Writing and Communicating in the Geosciences: A 1-credit required course to prepare undergraduates for independent research
Abstract
With increasing numbers of majors (currently 130) and an independent research requirement of all undergraduates in our program, the Department of Geology and Environmental Science at James Madison University sought a means to streamline and formalize instruction of research practices we deem fundamental to all sub-disciplines in the geosciences. Therefore, in Fall 2010, we developed a research preparation course called 'Writing and Communicating in the Geosciences,' which is now required for all Geology BS and Earth Science BA undergraduate students. This 1-credit course must be completed prior to students' senior year, and is a pre-requisite to a minimum of 2-credits of independent research required of all majors. 'Writing and Communicating in the Geosciences' is designed to prepare students for independent research by providing them with opportunities to develop, practice, and gain feedback on a variety of writing and communication skills. It is our goal that after taking this course, students are able to identify primary literature using the library data-based systems, critically discuss peer-reviewed papers, write abstracts, use accepted referencing styles in bibliographies, and effectively make scientific posters and give oral presentations. The class is offered every semester and is always co-taught by two faculty members from the department. Curriculum and instruction is designed to balance student workload, faculty workload, and strategies toward meeting the course learning objectives. Students informally report at the time of enrollment that this is a perceived as a rigorous 'rite-of-passage' course. Informal feedback from past students has been positive, suggesting that the greatest benefits manifest later, as former students apply the course-developed skills to projects in their upper-level courses, their independent research projects, and their graduate research. Faculty feedback has been similarly positive, with department colleagues commenting that their research students are better prepared to conduct background research for their independent projects and are producing higher quality presentations and posters. These preliminary observations suggest that this course may be a good model for other geoscience programs. A formal qualitative and quantitative study is currently being designed to further assess the impact of this course on the development of students' research skills.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMED23D0734S
- Keywords:
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- 0820 EDUCATION Curriculum and laboratory design;
- 0825 EDUCATION Teaching methods;
- 0810 EDUCATION Post-secondary education;
- 0850 EDUCATION Geoscience education research