On the Cutting Edge: Teaching Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry

Visual displays of data, images of subatomic to planetary-scale features, and animations of geological processes are widely used to enrich our disciplines. However, their communicative power may be dramatically different to a student and to an expert because of the need for prior knowledge and inference when interpreting visuals. To “see” equivalent visual information, the non-expert must learn the visual language of the expert. Teaching visual literacy is important to instruction at all levels and is as fundamental to a discipline as its vocabulary. The underlying foundations of visual literacy and the recognition of what one “sees” and interprets in a visual depiction are critical for enhancing student learning and for effective communication in our visually rich discipline.

Greater participation, and the associated increase in student diversity, has changed university education worldwide. The old ways of teaching a small number of well-qualified committed students do not work as well with large classes and more diverse student needs. This essay documents one approach to this challenge. It involves understanding student needs and preferences better, developing a range of ways to deliver learning and assess the results, and finally reflecting on the outcomes. The annual process of reflection allows changes that improve alignment of course aims with their delivery and assessment, and results in improved student learning and perception of the subject.

A growing body of research confirms that active approaches to learning offer many advantages over traditional instructional methods, including improved retention of information, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving skills. Content coverage in active-learning courses can be facilitated through careful selection and design of activities that guide student learning. Importantly, activities should engage groups of students in cooperative questioning, problem solving, analytical reasoning, and critical thinking. Focused instruction and reflection on thinking and learning help students develop as intentional learners.

Traditionally, college science teachers have focused on delivering content to students. The assumption was that students would learn the information and could recall and use it later. Current research on learning, however, tells us that such an approach to teaching, by itself, is not the best way to promote learning. Learning is not a process that simply involves knowledge transfer. Instead, it is a physiological process that involves changes in the brain. Good teaching, therefore, should focus on helping students develop their cognitive skills, while simultaneously helping them become better learners. Students will learn specific ideas and facts in our classes, but the information learned is of much less importance than the learning and thinking skills acquired. Our overall goal should be to help students become lifelong learners, successful as citizens and professionals. Assessment and self-reflection are keys. Students must learn to reflect on, and assess, their own learning. Instructors must also constantly assess their own efforts to promote student learning.

Effective instruction can enhance our ability to retain students in the geoscience major and to raise their level of expertise in mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry (MPG). Research on learning and education provides a framework for designing learning experiences in our classes. As a community we are well positioned to consider the goals of MPG instruction and to evaluate the materials and methods we currently use in our teaching. This will enhance the ability of faculty members to design and implement courses that meet the needs of their department and capitalize on their strengths as teachers.

New advances in cognitive psychology and learning science provide insights into how people construct knowledge, with important implications for how we learn from, and teach about, the Earth. Research on learning has demonstrated that effective instructional practices require students to construct their own knowledge bases (i.e. a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning), address diverse student learning styles, employ a variety of active-learning strategies, and encourage inquiry and discovery. These emerging principles provide a context for us to reflect collectively on what and how we teach in our mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry courses. If we are to meet the challenges of the 21st century, our new instructional goal should be to develop students who are lifelong learners and who use the knowledge base, technical skills, and cognitive strategies that are used by “master” geoscientists. As a result, we will help sustain the long-term health and relevance of the mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry community