Art for the Smart: Paper and oral presentation assignments for an Earth Materials course

A letter from the fictional Art for the Smart company addresses students in the Earth Materials course: "You might be wondering why an artist needs a geology consultant. I am creating a sculpture garden filled with mythical beings. I would like each student to recommend two unique minerals for one of these sculptures..." For this project students randomly select a mythical being, two mineral groups, and a mineral characteristic. For example, a student might be assigned the goddess Freya, a sulfate, a vanadate, and twinning. Students then choose a specific mineral from each group, describe their physical and chemical characteristics, and recommend how the minerals could be incorporated into the sculpture. Reports are presented in short oral presentations and two-page business letters with accompanying bibliography and illustrations. The letter format provides a concise way to communicate results to the Art for the Smart "client" while preparing students for their job-hunting days ahead. The oral presentations are structured as features for a news program. Talks are limited to three to five minutes and four slides: title page, mineral #1, mineral #2, and mythical being. The strict limits help students concentrate on scientific content and smooth delivery rather than flashy visual aids. The student audience and the professor evaluate each in-class presentation. This has become a popular assignment because it engages student imaginations to relate minerals to mythical beings and creatively design a sculpture. Each project is unique and therefore more interesting for both students and faculty to evaluate. The projects are nearly impossible to plagiarize from previous years or from internet sources. Earth Materials is a sophomore level course for Geoscience and Marine Science majors at Eckerd College. The Art for the Smart project leads into an assignment for the second half of the semester featuring building stones. A new "client" sends a letter to the class explaining the situation: "I own a building in downtown St. Petersburg adorned with natural building stone. I am planning to expand my business to your hometown. I would like your professional opinion on whether or not I should use the same stone on my new building..." In this case, students examine thin sections and hand specimens to identify building stones. Each student chooses one building stone and conducts literature research to explain the advantages and disadvantages of using the rock on a building. The ultimate goal is not only to describe the rock and its geologic origins, but also to persuade the "client" to use or not use the building stone in a new location. In addition to writing a business letter and giving an in-class presentation, students give a short talk in the "field" at the downtown location featuring the building stone. In completing the two Earth Materials projects over the course of the semester, students progress from recognizing minerals in hand specimens to identifying rocks using thin sections and developing theories regarding their geologic origins.