The COVID-19 pandemic hindered the ability to conduct field geology courses in a hands-on and boots-on traditional manner. In response, we designed a multi-part virtual field module that encompasses many of the basic requirements of an advanced field exercise, including designing a mapping strategy, collecting and processing field observations, synthesizing data from field-based and laboratory analyses, and communicating the results to a broad audience. For the mapping exercise, which is set in deformed Proterozoic crystalline basement exposed in the Front Range of Colorado (USA), student groups make daily navigational decisions and choose stations based on topographic maps, Google Earth satellite imagery, and iterative geological reasoning. For each station, students receive outcrop descriptions, measurements, and photographs from which they input field data and create geologic maps using StraboSpot. Building on the mapping exercise, student groups then choose from six supplements, including advanced field structure, microstructure, metamorphic petrology, and several geochronological datasets. Because scientific projects rarely end when the mapping is complete, the students are challenged to see how samples and analytical data may commonly be collected and integrated with field observations to produce a more holistic understanding of the geological history of the field area. While a virtual course cannot replace the actual field experience, modules like the one shared here can successfully address, or even improve on, some of the key learning objectives that are common to field-based capstone experiences while also fostering a more accessible and inclusive learning environment for all students.
The COVID-19 pandemic hindered our ability to conduct in-person field geology courses and prompted worldwide efforts to design effective alternative online educational experiences. We designed an activity that can be delivered remotely and conducted virtually while still providing an effective learning experience centered on field mapping skills. We also wanted to create a capstone experience that challenges students to go beyond creating a map and understanding the basic three-dimensionality of geologic structures but also to gain a deeper appreciation for how scientific endeavors are commonly conducted through subsequent laboratory analyses and integration of the results with field-based relationships.
Field mapping exercises have traditionally been a central component of undergraduate geology curricula. Historically, development of field geology skills was integral to students' preparation for entry into the geoscience workforce
In this contribution, we describe a multi-part activity involving virtual mapping and group collaboration with associated analytical datasets (Fig.
Schematic flowchart illustrating the multi-part structure of the module and emphasizing the combination of group and individual activities. See the text for further description.
Participants in the 2020 Designing Remote Field Experiences project
Learning objectives.
The Designing Remote Field Experiences project was sponsored by the National Association for Geoscience Teachers and International Association for Geoscience Diversity and the National Science Foundation.
For Objective 1, student groups (e.g., mapping partners) select a fixed number of stations for each of the “field mapping days” and justify their requests based on considerations of safety, access, exposure, and geological reasoning. For Objective 2, students compile map data from outcrop descriptions of each station that include information such as rock types, features, fabrics, structures, measurements, photos, and sketches for each selected station. Objectives 3 and 4 are addressed by interpreting map relations using fundamental geological principles during each virtual mapping day as well as integrating the results from additional dataset analysis during Part II. For Objective 5, students develop multiple working hypotheses throughout their mapping, design data acquisition strategies to efficiently test those hypotheses, identify uncertainty from station description data, and project this uncertainty (e.g., certain vs. approximate contacts) into their preferred mapping interpretations that best fit the available evidence. The combination of outcrop interpretation and laboratory analytical data requires students to grapple with a range of types of uncertainty, some of which are quantifiable in a straightforward manner and some of which are not. For Objective 6, this module strengthens modern communication skills by encouraging the use of video-conferencing tools with screen sharing for collaborative work, interactive learning, and professional presentations, each of which pairs well with digital technology for mapping and quantitative analysis. Addressing Objective 7, students participate in this module through a combination of whole-class discussions, individual assignments, small group collaborative mapping, small group drop-in meetings, and small group oral presentations to the entire class.
Module materials are listed in Table
Supporting materials.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most students and instructors participated in this module from their homes using personal computers and the Internet. Thus, we designed the activities and materials such that all necessary software is either free or commonly accessible through university or college resources. Part I mapping uses Google Earth and StraboSpot software
Part II analyses require a variety of web or desktop software, depending on the dataset and analytical technique. Most datasets require spreadsheet software (e.g., Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets), advanced structural analysis also requires free stereonet software such as Stereonet 11
The field area is in the Front Range of Colorado (USA), and it hosts poly-deformed intrusive and supracrustal crystalline rocks (Fig.
The diverse geologic history of Colorado's Front Range, spanning ca. 1.8 billion years, offers several avenues to attract students' interests and effectively motivate them to learn
At the University of Colorado, we run this module as a three-part virtual field course. These include an introduction, Part I, mapping, Part II, additional analytical datasets, and Part III, final reports and presentations. We begin with introductory lectures and warm-up activities such as ones that introduce concepts of field data uncertainty
The mapping exercise is the foundation of this module. This component should take approximately 4 d if the course is taught full time, similar to a traditional field-camp module. However, if run during the semester, when students are also taking other courses, each “mapping day” can be spread over a number of actual days. Students map in pairs to encourage teamwork but also to simulate real field work in which collaborative decision-making skills are required for planning and safety. To simulate a typical day of “field” mapping, we developed a “daily” mapping schedule and describe it here in five steps: (1) introduction, (2) route planning and station selection, (3) mapping, (4) drop-in meetings, and (5) continued mapping. Each step is briefly described below.
We typically begin each mapping day with a regularly scheduled class meeting. For the first day, this may be used to introduce the field area (see “Geologic background”), goals for the mapping exercise, software, and logistics. Subsequent meetings are used to introduce more advanced geological concepts, discuss mapping strategies, and address student questions. Appendix A1 includes resources that may help introduce the field area through several different approaches. For example, the Powerpoint slides introduce the main map units and some common lithological and structural features. The Google Earth Web project may be used to interactively explore satellite imagery, topography, station locations, and oriented photographs from the field area (Fig.
View of the field area from one of the vantage points provided in the Google Earth Web project.
The next step is for each student group to select their mapping stations for the day. We consider about 15 stations per day to be reasonable given the terrain and common degree of complexity encountered at outcrops. Students can use the Google Earth Web project or other resources to plan their route using logistical considerations (e.g., safety, access, exposure) and geological reasoning. Before receiving station descriptions, students build a strategy for each “mapping day” by completing and submitting a station description request and justification form. The form requires students to list the selected stations, describe the route to access them, and calculate logistics such as round trip distance, time, and elevation change. This encourages students to use diverse rationales to choose their specific stations, as they would in the field, instead of choosing random or consecutively numbered stations. The form also includes specific prompts to explain how their planned strategy will test specific working hypotheses (based on previous mapping days), promoting iterative scientific reasoning that builds with each mapping day. By the end of the 4 mapping days, each group will likely have selected different combinations of 60 stations (out of 110) using varied strategies for their final maps, yet the class as a whole should have encountered most of the rocks, fabrics, and structures across the field area.
The third step is for students to begin mapping. This includes various tasks, such as setting up the basemap, extracting relevant outcrop data from station descriptions, and depicting those data on a map. We intend this module to use StraboSpot as a data management and mapping platform. Instructions for setting up the basemap with spot locations (Fig.
Part of a typical outcrop description.
Map view from within a StraboSpot project where the initial shapefile with outcrop locations has been imported. Labels for the parking lot and trails added in larger font for clarity.
The next task in the third step is to read, filter, and extract relevant outcrop data from each station description (Fig.
The fourth step is for an instructor to remotely “drop in” on student groups. In this regularly scheduled meeting, students screen share their current work (e.g., map) and observations with their group partner(s) and the instructor, describe their working hypotheses and plans to test them, ask questions and receive feedback. This mimics the concept of instructors episodically joining a mapping team on the outcrops in the field. Two major advantages of these drop-in meetings are the abilities to interact during real-time mapping and decision-making and to digitally annotate on each other's shared screens and maps. At the end of this meeting, the instructor moves on to another group while leaving the students to continue mapping on their own.
Step five involves continued mapping with the rest of that day's stations, refining hypotheses, and planning the following day using the station request and justification form. Similar to in-person field mapping, we recommend emphasizing that it may be difficult to revisit previous stations a second time. Therefore, students should complete as much mapping as possible by the end of that day. After this final step, the process repeats for the remaining 3 mapping days.
Concluding Part I, students should complete their geologic maps and other map products. Submitted maps may range from a simple screen capture of the StraboSpot map to an exported and digitized publication quality map using GIS or graphics software. Optionally, students may complement their maps with written descriptions of map units and structures as well as cross sections. In our module, instructors review and provide feedback on these initial deliverables at the end of Part I so that students can learn from and improve their work before the final submission in Part III.
In summary, Part I of the module provides an experience that addresses six out of the seven learning objectives in Table 1. These include designing a mapping strategy (Learning Objective 1), collecting enough information to plot on a map and guide map construction (Learning Objective 2), synthesizing those data to interpret map relations (Learning Objective 3), developing multiple working hypotheses based on their map data and certainty (Learning Objective 5), as well as presenting those data and interpretations to their partners and instructors via maps, cross sections, and station request forms (Learning Objective 6). In order to complete Part I efficiently, students also practice planning, time management, and teamwork skills (Learning Objective 7).
The mapping exercise in Part I is designed to be a stand-alone part of the module, and some instructors may choose to only use that part. However, Parts II and III offer the opportunity for students to enrich their efforts by exploring what is possible by integrating additional laboratory tools. It is these latter two parts together that we feel makes the module a capstone experience. Because scientific projects rarely end when the mapping is complete, the students are challenged to see how samples and analytical data may commonly be collected and integrated with field observations to produce a more holistic understanding of the geological history.
This part of the module introduces students to new perspectives on their previously mapped field area, both from additional analytical data and from descriptions of the same rocks and relationships through the eyes of previous workers and their data. Students can work to relate their initial field-based findings to multiple advanced analytical datasets (Learning Objective 4). Exposure to a variety of types of uncertainty, and with a range of approaches to quantifying it, helps to address Learning Objective 5.
We also conduct this part of the module with students working in small groups and in a similar style and timeframe to Part I (Fig.
The first dataset includes all observations and data from the 110 stations, including measurements for bedding, foliations, mineral and stretching lineations, fold axial surfaces, fold hinges, enveloping surfaces, and shear sense observations. Students can analyze these data using free stereonet software such as Stereonet 11
The second dataset includes crystallographic orientations from a mylonitized quartzite from the Idaho Springs–Ralston shear zone (station GG2 in the map area), collected with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). In this dataset, an optical photomicrograph and textural descriptions are from
The third dataset includes a range of documented observations from
The fourth option is a U–Th–total Pb monazite geochronological dataset from mylonite and biotite gneiss in and near the Idaho Springs–Ralston shear zone, also sourced from
The fifth dataset includes SHRIMP U–Pb zircon data from the Boulder Creek batholith
The sixth dataset includes detrital zircon U–Pb LA-ICP-MS data from several Proterozoic quartzite occurrences in Colorado, including the Coal Creek quartzite/schist sequence
This module culminates with students tying each part of their work into a holistic presentation. We end our course with student groups orally presenting their work to the class and writing a report. During presentations, groups emphasize their unique datasets and analytical techniques, demonstrating how their results and interpretations contribute to the entire class's collaborative effort. The short written report includes maps, cross sections, and figures from Parts I and II. The presentations stimulate students to think critically about the scientific motivation for conducting research and the implications of their final results and interpretations. It is also likely that students' initial map interpretations are modified after analyzing their Part II supplemental datasets and learning from other groups' presentations. Therefore, the students gain a better understanding of how the scientific process continues to build on previous work. Part III teaches how to complete a scientific project with discipline-specific communication skills (Learning Objective 6), effectively helping to train them for academic research, conferences, and/or applied science.
Course assessment can take many forms, and the most effective ones for field modules are tailored to the specific field experiences
The disadvantages of a virtual field course are some of the most obvious. They include the absence of hands-on field data collection, the inability to see outcrops in person, the lack of face-to-face student and instructor interaction, as well as the missing appeal and unique learning benefits of working outdoors in a natural environment
While a virtual course cannot replace the actual field experience, modules like the one described here can successfully address generalized learning objectives (Table
Another advantage of this virtual module is the simultaneous online communication, which facilitates some new forms of interaction and comprehension that were not possible before. For example, screen sharing and live digital annotations during group mapping and drop-ins provide potentially powerful learning resources. Students can draw their hypothesized map relations or structures, instructors and partners can view the students' mapping ideas in real time, and students and instructors alike can contribute with live interactive feedback. Importantly, digital annotation features have the “undo button”, which promotes experimental mapping and hypothesis testing, without risk of ruining the map (e.g., permanent marking on paper maps). Through informal feedback, students have expressed that they especially value the drop-in meetings.
Finally, this experience fosters a more accessible and inclusive learning environment for all students. Notably, it only required access to a computer and the Internet, in contrast to other field courses with prerequisites of physical ability and comfort in the outdoors. Several of the design features recommended by
We have described a module for remote delivery that encompasses many of the basic requirements of an advanced field exercise, including designing a field mapping strategy, collecting and processing field observational data, and synthesizing and communicating the results in a variety of ways. As a whole, the module covers concepts of basic mapping practices, 3-D structure, polyphase deformation, relative vs. absolute timing, geochronology, microstructure,
The module encourages students to explore the important links between field and laboratory work, which may appeal to a wider range of students than those who are generally attracted to one or the other mode of scientific investigation. That students also value exposure to these links was made clear to us from informal feedback, and thus we plan to include activities with similar integrated analytical datasets in our in-person field-based version of CU's field course in the future. Modifications to this remote module to incorporate additional visualization tools may be relatively straightforward, such as converting structure data into 3-D symbology in Google Earth
Google Earth Web (
All the materials associated with this teaching module are accessible through
The supplement related to this article is available online at:
KHM conceived of the idea for the module and developed the outcrop descriptions, field structural dataset and Google Earth Web project, compiled the analytical datasets and the basic module structure, and helped write this paper. MGF was an invaluable graduate teaching assistant for the first two CU Boulder versions of the course. He developed most of the activities employing computer software and visualization and interactive pedagogical tools, contributed important components to the module structure, and helped write this paper. EA provided the U–Th–Pb basics document and helped write this paper.
The contact author has declared that neither they nor their co-authors have any competing interests.
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This article is part of the special issue “Virtual geoscience education resources”. It is not associated with a conference.
We thank the students who took the first two courses that used this module at CU Boulder. They provided extremely valuable feedback on the content and its effectiveness. Kim Hannula used an early version of this module for teaching her students at a separate institution, and she provided very helpful suggestions for improvement. Leilani Arthurs provided valuable advice on developing assessment tools. We also thank Thomas Birchall and Alexander Lusk for very helpful external reviews and Simon Buckley for editorial handling.
This paper was edited by Simon Buckley and reviewed by Alexander Lusk and Thomas Birchall.