Here's what you'll be doing
- Week-1 - skills and knowledge development.
Ensuring all students have the necessary background to succeed in the field to integrate many different types of incomplete geologic information and make 4-dimensional interpretations.
Week-1 Average daily “in class” minutes
- 31 Introductory material
- 4 Safety
- 33 Virtual field Stops
- 113 Teaching modules
- 76 Exercises
- 52 Quizzes and graded submissions
- Week 2 - Regional geology of the northern Rocky Mountains and western North America.
Approximately 50% virtual field stops traversing back and forth across South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. Because we don’t need to drive between outcrops, the field stops are focused on regional geology themes. Instead of doing all geology at one location and then moving on to the next location to do all the geology there, we will virtually traverse back and forth across the three states several times.
Week-2 Average daily “in class” minutes
- 14 Safety
- 95 Virtual field trip stops
- 70 Teaching modules
- 83 Exercises (mostly virtual field work)
- 43 Quizzes and graded submissions
- Week 3 – Details of Paleozoic stratigraphy
Details of Paleozoic stratigraphy plus four days of reconnaissance mapping of about 4 mi2. Virtual field work will incorporate field stop videos, Google Earth, and topographic maps. Students will construct geologic maps and cross sections, analyze and interpret geologic data, interpret the geologic history, etc.
Week-3 Average daily “in class” minutes
- 4 Safety
- 108 Field stops
- 36 Teaching modules
- 123 Exercises (mostly virtual field work)
- 60 Quizzes and graded submissions
- Week 4 – Details of Mesozoic-Cenozoic stratigraphy
Details of Mesozoic-Cenozoic stratigraphy plus detailed mapping and geologic analysis of about 2 mi2. Virtual field work will incorporate field stop videos, Google Earth, and topographic maps. Students will construct geologic maps and cross sections, analyze and interpret geologic data, interpret the geologic history, etc.
Week-4 Average daily “in class” minutes
- 4 Safety
- 120 Field stops
- 18 Teaching modules
- 146 Exercises (mostly virtual field work)
- 57 Quizzes and graded submissions
- Week 5 – The final project
Student-driven mapping and geologic analysis in a larger (about 12 mi2) area. Students will draw on everything they learned in the first four weeks to construct geologic maps and cross sections, analyze and interpret geologic data, interpret the geologic history, and write a publication style manuscript. Faculty and associate instructors will an “on demand” teaching/mentoring resource for the students, which is exactly the same way we teach the final week face-to-face in the field. Students choose their traverse each day to get their geologic data and field videos for that day.
Week-4 Average daily “in class” minutes
- 4 Safety
- 120 Field stops
- - Teaching modules
- 182 Exercises (mostly virtual field work)
- 48 Quizzes and graded submissions