Gordan Nagle Field Trip
Dr. Daniel Vice, Penn State Hazleton
This is a short field trip across the Valley and Ridge province in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It is designed to introduce the general geology students to the geologic structure of the province, to differential weathering, and to fluvial processes and the formation of coal deposits.
Intended Audience: This field trip is designed for general geology students that are not planning to major in geology.
Location:
Valley and Ridge province in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
Summary:
Context:
The field trip is conducted as one of the regularly scheduled labs for Geosc. 20 (Introductory Geology)which is taken by undergraduates at Penn State Schuylkill campus. Normally one lab section, which is about 15 to 20 students, will take the field trip at one time. The one accessibility problem would be at stop 3 which is the visit to the working coal mine (We just look at the entrance and I talk about coal mining and treatment of acid mine drainage). No background knowledge is necessary and the field trip could easily be modified. It could be shortened or lengthened. More content could be added if desired.
Goals:
One of the goals for the field trip was to show the students what the rocks looked like in the field.
Design:
The field trip needed to be restricted to the scheduled time of the Geosc. 20 lab period because the students would have work or other classes and so it was very difficult to get them together for a longer field trip.
Notes and Tips:
Permission would need to be obtained from the owner of the coal mine to bring the students to the site (stop 3). Otherwise, the other stops are at malls where access is not a problem.
Assessment and Evaluation:
The success of the field trip is judged by how the students ask about and want to go on it.
Materials and Handouts:
A copy of the field trip is normally given to each student.
References:
The author is working on a paper relating to this field trip but it has not been completed and submitted yet.