GEOL4081: EARTH SCIENCE FIELD SEMINAR

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• To integrate disparate advanced-level geological concepts in the context of a field course.
• To apply the students' acquired knowledge and understanding to the interpretation of field phenomena and to provide practice in team work and the in-situ explanation of field phenomena.
• To provide an opportunity for students to experience the perspectives of scientists from outside the Department and to expose them to new environments - social and scientific.

• The content of the module will vary according to the location but will include elements of the plate tectonic history of the area, palaeo-environments and stratigraphy, structural geology, hazards, magmatic evolution, geophysics and environment.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• To reflect on concepts and principles learned at Levels 1 to 3 in a field context at a local, regional and global scale.
• Will have acquired subject knowledge and understanding in geological, environmental, and geophysical principles, terms, definitions and classifications.
• Will have acquired subject knowledge and understanding in the structure, composition and history of the Earth/geological timescales.
• Will have acquired subject knowledge and understanding in ecological, biological and geochemical processes and their role in shaping the Earth.
• Will have acquired subject knowledge and understanding in the structure and properties of Earth materials.
• Will have acquired subject knowledge and understanding in the fossil record and the evolution of life.
• Will have acquired subject knowledge and understanding in Earth???s natural resources and the techniques used to locate and exploit them.

Subject-specific Skills:

• To be able to present a lucid description and interpretation of a field outcrop in a local and regional and global context to a small group, in the field.
• To further practise the description and interpretation of geological phenomena.
• To synthesise the geological evolution of a region using a variety of inter-disciplinary perspectives and approaches.
• Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills necessary to plan, conduct and report on mix of laboratory and field projects.
• Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills in order to apply geological principles and methodologies to the solution of familiar and unfamiliar problems.
• Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills to observe, record accurately and account for geological features in the laboratory and in the field.
• Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills to synthesise information/data from a variety of sources.
• Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills to analyse, evaluate/interpret geological data.
• Will have acquired intellectual and practical skills in citation and appropriate use of the literature.

Key Skills:

• Receive and respond to a variety of information sources.
• Communicate effectively to a variety of audiences in written, verbal and graphical forms.
• Identify individual and collective goals and responsibilities.
• Recognise and respect the views of other team members.
• Evaluate performance.

• The module will consist of a series of orientation lectures followed by an intense multi-day field excursion.
• Staff will provide explanations.
• In addition, peer teaching by small groups of students to other students, will take place.
• Students will prepare for the course by research into a given aspect of the area to be visited.
• They will be required to prepare handout material for other students and staff on key aspects of each area.
• Students will be required to prepare discussions of specific scientific aspects of the geology to present on the outcrop.
• Students participation in the field trip will be assessed on aspects of their participation in discussions, group presentations and associated handouts, and a written scientific reflection.
• Students will also prepare a written scientific reflection based on their observations in the field.
• The final assessment elements will comprise a written report highlighting key aspects of their research, and a group presentation delivered orally to the class.

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