Geology majors Nicky Flores (left) and Shaun Sanders (bottom) trace a fossil-rich layer of shale with Dr. Thomas Hegna in rocks along the Lake Erie shoreline.
“When we go on field trips, students really have an ‘ah hah!’ moment.”
That’s how Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences Associate Professor Thomas Hegna summarizes reactions students have during field trips along the Lake Erie shoreline or other locations. An upper-level course Dr. Hegna teaches, GEO 400: Stratigraphy, assembles small groups of students for these excursions.
They’ve learned about these things in the classroom, but here they get to see them, experience them. As a colleague of mine was fond of pointing out, ‘In geology, the person who sees the most rocks wins.’” - Dr. Thomas Hegna
“The purpose of our field trip is to teach students real geological field skills. The area around Lake Erie is ideal for studying stratigraphy — that is the study of layered rocks,” Hegna explained.
“Out on the beach the students will measure a vertical stratigraphic section layered rocks and describe those rocks. Then, working together with other students in the lab, we will try to link them together to tell a story about the history of this area during the Devonian Period, over 350 million years ago.”
Field trips, like the ones taken in mid-September, also facilitate small-group interactions between students and Hegna.
Hegna directs multiple groups of four students on field trips to the beach at Point Gratiot to measure stratigraphy during September. “Teaching those techniques and skills is not something you can do in a big group; it requires one-on-one collaboration, both with myself and their colleagues.”
“They’ve learned about these things in the classroom, but here they get to see them, experience them,” Hegna explained. “As a colleague of mine was fond of pointing out, ‘In geology, the person who sees the most rocks wins.’”
Students give these field trips high marks, too.
“We have plenty of opportunity to practice what we’ll use in the future professional world. It’s a great time to get out of the classroom, away from distractions, and do what you love,” said Weston Helper, a senior Environmental Sciences major from Clymer, NY, of the field trips.
Fieldwork is a great complement to classroom learning, he added. “Sometimes lectures aren’t enough to teach you the hands-on aspect, and the fieldwork allows you to apply what you’ve learned, tests your memory.”
For Colin McKee, a strength of fieldwork is its relevancy and strong connection to the stratigraphy course. “We actually get a hands-on view of different layers of strata involved in stratigraphy,” said the senior Geology major from Buffalo, NY.
The area around Fredonia, NY, is great for studying sedimentary geology and paleontology, according to Hegna. The rocks are from the Devonian geologic period, and there are wonderful exposures along the Lake Erie shore as well as along the creeks that drain out of the Chautauqua ridge.
