a plus. New ideas with regards to improving classes commonly are generated from these discussions. The curriculum committee usually meets once a month.

Finding enough time to help students conduct projects is always a factor especially with heavy teaching loads.It would be a great benefit to work with other outreach sources to help lighten a faculty load.(I would like to learn more about these opportunities.)

What Institutional Support Will You Need? How will you engage these resources in your setting?

What Continuing Professional Development Support Do You and Your Faculty/Staff Need to Successfully Plan and Deliver this Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program?

Obtaining funds to attend geological conferences would be a plus. I often pay my own way to attend workshops that are offered as Chautauqua field courses (Alaskan earthquakes, Volcano mitigation, Alaskan glacial geology, are three that I have taken in recent years). I find these courses refreshing and often use some of the materials that I acquire in teaching a particular unit.

Recruitment and/or Dissemination; what plans do you have for outreach to recruit students to your Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program?

DSU will post news items on its daily Media Highlights. The Arts and Sciences newsletter will advertise student and professor achievements, new programs, new equipment, grant opportunities and more. I took advantage of the media highlights during the 2014-2015 academic year. Earth-day events, new acquisitions, poster presentations that students gave at professional meetings, activities that my classes participated in and more were conveyed. Some of this information was posted in other local newspapers. I also co-authored an article in the Delta Journal of Education that highlighted environmental science awareness. As a result, the number of majors climbed from 25 - 67 in just one year. My chair was considering to push for another faculty member that could help teach additional courses.

The Department of Biological Sciences also has a Facebook webpage. This website highlights student achievements, job openings, science organizations, and so forth.

I would like to have more networking with K-12 systems. Organizing some one-day workshops would be a plus. One faculty member does conduct a boy scout merit badge in environmental science. It would be good to offer one in geology for boy scouts that live in the Mississippi Delta.

What Additional Budget and In-Kind Support Will You Need to Develop and Sustain Your Course/Curriculum/Extracurricular Program?

I would like to acquire more leverage from GSA and NAGT to continue to help with maintaining geology classes at DSU. The DSU science building has just been renovated. There is one classroom devoted to geology and environmental science specifically. This classroom seats 24 students. There also is a prep room with two fume hoods. Members from the Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society have contributed to building the rock and mineral collection at DSU. Ron Brister, former curator of the Pink Palace Museum, donated a collection that was valued over $3000. The science faculty are trying to get alumni to contribute to maintaining the sciences since state budgets are trimming what they provide to higher education. I am welcome to any new ideas about securing additional funds. Obtaining new lab equipment can be costly.

Timeline

Syllabus - updated every August.
Scheduling field trips - completed by the end of October
Course development - I ask students what topics they want to learn about at the beginning of a semester. I try to incorporate some of their interests when preparing my lectures and labs. For example, last fall some students were interested in ocean landforms so I covered that topic instead of a unit on astrogeology. Course outlines are formulated at the beginning of the semester and tweaked regularly.
Lab supplies - these are usually all ordered by mid-September.
Advertising and marketing - throughout the academic year.

Evaluation and Assessment

With small classes, it is rather easy to track a student success and their attitudes. Most of my students are very close with each other. Many of them are successful. Although they may not choose earth science as a career, many do utilize geological applications. Sometimes students who graduated in Environmental Science from DSU will return and give a presentation for one of my classes. Some of my former students communicate via Facebook and will give periodic updates about their jobs, graduate school achievements and challenges.
Measuring institutional goals is challenging. The environmental science program was put on probation for several years because of low enrollment. However, that trend has been reversed. Last year, nine students acquired a BS degree in that particular major. The program also was not cut when other programs were back in 2014.