DRAWING UNDERGRADUATES INTO THE LABORATORY THROUGH CORRELATED COURSEWORK AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

The University of South Florida serves an older (avg. age: 27), non-traditional population of community college graduates and returning students. Most support themselves financially, and seek to complete their degrees with minimal time and cost commitments. Such students often view research participation outside the classroom as an unaffordable luxury, and most do not seek out such opportunities, their educational benefits irrespective.

To spark student interest in research participation, I offer two quasi-linked courses each Spring: GLY 4310, Petrology, taught with a strong Appalachian geology focus; and GLY 4780, Geologic Field Studies, a 10-day field trip in the Blue Ridge and Valley and Ridge provinces of NC, TN and VA. The field requirement for GLY 4310 can be met via concurrent registration in GLY 4780: typically, 30-40% of those taking GLY 4310 also take GLY 4780.

Students are introduced to current questions in Appalachian geology, and field areas visited include the sites of ongoing work in my lab (i.e., the Buck Creek mafic-ultramafic complex). This exposure to research-in-progress annually results in 2-3 students expressing interest in participating. We define the scope of their involvement based on their interests, but the student commitment always involves enrollment in 2-3 hours of Directed Research credit, to ensure they commit sufficient time to do the work.

After students have learned laboratory procedures and techniques, I help them define modest projects with potential outcomes appropriate for presentation at a regional GSA meeting. Despite the Appalachian focus of their preparation, students gravitate toward a variety of projects, from subduction zone studies to work on soil contamination. Of 20 undergraduates who have followed this route, 7 presented posters at regional or national meetings, and all but four still pursue geology professionally, either through graduate training or in private firms. Data from undergraduate projects in my lab served as foundation material for a successful REU Site research grant request (see Peterson and Ryan, this session).