Creating virtual geologic mapping exercises in a changing world

Whitmeyer, Steven J.; Dordevic, Mladen M.

doi:10.1130/ges02308.1

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Although we cannot control societal biases, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of every member of our group. This starts with selecting safe destinations, developing safety protocol plans based on participants' identities before travel, and ensuring safety structures are in place once there (Viglione, 2020).…”

Section: The Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Developing multiple avenues to experience the field rather than creating alternative assignments for those unable to participate promotes inclusion and avoids further marginalization (e.g., Carabajal & Atchison, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the advent of hybrid and online courses, including virtual field trips that can achieve the same learning outcomes as in-person field trips, while improving equity in the classroom (Sima, 2020;Whitmeyer & Dordevic, 2020).…”

Section: The Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

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Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom

et al. 2021

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Events in 2020, including the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, ignited a global conversation across all sectors of society about racism, white supremacy, and other systems of oppression experienced by marginalized groups. The geoscience community has responded with statements, reading groups, and committees addressing the overall lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our field. The sad truth is that our community has discussed its lack of diversity, particularly related to race and gender, for decades with few measurable improvements (Bernard & Cooperdock, 2018; Bromery, 1972). This lack of diversity, which spans race, gender, disability, sexuality and other social categories, contributes directly to the lack of inclusion and equity experienced by people from marginalized groups (Dutt, 2020). Recent efforts have focused on systemic bias-the ways in which institutional culture, norms, and procedures exclude people based on their social identity and/or background, in both intentional and unintentional ways. Several calls have been made to address this at the institutional and federal agency level (e.g., notimeforsilence.org), and many professional societies responded by updating codes of conduct and retooling other functions with a diversity lens. At the same time, faculty, principal investigators (PIs), and other scientists that manage labs, lead fieldwork, or teach students also have an important role to play. As authoritative figures of environments that people navigate on a near-daily basis, these individuals have outsized influence over the spaces where students and trainees most keenly feel the adverse impacts of systemic bias. This power to alter career trajectories is most apparent with reference letters, grades, and providing access to resources and opportunities ("gatekeeping"), but it also manifests subtly in day-today interactions and norms that can either support or undermine people's sense of belonging, fulfillment, and confidence. Here, we highlight actions for scientists supervising labs, fieldwork, and classrooms to address systemic biases that impact students and trainees, our next generation of geoscientists. While faculty and PIs are the target of this article, these ideas are relevant to any individual in a position of authority (e.g., lab managers, teaching assistants, fieldwork organizers). We focus on tractable actions that can have immediate positive impacts for marginalized community members, mitigating harm while critical but protracted progress continues at higher organizational levels (Keisling et al., 2020; Ovienmhada et al., 2020). We call on all scientists in leadership roles to personally reflect and engage with research on anti-oppressive practices published by historians, social scientists, and education scholars, and to translate this learning into sustained, lifelong action.

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Section: The Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom

et al. 2021

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“…The "Google Earth" exercise wrapped up lesson 3 by preparing students for field area reconnaissance, digitally creating contacts using areal observations of the landscape, using petrologic rock identification using location-specific photographs to determine stratigraphic units, and recognizing structural features in map view as they relate to stratigraphy and map patterns. Students also learned how to digitally decipher strike and dip using the Dynamic 3-Point Geological-Plane Problem Solver (Jamieson and Herman, 2019) and converted their bedding orientation measurements to represent the correct strike and dip symbol using the Orientation Symbol Generator (Whitmeyer, 2021). Students used these strike and dips in determining structures in their final Google Earth map.…”

Section: Vfc Lessonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, what happens when programs suddenly lose access to such experiences as occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020? Some virtual environments, including ours, were developed or augmented during the spring of 2020 (Parcell and Parcell, 2020;Bursztyn et al, 2021;Gregory et al, 2021;Whitmeyer and Dordevic, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic Minecrafting: an analysis of the perceptions of and lessons learned from a gamified virtual geology field camp

et al. 2021

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Abstract. To mimic the 3D geospatial components of geologic mapping usually spotlighted by field camp, we developed a virtual course based in the sandbox video game Minecraft. Paired with audio/video conferencing and real data, students practiced measuring strike and dip, orienteering with a compass, matching landscape features with topographic maps, and tracing geologic contacts within the team structure typically employed in field camp. Open-source programs and tutorials freely available online assisted with constructing the Minecraft worlds. Assignments were aligned to the nine learning outcomes established for geology field camps by the National Association of Geology Teachers (NAGT). A pre-survey and post-survey quantified students' learning of the subject matter as well as perceptions towards Minecraft and online learning. We also held feedback sessions and conducted in-class, live observations to classify students' reactions and experiences during virtual activities. Overwhelmingly, students indicated they would have preferred an in-person field camp, yet they considered the Minecraft assignments exciting, important, interesting, and valuable. Regardless of perceived barriers, scores on subject matter questions increased from the pre- to the post-survey. Finally, observations illustrated how students' experiences in a virtual field camp recreated comparable components that students experience during an in-person field camp (e.g., students discussing career pathways, geological skills, and fostering interpersonal relationships). Because this virtual course achieved the curricular goals as well as the non-curricular goals and was relatively easy to construct, we recommend the usage of Minecraft for virtual geology courses in the future.

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“…With the change to virtual interactions with students, SST instructors made significant adjustments to their approaches to field-based teaching and learning. Several months of development efforts were necessary to create the MAAOT virtual field trips in web GE (as documented in Whitmeyer and Dordevic, 2021,) along with associated supplemental materials. Fortunately, the instructors had collected field photos and videos from several years of visiting the field trip locations with previous SST classes, and many of these visual materials were included in the GE field trips.…”

Section: Instructor Experiences With Virtual Field Tripsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mid Atlantic Appalachian Orogen Traverse: A Comparison of Virtual and On-Location Field-Based Capstone Experiences

Whitmeyer

Fichter

Marshall

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. The Stratigraphy, Structure, Tectonics (SST) course at James Madison University incorporates a capstone project that traverses the Mid Atlantic region of the Appalachian Orogen and includes several all-day field trips. In the Fall 2020 semester, the SST field trips transitioned to a virtual format, due to restrictions from the COVID pandemic. The virtual field trip projects were developed in web-based Google Earth, along with other supplemental PowerPoint and PDF files. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual field experiences in comparison with traditional on-location field trips, an online survey was sent to SST students that took the course virtually in Fall 2020 and to students that took the course in-person in previous years. Instructors and students alike recognized that some aspects of on-location field learning were not possible or effective with virtual field experiences. However, students recognized the value of virtual field experiences for reviewing and revisiting outcrops, as well as noting the improved access to virtual outcrops for students with disabilities, and the generally more inclusive experience of virtual field trips. Students highlighted the potential benefits for hybrid field experiences that incorporate both on-location outcrop investigations and virtual field trips, which is the preferred model for SST field experiences in Fall 2021 and into the future.

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Creating virtual geologic mapping exercises in a changing world

Cited by 31 publications

References 25 publications

Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom

Counteracting Systemic Bias in the Lab, Field, and Classroom

Pandemic Minecrafting: an analysis of the perceptions of and lessons learned from a gamified virtual geology field camp

The Mid Atlantic Appalachian Orogen Traverse: A Comparison of Virtual and On-Location Field-Based Capstone Experiences

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