Field-Based Geoscience Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Planning, Execution, Outcomes, and Forecasts

Abstract

The undergraduate geoscience experience typically culminates in a field-based capstone course that utilizes outcrop mapping, geologic observation, and interpretation across multiple disciplines to provide the graduating geologist with fundamental field-mapping skills.However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the field-based geoscience programs have been temporarily suspended or shifted to an online format.To address the demand for graduating seniors in the broad field of geoscience, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology developed an innovative hybrid course consisting of two parts: (i) a 14-day online course on geological field methods, followed by (ii) a 15-day in-person geologic mapping course based out of Rapid City, South Dakota, USA.Analysis of this new hybrid course provides a benchmark on how to develop and execute field-based geoscience education with greater accessibility to field geology through a combination of online and face-to-face teaching.Our hybrid course model was taught during the first summer of the pandemic (28 June to 28 July 2020), and this experience provided the following insights: (i) there are four key stages to leading a field camp over a five-month timeline: development, logistics planning, implementation, and review; (ii) key decision makers and stakeholders in the process include the students, instructors, field-camp logisticians, campus dining and housing facilitators, fieldstation director, department chair, provost, and the Board of Regents; (iii) logistics, transportation, accommodation, and dining services require advanced levels of consideration to adequately address COVID-19-related risk and uncertainty; (iv) online teaching and exercises can address geological field methods, but they cannot adequately assess a student's ability to map geology in the field; (v) field-mapping exercises need to be adjusted to reduce the number of people in one field area and lower their interaction to support socialdistancing guidelines from relevant government and health authorities; and (vi) plans need to be put into place for overall health and safety as well as contingency plans in the event of an outbreak before and during the field camp.We hope that this experience of delivering a geology field camp during the COVID-19 pandemic is useful in providing a benchmark on reasonable field-camp practices, identifying critical successes and unknowns, and guiding field-camp development during pandemics.We also hope this contribution will serve as a useful guide for universities and businesses that intend to engage in face-to-face activities during this time of uncertainty.

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