Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ABSTRACT The Geological Society of America Special

Paper 461 2009 Thomas, R.C., and Roberts, S., 2009, Experience One: Teaching geoscience curriculum in the field using experiential immersion learning, in Whitmeyer, S.J., Mogk, D.W., and Pyle, E.J., eds., Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches: Geological Society of America Special Paper 461, p. XXXXXX, doi: 10.1130/2009.2461(07). For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. 2009 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. Thomas and Roberts Experience One: Teaching geoscience curriculum in the field using experiential immersion learning

Experience One: Teaching geoscience curriculum in the field using experiential immersion learning
Robert C. Thomas Sheila Roberts Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Montana Western, Dillon, Montana 59725, USA

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 At the University of Montana Western (UMW), geoscience classes are taught primarily through immersion in field research projects. This paper briefly describes: (1) why and how we achieved a schedule that supports immersion learning, (2) examples of two geoscience classes taught in the field, (3) assessment, and (4) the challenges of this model of teaching and learning. The University of Montana Western is the first public four-year campus to adopt immersion learning based on one-class-at-a time scheduling. We call it Experience One because classes emphasize experiential learning and students take only one class for 18 instructional days. The system was adopted campus wide in the fall of 2005 after a successful pilot program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The geoscience curriculum has been altered to reduce lecture and focus on field projects that provide direct experience with the salient concepts in the discipline. Students use primary literature more than textbooks, and assessment emphasizes the quality of their projects and presentations. Many projects are collaborative with landmanagement agencies and private entities and require students to use their field data to make management decisions. Assessment shows that the immersion-learning model improves educational quality. For example, the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) showed that UMW has high mean scores compared to other campuses participating in the survey. Of the many challenges, none is more important than the need for faculty to change the ways in which they interact with students. INTRODUCTION Seeds of Change Authentic field experiences are at the heart of the study of Earth. However, it is difficult to incorporate extended fieldwork into geology classes in the semester system due to time constraints and conflicts with other classes. This has long been recognized and resulted in the

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 inclusion of a required summer immersion field camp in most undergraduate geology programs. During the regular school year, field geology is typically accomplished primarily through lecture-based field trips, short-duration field exercises, and spring- or fall-break trips. In order to engage students in authentic experiential research projects in the field, more time is needed, and conflicts with other courses must be eliminated. A scheduling system that provides this kind of immersion opportunity was successfully developed and implemented in the late 1960s by Colorado College (i.e., their block plan) and is still in use on that campus today. This system immerses students in one class at a time for 18 instructional days, followed by a 4 d break. It provides scheduling flexibility and an opportunity to concentrate on the subject at hand without distractions from other classes. Their schedule is ideal for field-based experiential learning. Unfortunately, this scheduling approach is rare in North American higher education outside of between-semester interim sessions and summer sessions. Other than Colorado College, only a handful of campuses have adopted this system or a modified version of it, and all of them are private. So, why is this the case? The answer is undoubtedly complex; certainly, the inertia inherent in long-established educational methods and the fact that the burden is on faculty to fundamentally change how they interact with students are major factors. The longer time blocks cannot be effectively filled with traditional lecture presentations. Faculty must engage students in experiential applications or the larger time blocks can become an impediment to learning. A Need for Change at the University of Montana Western The University of Montana Western (UMW) was founded in 1893 as the state normal school. By the early 1990s, most campuses in Montana were training K12 teachers, and UMW

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 faculty began searching for ways to distinguish the campus as unique and necessary in the Montana University system. Because of limited campus resources and external pressures from the state Board of Regents (BOR) to limit duplicative programs, the options for change at UMW were greatly limited. To solve the problem, the UMW faculty developed interdisciplinary, liberal arts degrees that maximized limited faculty resources. In the sciences, we organized an interdisciplinary Department of Environmental Sciences and focused on field-based projects (Thomas et al., 1996). Anecdotal evidence suggested that students showed improved cognition and metacognition, and we concluded that they appeared to be learning scientific concepts and skills more deeply in these courses. The very low number of students missing the field classes indicated that they were more engaged than they were in the lecture courses, which sometimes saw a 40% absentee rate after the second week of the semester. The success of the program did not go unnoticed, however, and within a few years, undergraduate programs in environmental sciences appeared at several other campuses in the Montana University system. Our realization that programs could be duplicated and our growing frustration with the standard scheduling combined to create a watershed moment in the history of UMW. A small number of faculty from several departments realized that it was time to act on an earlier desire to do something fundamentally unique in higher education. The pedagogical impetus for choosing Experience One began with a faculty conclusion that student cognition and metacognition improved when they were immersed in their subject and had time to apply their learning to discipline-related problem solving. A wealth of published educational research and assessment has documented that experiential learning, inquiry-based learning, and immersion learning all improve the depth of concept understanding, so we were

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 confident that this was the right thing to do (e.g., Dewey, 1938; Kolb, 1984; Rogers and Freiberg, 1994; Johnson et al., 1998; Kolb and Kolb, 2005; Beard and Wilson, 2006). The next step in this process involved a recognition that the academic schedule itself was the primary impediment to engaging students in authentic practice in the discipline, our working definition of experiential learning (Thomas and Roberts, 2003). For geologists, teaching experientially requires time to transport students to field locations and engage them in extended project work, and we were still delivering most classes via the traditional 50 min lectures and 2 h laboratory sessions. Environmental sciences faculty needed a practical solution that would facilitate our growing dependency on field-based courses to deliver experiential learning. We made several experimental attempts to free our department of this restriction (see Challenges section). The campus discussion turned to adapting the scheduling system pioneered by Colorado College. Colorado College adopted this system primarily to eliminate the problem of students prioritizing classes (Loevy, 1999; Taylor, 1999). For UMW, it was a comprehensive solution that benefited experiential learning and, it was hoped, might prove attractive enough to improve campus enrollment. So, during the winter of 1997, we traveled to Colorado College with the UMW dean of faculty to investigate the feasibility of adopting block scheduling. The report that circulated soon after the visit sparked in-house debate on the merits of making UMW the first public university in the United States to fully adopt block scheduling. Faculty support for the transition to block scheduling was strong from the start, but there were many skeptics as well. To facilitate a change of this magnitude, a grant was obtained from the U.S. Department of Educations Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) to run a 3 yr pilot program (Roberts et al., 2001). The pilot program consisted of 75

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 first-year students who volunteered to take their general education requirements one class at a time. In total, 16 professors from all general education disciplines volunteered to teach the classes, and the grant paid for temporary replacements so they could devote an entire semester to the pilot program. By every measure, the pilot program was very successful (Mock, 2005). After 3 yr operating the program with freshmen only, rigorous assessment of the results, vigorous campus discussion, contentious and exhaustive approval processes at meetings of the Board of Regents, and a unanimous vote in favor of adopting the system by the UMW Faculty Senate, the transition was approved. In 2005, the University of Montana Western became the first public, four-year campus in the United States to adopt one-class-at-a-time immersion scheduling for the majority of classes. HOW DOES EXPERIENCE ONE WORK? Experience One works across the curriculum. At UMW, students take the vast majority of their courses one at a time (i.e., a block) over 18 instructional days, four credits per class. Most classes attain their required hours by meeting five days per week for an average of three hours per day, but there is flexibility in the way class time is distributed. At the end of each class, there is a 4d break for students before the next class begins. Students typically take four classes per semester for a total of 16 credits. They register for all classes at the beginning of the semester, but they can drop or add classes up to the second day of each block without penalty. Block classes are typically not scheduled after 3:15 p.m. to allow students to participate in athletics and work afternoon and evening jobs. However, flexibility in the distribution of time during each block, particularly for upper-division courses, provides educational opportunities during class time that is not typically available in the semester system. For example, in projectbased courses, students may be immersed in data gathering all day long for a week or more,

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 possibly preceded by a few days of preparatory lectures and reading and usually followed by less-structured time to analyze data and process information. Some classes involve extensive national and international travel that can consume several weeks of time for total immersion. Although the majority of classes are blocked in this way, some are scheduled for the entire semester (stringer classes), and some are scheduled for short periods of time during the semester. These allow flexibility, particularly for classes that require skill development over more than 18 instructional days (e.g., some art, music, and language classes). Many of the continuing education courses are taught as stringer classes, since the students who take these classes are commonly off-campus (e.g., online students) and taking classes while working full time. Students in block classes can add various one- or two-credit classes to a semester. Professors at UMW meet their 24-credit annual teaching obligation by teaching three of the four blocks per semester, and the fourth block is utilized for research, grant writing, professional travel, and course development. Breaks between classes provide time for grading and class preparation, although it is not uncommon for faculty to work through the weekend of a break in order to submit grades before the next class begins. The schedule is intense but satisfying. EXAMPLES FROM THE GEOSCIENCES The geosciences are well suited for Experience One. The entry-level classes at UMW are typically capped at 2025 students, and the rest of the geoscience classes typically range from 10 to 20 students. The small classes and large blocks of time allow for field- and project-based work that is difficult to achieve in most geology classes on the semester and trimester (quarter) systems. Although not every class is taught completely in the field, they all have a large field component. The geoscience classes that do not have major field research experiences are the

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 entry-level courses and a few upper-level courses (e.g., rocks, minerals and resources, and geology seminar). However, all classes have field experiences, including weekly trips in the entry-level courses to expose students to in-class concepts and projects that require students to work independently in the field (Thomas, 2001). The rocks, minerals, and resources class is primarily laboratory based, with several field trips (sometimes multiple days). The geoscience program at UMW was designed to provide specific content emphases within interdisciplinary baccalaureate degrees in Environmental Science (proposed to be changed to Environmental Geoscience in the fall of 2009) and Environmental Interpretation. Although the geology class descriptions look familiar on paper (UMW Course Catalog, 2009), the majority of them are structured very differently from comparable geology classes taught elsewhere. Lectures tend to be short and are used to introduce foundational aspects of the discipline and the field projects, and to expand on issues that arise during the applied experiences. Students often use the research literature more than textbooks. The emphasis is on field projects that provide students with direct experience with the most salient concepts and tools of the discipline. Students are typically assessed using authentic assessment practices (Ames and Archer, 1988), including the quality of their project participation, reports, and presentations. Beyond the entry level, the importance of exams and quizzes is much reduced, or these assessment vehicles may not be used at all. Many projects require students to use their data to make landmanagement decisions, sometimes in collaboration with land-management agencies or private consulting firms. The professor/supervisor job is different with groups of undergraduate students on a tight timetable than it is with individual graduate students working on a project over several years. Nonetheless, undergraduate students can accomplish a tremendous amount of meaningful research with careful supervision (Roberts et al., 2007; Thomas and Roberts, 2007).

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 In order to provide examples of the ways that traditional geology courses have been altered at UMW to take advantage of the Experience One system, we describe two classes in our curriculum that are taught primarily in the field through research and management projects: (1) structural geology and (2) surficial processes. Structural Geology The Dillon area is ideal for teaching structural geology in the field. In fact, many universities from around the globe use the area each summer to teach field geology because of great access to a variety of rock types and structural environments. To take advantage of this natural laboratory, the structural geology class at UMW does two projects over the course of 18 days that are centered on two different structural settings: (1) a convergent tectonic environment (see Block Mountain), and (2) a divergent tectonic environment (see Timber Hill). The class concludes with a field final that is intended to challenge the students to work independently, test their skills, and most importantly, prove to themselves that they can synthesize and interpret the data they have collected without the need for help (see Dalys spur). The class does not include a traditional lecture, but a small dry-erase board is used in the field to provide sketches, terminology, and other pertinent information. The class has no traditional laboratory, yet the students have office days to construct structural cross sections, process field data, conduct analyses, and write reports. The class does not have a textbook, but several copies of a structural geology text (Davis and Reynolds, 1996) are made available in the laboratory for students to look up information as needed, and they use pertinent published literature and web resources. In addition, students have the option to purchase a copy of the Geological Society of London handbook series on mapping geological structures (McClay, 1995), which many students choose to do even though the book is relatively expensive.

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 Block Mountain Block Mountain is an extraordinary fold-and-thrust belt structure and a keystone mapping project for the many field camps in the Dillon area. The project lies within an area designated by the Bureau of Land Management as a Research Natural Area, and the structure consists of a north-plunging fold pair with a major folded thrust fault (and many minor thrust faults) within the stratigraphic sequence (Sears et al., 1989). Most field camps use the project to learn the skill of mapping and cross-section construction, but they rarely apply the data to solving geologic problems. At UMW, the structural geology students not only learn field skills (Fig. 1), but they also learn about the physical and chemical processes that form the structures by conducting descriptive, kinematic, and dynamic analyses on the data they have collected. Most importantly, they apply their understanding to solving geologic problems, such as interpreting the stresses that produced the deformation or determining the logical sequence of folding and thrust faulting. Students also apply their structural data to making land-management decisions and writing reports that assess economic resources. In the final report, they are required to include an analysis of the potential geologic resources within the map area, including a thorough explanation of why particular resources might occur within the map area and the probability that they occur at economic levels. In addition, they research the federal and state regulations required to develop these resources and make decisions about which resources to develop based on all of these factors. Their findings are compiled into reports that are modeled after the Environmental Assessment (EA) reports constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The project takes a minimum of six field days and three on-campus office days to complete. The students get a day off after the exercise and before they start the Timber Hill project. Timber Hill

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 The Timber Hill area exposes mostly Paleogene and Neogene terrestrial sedimentary rocks that are cut by an active (but historically dormant) normal fault called the Sweetwater fault (Sears et al., 1995). The fault has ~700 ft [[Q: Please convert to m here.]] of offset and is part of the northwest-trending normal fault system in southwest Montana that lies within the Intermountain seismic belt (Stickney, 2007). The area contains a remarkable record of drainage systems that came off of the track of the Yellowstone hotspot (Sears and Thomas, 2007) and is an ideal environment for students to learn about extensional structures and paleogeomorphology. A 6.0 Ma basalt flow, which can be traced for many kilometers toward its source on the Snake River Plain, holds up the topography in the area and provides a textbook example of inverted topography. The project requires the students to map a 1 mi2 [[Q: Please convert to km2 here.]] area, and heavy emphasis is placed on mapping surficial deposits and landforms like landslides, rock falls, valley-fill alluvium, and alluvial fans. Students also identify areas of potential liquefaction and surface rupture related to the Sweetwater fault. The students not only map the area, but they also draw several cross sections and work out the geohistory of the area. They also take structural data, particularly from the joints and foliation in the underlying Archean metamorphic rocks in order to determine potential groundwater resources and flow paths. The landmanagement component requires the students to use these data to identify seismic and other geohazards associated with a proposed (fictitious) subdivision on the property. The students are asked to consider these natural hazards in placing a house, water well, and septic tank on 20 lots located throughout the map area. They investigate and describe techniques used to stabilize landslides, rock falls, and other slope instabilities (e.g., areas of soil creep) that occur in the map

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 area, and they are asked to determine the appropriate state and federal regulations for developing the property. The results are written up in a report format that is typical of those produced in the geotechnical consulting industry, examples of which are provided to the students for appropriate language and layout. This project takes a minimum of four field days and two on-campus office days to complete. The students get a day off at the end of the project to rest up for the final exam at Dalys spur. Dalys Spur This exercise serves as the final exam in structural geology. The 1 d project involves mapping a <1.0 mi2 [[Q: Please convert to km2 here.]] area composed of a sequence of Upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks that are folded and exposed as a west-dipping homocline in the map area. The exposure of the folded section is due to active extensional faulting, but no normal fault occurs within the map area. The fold limb is unconformably overlain by Neogene gravels and basalt, which forms inverted topography due to the resistance of the basalt cap and regional erosion by the Beaverhead River. Several landslides, rock falls, and alluvial fans also occur within the map area. The students map the area independently in about 3 h, gathering structural data along with their mapping. They are told at the drop-off point that this is their opportunity to prove to themselves that they can gather structural data on their own and use it to solve geologic problems. Safety is not a major concern at this location, even though the students map alone, because the map area lacks trees and is small enough for the instructor to see the students at all times. When all students have completed their mapping, they are brought to a local restaurant to finish their projects and be rewarded with pizza for their efforts. They are evaluated on the

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 quality of their geologic maps (inked and colored), cross sections, geological histories, and analyses of the potential economic resources and geohazards on the property. Surficial Processes We use this class to integrate students understanding of the complex processes that interact to form the dynamic surface of Earth. The textbook emphasizes applied process geomorphology and provides a review of essential concepts of historical geomorphology. In the course of the class, students read and discuss most of the textbook and are tested only if participation appears to be lagging. The textbook is used to introduce the most important general concepts of the field and the project and as a discipline-related conversation backdrop during the class. The class field project usually has a major component that engages the whole group and supportive subunits accomplished by smaller groups. So far, each class has had a new field research project, but they all have a similar general dynamic: Week 1 Students learn general introductory geomorphological principles using the textbook, student-lead discussions, lectures, and short laboratory exercises. The basic scientific goals of the field project are presented to students, who then participate in defining the actual scientific investigation, with hypotheses, methods, data collection and fieldwork plans, expectations for analyses, and presentation of the results. They also consider the professional audience for whom the results are intended, including reviewing examples of similar work. The class then investigates more specific geomorphic principles and applications that relate to the field project and reviews published methods for studying these landscapes in the field. Toward the end of the week, they began to research relevant recent primary literature. With professorial input, students

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 then choose their individual and group segments and produce their fieldwork plans, which may be approved or returned for modifications. Week 2 Students work in the field, 6 to 8 h most days, supervised by the professor, often in cooperation with outside professionals (Fig. 2). Sometimes laboratory analyses are included, and groups usually begin to create their data tables and figures. Week 3 Students compile and analyze their data and create reports. They meet with the professor in the classroom or computer laboratory at the usual time to discuss progress and problems, but otherwise students work wherever and whenever they want. Students sometimes return to the field briefly to acquire more data or correct obvious errors. Literature searches continue, and the professor may provide short lectures and/or suggest readings. On Thursday or Friday, there is a preliminary run through the oral presentations with all students presenting and critiquing. At this point, they organize and compile the separate sections into a single report, discuss overall conclusions, forge connections between different segments of the project, and assign completion activities. Additional textbook readings and related activities during class time break up and enhance the third-week project activities. The third week is always exciting for everybody; the professor becomes a cheerleader, critic, and editor. Week 4 The final oral presentation (with interested outside personnel present) occurs on Monday or Tuesday, and the final written report is due on Wednesday. If the work warrants it, it is later presented at the spring campus Research Symposium and/or there may be a collaborative presentation at a professional meeting. Making an original contribution is always the goal, and

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 the work is often publishable. In the last week, students also read papers and discuss the human impact on the global landscape. Taylor Creek Project (Fall 2006) Nine students worked with a U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) archaeologist and a surveying engineer on a geomorphic analysis of a segment of a local creek valley. Amateurs had previously collected assorted archaeological artifacts at the surface, without any attention to their stratigraphic or geographic context. The archaeologist had requested our assistance locating sites where an excavation might discover materials of different ages stratigraphically separated by continuous or episodic deposition. We were recruited to help him understand the ways in which the people and the processes that formed the landscape might have interacted in the past and to locate places that might preserve a long, readable record. Together, we defined a study with seven reportable activities: (1) a topographic survey (all students), (2) an analysis of the geomorphic and geologic setting (all students), (3) a streamreach classification (two students), (4) a reconnaissance field study of the larger area geomorphology (one student), (5) relative dating of high-level surfaces east of Taylor Creek (two students), (6) a vegetation survey comparing different geomorphic features (two students), and (7) a statistical investigation of lithic artifacts at the ground surface at a proposed ancient quartzite quarry on the site (two students). The first week of the class included the usual introductory readings and activities. We gave special attention to fluvial geomorphology and landslides and students began to research recent primary literature on archaeological geomorphology in fluvial environments. A guest lecture by the BLM archaeologist provided background about the study site and what we might add to his investigation. He described examples of the use of geomorphology to enhance

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 archaeological investigations from his own experience and explained how to protect the cultural value of this sensitive area. He also critiqued the research plan and assisted in its finalization. The second week began with a walk-around in the field with the BLM archaeologist and surveying engineer to narrow the specific area for the survey. With the professor and these professionals, students confronted line-of-site problems related to vegetation in the creek bottom, picked a central surveying station, and discussed the apparent geomorphic divisions they wanted the surveyed locations to define. Students also started their other projects, most of which required more specific definition and revision in response to what they found on that first day. During the rest of the second week, students worked in teams to complete the survey (Fig. 2) and gather data for their other field projects. On Monday of the third week, the class traveled to the Butte, Montana, BLM office to observe and participate in geographic information system (GIS) analysis of the survey data. Students chose the map contour interval (2 ft [[Q: Provide m equivalent here.]]) that best delineated the geomorphic units of the land surface for our purposes, looked for the best crosssection lines to show important geomorphic features, and observed the strengths and limitations of the survey data they had acquired. Printed maps were returned with the students for further analysis, and they made cross sections by hand later. In the next few days, students worked up their data from the other projects and shared their findings. The reconnaissance study and geomorphic interpretation of the survey data documented landslide aspects of the east side of the drainage and erosional hillslopes and alluvial-fan topography on the west side. Stream terraces were narrow and asymmetrical. Relative dating of surface exposures on the east side suggested that the landslide topography was created at about the same time (not the separate episodic movements we were looking for). The

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 vegetation survey, which hoped to document the usefulness of vegetation for geomorphic mapping, was inconclusive. Students analysis of the stream in the area of investigation (poolriffle) supported the conclusion that it is in relative equilibrium, probably not experiencing significant net erosion or deposition. The artifact investigation strengthened the interpretation that ancient people were using parts of the western hillslope as a quarry, based on variations in the degree of working of lithic fragments. Finally, combining all the data, students chose three sites on the west side of the drainage, on the lower slopes of small alluvial fans, downslope from quarry areas but closer to the creek and on flatter surfaces that might have been more attractive as sites for human shelters. In their presentation to the BLM staff on Monday, they presented all their work and recommended the three sites for exploratory excavations as areas where episodic debris flows or dilute debris flows onto the fans might have buried a succession of human artifacts of different time periods and where creek erosion seemed minor. We were invited to present this work at the Montana Archeological Society meeting the following April, and four of the students chose to invest extra time on that professional talk (Roberts et al., 2007). Linking Field Projects In spring 2007, the soil science class participated in archaeological excavations of two of the three sites recommended by the surficial processes class. They dug the pits, sifted for artifacts, and mapped and described the soils, discovering four paleosols that correlated between the two pits and with occurrences of artifacts. The 2009 environmental geochemistry class, just completed, worked with interpreting a 14C date acquired on charcoal collected at the site. Results from the three classes are being compiled and will be submitted for publication. This linking of classes, which included many of the same students, provided a genuinely interdisciplinary field

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 experience. Students gained a deeper understanding of interdisciplinary interaction in geoscience research, and more significant research was completed, which is more satisfying for the professor too. Field-project linking is just another possibility of teaching in Experience One (Roberts, 2007). ASSESSMENT Assessment begins with projected outcomes. Outcomes in our geoscience classes are guided by the principal that authentic practice in the discipline is the best possible learning experience for our students. That is, if we can show that students are fully and successfully participating in a variety of professional geological activities, then their learning is, by definition, authentic and may require no further justification as an educational process. The proof of professional quality comes from the oral and written reports, the usefulness of these projects to the public and the land management agencies, and the peer-review publication process. The relevant assessment question becomes, is our program producing graduates who can address important geological problems in a professional manner? We are collecting these types of data for the geosciences classes, and we will eventually be able to produce this type of assessment, but the program is young, and we have had little support for innovation in assessment. Within a few years, there should be enough data for statistical analysis. In addition, students success in competition for employment and graduate school positions will provide a reality check on the quality of their education, and these data are also being collected. In the meantime, assessment of Experience One has been conducted at both the campus level and at the disciplinary level. At the campus level, a Cornell Critical Thinking Test given at UMW in 2006 showed a marked increase in performance over an exam given in 2002, prior to

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 the adoption of immersion scheduling. In addition, a 2006 Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) survey showed a significant increase in multiple categories of student satisfaction from a survey conducted in 1998, well before the adoption of Experience One (UMW Accreditation and Assessment Information, 2009). In areas such as instructional effectiveness and student centeredness, the Noel-Levitz data show significant improvements associated with the change to Experience One scheduling. Most recently (i.e., 20072008 academic year), the campus participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The survey, which was prompted by The Pew Charitable Trusts, was designed to query undergraduates directly about their educational experiences and to determine the degree of engagement in their education. The premise of NSSE is that student persistence and subsequent success in college is directly related to the level of challenge and time on task (NSSE, 2009). It also contends that the educational research literature shows that the degree to which students are engaged in their studies impacts directly on the quality of student learning and their overall educational experience. As a result, NSSE contends that student engagement can serve as a proxy for educational quality (NSSE, 2009). If true, the UMW survey data show that our educational quality is very high. Unfortunately, UMW did not participate in the survey prior to the adoption of Experience One. The following graphs (Figs. 3, 4, and 5) are NSSE comparisons of the arithmetic average of student scores (weighted by gender, enrollment status, and institutional size) in three important benchmarks of student engagement. For more information about the survey and statistical analyses of the data, readers are invited to visit the NSSE Web site (www.nsse.iub.edu). UM Western students scored higher than other institutions in our Carnegie

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 classification and higher than the grouped participating institutions in all three benchmarks, with moderate to high significance in each category. The level of academic challenge (see Fig. 3) at UMW is slightly above both our Carnegie class and the average for all institutions that participated in the 2008 survey. This benchmark evaluates students perceptions of how hard they are working and, probably more importantly, the conceptual level at which they are operating. These results are very encouraging because some educators have questioned our ability to maintain a high level of academic challenge in our more applied learning environment. The student-faculty interaction benchmark (see Fig. 4) at UMW is clearly higher than the average of our Carnegie class and the average for all institutions that participated in the 2008 survey. This is important because it tests whether students perceive that they are learning firsthand from faculty mentors, both in and out of class, and it is possibly the most important benchmark in terms of expected outcomes related to the transition to Experience One for the campus as a whole. UMW scored highest, relative to our Carnegie class and the total 2008 institutional average, in active and collaborative learning (see Fig. 5). For the geosciences, this rating is especially significant because our students spend a large proportion of their time working in collaborative teams with professors and other students, interacting in the field and on presentations. Many of our projects are community-based and demand significant effort outside class time. It is gratifying to see that UMW students, in general, are aware of this aspect of their education. Experience One has also greatly contributed to the fiscal health of the campus in a number of measurable ways. Since no other public university uses Experience One, it has

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 provided the UMW campus with a crucial marketing niche to recruit new students, and since the adoption of Experience One, the UMW campus has experienced record enrollments. In 2000, prior to the adoption of Experience One, campus full-time equivalency (FTE) was 940; it is now at 1205 FTE (UMW Enrollment and Institutional Research, 2009). Although these numbers might seem small, campus FTE has never been over 1200, and the head-countbased funding model used in Montana makes these numbers significant in terms of resources available to the campus instructional budget. It is difficult to draw a direct correlation between Experience One and new-student enrollment growth because the admissions office does not conduct entrance interviews. However, the data show very clearly that Experience One did not hurt campus enrollment, as was feared by some members of the Dillon community prior to adoption of the system. More importantly, first-year student persistence rates rose from 58% in 2004 (preExperience One) to 73% in 2008 (UMW Registrar, [[Q: Please provide year.]] personal commun.). These data illustrate the power of the immersion-learning scheduling method to improve student persistence. Assessments of the impacts of Experience One at the disciplinary level have not been as thorough and tend to be more anecdotal, but the data are no less compelling (e.g., Thomas and Roberts, 2008). Across campus, faculty report anecdotal evidence that students are doing better on whatever types of assessments they are utilizing. In the geosciences, the only class for which we have not made significant changes in student-performance assessment vehicles is the introductory geology course. This class was taught annually by co-author, Dr. Robert C. Thomas from 1995 to 2008. From 1995 to 2008, no changes were made in the assessment tools used in this class. The assessment consisted of ten laboratory exercises, three short-answer exams, and an independent, field-based rock project

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480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502

Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 (Thomas, 2001). It is therefore the only class for which we can compare student success in terms of final grades. The ten-year average final grade (calculated as the percentage of the total points earned) in this course during the period of time between 1995 and 2005 (preExperience One) was 74%. From 2005 to 2008 (during Experience One), the average final grade increased to 82%. The only variable that changed was the scheduling model. Between 1995 and 2005, the students went from juggling four to five classes at the same time to immersing themselves in just one class at a time. As a result, these data provide evidence that Experience One improves academic performance. Class attendance has also dramatically improved. Prior to the adoption of Experience One, faculty reported up to 40% of the students not attending class on a regular basis. After Experience One, an average day has more than 90% attendance, and most students never miss a class. When queried informally, students list their reasons for improved attendance as (1) fear of missing important information or activities, (2) an appreciation of their responsibility toward other students and the professor (especially when working on projects), (3) an understanding that what they are learning applies to the real world, and (4) a reduced level of apathy (even excitement) that comes with engagement in project work. Students also quickly understand that missing one day of Experience One scheduling can be equivalent to missing approximately a whole week in the semester system. The environment for teaching and learning is dramatically different when we can assume that students will not miss class. Continuity or flow, already better because of extended hours and the absence of interruption by other classes, is probably the biggest improvement. Continuity at least partially offsets the sacrifice of content lecture time and exams in favor of field activities. We do not have to spend a lot of time repeating information and directions. Fjortoft

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503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525

Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 (2005) showed that one of the most important variables motivating students to attend class was the chance that faculty might apply information to solving real problems. Since Experience One centers on solving real problems, it is likely that this is a very important factor in the nearperfect attendance we experience in geology classes at UMW. Since students in many of the geoscience courses are now assessed on the quality of project work, it is difficult to quantitatively compare students understanding of content in our classes versus the lecture-based approach. Reduced lecture time means students must take increased responsibility for learning terminology and concepts, or they simply have less exposure to those aspects of lecture. In trade, they gain far more direct experience with concepts, and they most likely gain a better understanding of the scientific process through research in the geosciences (Huntoon et al., 2001; Elkins and Elkins, 2007). In addition, students learn field and laboratory skills that can be very difficult to incorporate into traditionally scheduled classes. The practical benefits for our graduates are resumes filled with experiences and skills, and usually one or more professional presentations or papers. Another revolution is occurring in the area of procrastinationthere simply is not any time for it. We have received positive feedback on this from internship supervisors and employers, cooperating agencies, and even parents. Evidence of this comes from the fact that the students actually accomplish so much work of high quality in the three and a half weeks. As an example, a representative from the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks noted the professional quality of a restoration assessment report on the upper Big Hole River that was produced by students in an Environmental Field Studies class in the fall of 2008 (Thomas and Roberts, 2008). He pointed out that his agency did not have the resources to do the assessment work, so the UMW students were providing an essential service that would otherwise not have been

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 completed. Several students involved in the class have gone on to do internships with the agencies involved in the upper Big Hole River project, and all of the students have utilized their copies of the 150-page assessment report as a keystone document in their portfolios for employment. CHALLENGES Attempting a Hybrid Initially, science faculty imagined we could overcome the scheduling impediment to immersion learning without involving the entire campus. The administration approved offering some courses with 1 h of lecture and 4 h of laboratory over 2 d each week, but that created enormous scheduling conflicts with other classes. We also tried blocking all 4 h of single classes into 1 d per week, where each faculty member chose a different day and paid careful attention to within-department conflicts. This sometimes worked for avoiding conflicts among upperdivision classes, but it was impossible with lower-division classes. There was also an unavoidable loss of students and professors attention during the days between classes. Of course, we tried working with professors across campus to make allowances for our students absences from their classes, and, in some cases, we even took turns with extended time blocks. This occasionally worked, but it was ad hoc and lacked any institutional strength and continuity. As more environmental sciences faculty switched to field-based courses, more scheduling conflicts arose with nonscience classes and within the program as well. In addition, as long as professors were distracted by obligations to other classes, the idea that we might be accomplishing immersion learning was an illusion. We do not recommend any of the partial approaches that we tried. For those considering a hybrid, be aware that unsuccessful attempts at rescheduling may erode student and

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 administrative confidence in the entire process. We suspect that a large university might be able to create an immersion college within the university, or some students in some programs might complete their senior year this way. However, transfer students and students who have changed their majors are often making up missed classes all the way to graduation and do not have years when they are only taking classes in their majors. Students with double majors have similar issues. Finally Getting Started The most difficult issue, by far, was the processes by which the campus decided to adopt Experience One. Faculty support was strong from the start, something that the FIPSE grant administrator and administrators from other campuses found hard to believe. There was a great deal of trust between UMW faculty, and most of us certainly recognized the need for change. Experiential teaching and learning already had a strong foothold on the campus, extending across most disciplines. For example, faculty in the Education Department had been taking students off campus for extended field experiences and student teaching for many years, so they immediately saw the benefits of the large blocks of time provided by Experience One. In addition, the conceptual framework of the education program is social constructivism with a heavy emphasis on experiential learning (UMW Education Department Homepage, 2009). The resistance from staff, the UMW Foundation, alumni groups, and community members was much more intense and complex. Many people expressed concern that block scheduling would increase the cost of education, since only a few private universities had adopted it (it didnt). A member of the local press asserted that the student population at Colorado College consisted of elite students, and therefore the system would not work for UMW students, many of whom are first-generation college students. There was community concern that

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 the change would result in decreased enrollments, which would jeopardize the campus and hurt business in town. Without the FIPSE-funded pilot project, the opposition would have certainly prevailed. The grant gave us an opportunity to carefully assess an experimental program without much risk or major additional cost to the campus. The pilot demonstrated an irresistible combination of better learning and improved student retention, which gave our administrators the courage and ammunition they needed to facilitate the change. Faculty Burnout Experience One is not only an intense experience for the students, but it is for the faculty as well. Faculty who fully engage in experiential, immersion teaching find it to be very much more intense than the traditional semester system, requiring them to ignore illness, work around poor weather conditions, and be vigilant about the myriad of problems that can arise when students are working on projects. A few faculty see the fourth block each semester as a means by which to make extra money. This is a ticket to burnout, since the professional development block is a needed opportunity for professional development and time to prepare for upcoming classes. Faculty who choose to teach in their fourth block to obtain overtime pay express being physically and mentally exhausted. Transportation Availability and affordability of transportation is a continuing problem, although moderate student laboratory fees can usually accommodate vehicle rental fees, mainly because the field locations are usually within a 50 mi [[Q: Convert to km.]] radius of campus. The need for vans to transport students to field sites is extreme, and our campus fleet is small, but growing. Classes that need two vans require two state-certified van drivers. We have not found a

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 satisfactory solution for the costs of longer trips. So far, we have paid for them with one-time administrative money, departmental resources, increased student fees, one-time Student Senate funds, and even fundraisers like raffles, especially for international trips. Safety and Physical Disabilities Safety is always a concern in the field. We do not allow students to work alone in the field, and we go over emergency procedures and make sure that first-aid kits are available close to where fieldwork in being conducted. Fortunately, the UMW campus has a dry policy that extends to field trips (with the ability to request a waiver for special circumstances), which helps the professor to ban alcohol from the field-based courses. Students with physical disabilities may simply not be able to do some of the more physically demanding courses (e.g., structural geology). We make accommodations for these students to either participate in ways that are less demanding physically, or we provide another option, like a complementary independent study. This has the potential to be abused by students who are looking for ways to get out of class (especially when it is cold outside), but up to this point, we have not experienced any such abuse. Field Technology and Equipment When we made the change to Experience One, we suddenly needed more surveying equipment, global positioning system (GPS) and GIS technology, all sorts of field collection and analysis materials, and students who were trained in their use. Some of this training we provide on site. We require a map, compass, and GPS class and are revising our degree to add an introductory GIS seminar. In addition, field classes require an ever-increasing inventory of everything from hip boots and shovels to flow meters and orange vests. It could have been

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 overwhelming, but we are gradually acquiring what we need for classes as they come up in rotation for campus funds, and we revise classes as equipment becomes available. Rapid Access to Literature and Analyses It was good timing and good luck that our change occurred simultaneously with the incredible advances in access to professional literature online, but it is still daunting. Although students usually have some exposure to searching out literature on their own, we often provide much of it. A luxurious and thorough literature search is just not possible during the field classes. All students take a geology seminar to reinforce their literature research skills. Students have to rapidly analyze their data; produce tables, maps, cross sections, charts, and graphs; acquire the right illustrative photographs; organize all this clearly and concisely; and construct conclusions that are based on the data. In addition, if chemical or other analyses are required, we must be able to do them at UMW or contract with others to deliver results rapidly without huge extra charges. This is the best training imaginable for students professional lives after UMW, but it can become hectic for the professor. It is a tribute to the flexibility of students working in a project-based format that, after a few years of this experience, they become proficient and some seem to actually look forward to the challenge of scrounging resources to get the job done. We hear from employers and graduate schools that this is one of the greatest assets of our students. Presentation of Project Results In the (usually) short time left after analysis of their data, students must produce written and oral reports for presentation. Often, these reports are delivered to an audience that includes members of federal, state, or county agencies or interested private parties who have supported the work and who expect a professional job because a professor supervised it. Effective

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 PowerPoint presentations constructed and delivered in very limited time by student groups require a major effort. Like everything else, motivated students learn scientific and technical presentation skills experientially, but it is a bigger time commitment for both the professors and the students than we initially realizedand also a source of great satisfaction. To help out, the geology seminar class was designed to have the students give a minimum of three professional (20 min) PowerPoint presentations, so some of them come into project-based classes with advanced presentation skills, reducing the workload on the faculty. Students Adjustment to Experiential Immersion Learning Most students need some time to adjust to this new way of learning. They may resist taking more responsibility and need a lot of assistance scheduling their time and effort. Group interactions can be messy, and it does not help that most professors have had no real training managing student group projects. Many undergraduate students are initially quite uneasy when they realize the professor does not already know the results of the research or (maybe worse) that the students are going to have to investigate and choose research methods themselves. However, students are truly motivated by doing real field research, and most illustrate growing metacognitive skills throughout the process. We can see incremental mastery of new equipment and procedures improves their confidence to go on to the next level. Having a data set that they gathered themselves for a reason they helped define motivates them to analyze it. They express justifiable pride in the various presentations of their work. Students eventually come to expect this opportunity from us and complain if they do not get it. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 We thank all of our colleagues at UMW for helping to make Experience One a reality. We also thank Dave Mogk and two anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions that greatly improved this manuscript. REFERENCES CITED Ames, C., and Archer, J., 1988, Achievement goals in the classroom: Students learning strategies and motivation processes: Journal of Educational Psychology, v. 80, p. 260267, doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.80.3.260. Beard, C., and Wilson, J.P., 2006, Experiential Learning: A Best Practice Handbook for Educators and Trainers (2nd ed.): London, Kogan Page Ltd., 314 p. Davis, G.H., and Reynolds, S.J., 1996, Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions (2nd ed.): New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 776 p. [[Please clarify year of publication: 1938 or 1991?]]Dewey, J., 1938, Logic: The theory of inquiry, in Boydston, J.A., ed., 1991, John Dewey: The Later Works, 19251953: Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, v. 12, 576 p. Elkins, J.T., and Elkins, M.L., 2007, Teaching geology in the field: Significant geoscience concept gains in entirely field-based introductory geology courses: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, p. 126132. Fjortoft, N., 2005, Students motivations for class attendance: American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, v. 69, p. 107112. Huntoon, J.E., Bluth, G.J.S., and Kennedy, W.A., 2001, Measuring the effects of a researchbased field experience on undergraduates and K12 teachers: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 49, no. 3, p. 235248.

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 [[Please provide state of publication.]]Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Smith, K.A., 1998, Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom: Edina, Interaction Book Co., 140 p. Kolb, A.Y., and Kolb, D.A., 2005, Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education: Academy of Management Learning & Education, v. 4, no. 2, p. 193212. Kolb, D.A., 1984, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 288 p. Loevy, R.D., 1999, Colorado College: A Place of Learning (18741999): Colorado Springs, Colorado College, 501 p. McClay, K., 1995, The Mapping of Geological Structures: Geological Society of London Handbook Series: Chichester, UK, John Wiley and Sons, 168 p. [[AU: GSA does not generally allow citations to unpublished material, however, I see no way to cite this as a personal communication. Where can the reader access the report? Is it available online (if so, where) or in some archive? Thanks.]]Mock, R.S., 2005, Report on the Experience One Pilot Project at the University of Montana Western: Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) program, 14 p. [[Please provide date site was last accessed.]NSSE, 2009, Using NSSE data: National Survey of Student Engagement: www.nsse.iub.edu, p. 117. Roberts, S., 2007, Linking field projects in different classes to maximize interdisciplinary interaction: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, no. 6, p. 543. [[AU: GSA does not generally allow citations to unpublished material, however, I see no way to cite this as a personal communication. Where can the reader access this report?

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 Is it available online (if so, where) or in some archive? Thanks.]]Roberts, S., EasterPilcher, A., Krank, H.M., and Ripley, A., 2001, Facilitating Experiential Learning with Immersion Scheduling: Unpublished grant proposal to the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education, 25 p. [[Please provide volume number.]]Roberts, S., Hill, J., Herman, K., Cox, G., and Brewer, J., 2007, Reconnaissance landscape analysis at an archaeological site, Taylor Creek, Beaverhead County, Montana: Montana Archaeological Society Abstracts with Programs, p. 3. Rogers, C., and Freiberg, H.J., 1994, Freedom to Learn (3rd ed.): Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 352 p. Sears, J.W., and Thomas, R.C., 2007, Extraordinary middle Miocene crustal disturbance in southwest Montana: Birth record of the Yellowstone hot spot?, in Thomas, R.C., and Gibson, R.I., eds., Introduction to the geology of the Dillon area: Northwest Geology, v. 36, p. 133142. Sears, J.W., Schmidt, C.J., Dresser, H.W., and Hendrix, T., 1989, A geologic transect from the Highland Mountains foreland block, through the southwest Montana thrust belt, to the Pioneer batholith: Northeastern Geology, v. 18, p. 120. Sears, J.W., Hurlow, H., Fritz, W.J., and Thomas, R.C., 1995, Late Cenozoic disruption of Miocene grabens on the shoulder of the Yellowstone hotspot track in southwest Montana: Field guide from Lima to Alder, Montana, in Mogk, D.W., ed., Field Guide to Geologic Excursions in Southwest Montana: Northwest Geology, v. 24, p. 201219.

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 Stickney, M., 2007, Historic earthquakes and seismicity in southwestern Montana, in Thomas, R.C., and Gibson, R.I., eds., Introduction to the geology of the Dillon area: Northwest Geology, v. 36, p. 167186. Taylor, M.F., 1999, Colorado College: Memories and Reflections: Colorado Springs, Colorado College, 325 p. Thomas, R.C., 2001, Learning geologic time in the field: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 49, no. 1, p. 1821. Thomas, R.C., and Roberts, S., 2003, One class at a time: Overcoming obstacles to incorporating experiential learning into the undergraduate geoscience curriculum: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. 7, p. 194. Thomas, R.C., and Roberts, S., 2007, A progress report on the field-based immersion learning model at the University of Montana Western: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, no. 6, p. 543. Thomas, R.C., and Roberts, S., 2008, The impacts of immersion-learning scheduling on the geoscience curriculum at the University of Montana Western: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 40, no. 6, p. 307. Thomas, R.C., Kirkley, J., Mock, S., Roberts, S., Ulrich, K., and Zaspel, C., 1996, The integration of the sciences at Western Montana CollegeUM, Dillon, Montana: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 28, no. 7, p. A400. [[Please provide date site was last accessed.]]University of Montana Western (UMW) Accreditation and Assessment Information, 2009, UMW student response to Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (1998 & 2006): http://hal.umwestern.edu/administration/vcaa/accreditation.

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 [[Please provide date site was last accessed.]]University of Montana Western (UMW) Course Catalog, 2009, 20082009 catalog: http://www.umwestern.edu/registrar/catalogs/. [[Please provide date site was last accessed.]]University of Montana Western (UMW) Education Department Homepage, 2009, Conceptual framework: www.umwestern.edu/shares/education/. [[Please provide date site was last accessed.]]University of Montana Western (UMW) Enrollment and Institutional Research, 2009, 10-year enrollment reports: www.umwestern.edu/registrar/.

MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED BY THE SOCIETY 5 MAY 2009 Printed in the USA

CAPTIONS Figure 1. Students in structural geology learning field skills at Block Mountain. [[Subject release forms needed.]]

Figure 2. Student in the surficial processes class learning surveying with a professional engineer from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. [[Subject release forms needed.]]

Figure 3. The University of Montana Westerns performance in the 2008 NSSE survey in the level of academic challenge benchmark. In addition to the kinds and amount of class preparation and assignments, number and length of written reports, it queries the coursework emphasis on

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Publisher: GSA Journal: GSABK: GSA Books Article ID: 461-07 analysis, synthesis, and application of theories and concepts to practical problems, and making value judgments.

Figure 4. The University of Montana Westerns performance in the 2008 NSSE survey in the student-faculty interaction benchmark. Items include prompt feedback about their academic progress, working on research projects with faculty, discussing class material outside of class time, discussing career plans, and participating on committees.

Figure 5. The University of Montana Westerns performance in the 2008 NSSE survey in the active and collaborative learning benchmark. Items include how students see themselves in classes in terms of recalling asking questions, making class presentations, working with other students in or out of class, tutoring others, participating in community-based projects, and discussing ideas with others outside class.

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