Post by Sharon Faulkner on Sept 19, 2006 16:21:28 GMT -5
Students earn credit while having fun
Meghan Reed E&O Editor
September 19, 2006
Over the summer break, Briar Cliff students and faculty traveled to the Black Hills and Badlands as part of a course offered called “Black Hills Experience.”
Twenty students and six faculty members made the annual trip May 18-24 to Western South Dakota. According to the Briar Cliff website, the course is a multidisciplinary course which is offered in May during the week after graduation. The course can be taken as an elective or it may fulfill the Liberal Arts 400 level requirement.
Opportunities for minis and IRs are possible in biology, chemistry, and literature. Among the locations this course visits are Badlands National Park, Wounded Knee, Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs Mammoth Site, Custer State Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Harney Peak and Deadwood. “The trip is a great way to experience different ways of looking at the hills,” said Dr. Paul Weber, professor of chemistry. “We use the environment as a focus and see how different topics are affected by it.”
Since the course started in 1980, Weber has made the travel 14 times. Among the different topics covered in the chemistry portion offered by Weber, students study General Water Quality and Abandoned Mining Site Water Quality by testing for natural and pollutant components. The results are then compared to tests from other locations in the Black Hills and data results from previous years. “It is interesting to see what impact humans and environments have on water quality,” said Weber. “Even though most students might not be science majors, they still really enjoy it and have fun.”
All faculty play similar roles with studies in their own area. Biology courses offered by Dr. Brian Hazlett, Dr. Steve Munzinger, and Dr. Ted Wilson include Flora of the Black Hills and Badlands, Birds of the Black Hills, Geology of the Black Hills, Forest Ecology, Mammals of the Black Hills, Biodiversity and Invertebrates.
Complete Article: www.briarcliff.edu/campus_organizations/cliffnews/06-07%20Campus%20Life/001.html
Meghan Reed E&O Editor
September 19, 2006
Over the summer break, Briar Cliff students and faculty traveled to the Black Hills and Badlands as part of a course offered called “Black Hills Experience.”
Twenty students and six faculty members made the annual trip May 18-24 to Western South Dakota. According to the Briar Cliff website, the course is a multidisciplinary course which is offered in May during the week after graduation. The course can be taken as an elective or it may fulfill the Liberal Arts 400 level requirement.
Opportunities for minis and IRs are possible in biology, chemistry, and literature. Among the locations this course visits are Badlands National Park, Wounded Knee, Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs Mammoth Site, Custer State Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Harney Peak and Deadwood. “The trip is a great way to experience different ways of looking at the hills,” said Dr. Paul Weber, professor of chemistry. “We use the environment as a focus and see how different topics are affected by it.”
Since the course started in 1980, Weber has made the travel 14 times. Among the different topics covered in the chemistry portion offered by Weber, students study General Water Quality and Abandoned Mining Site Water Quality by testing for natural and pollutant components. The results are then compared to tests from other locations in the Black Hills and data results from previous years. “It is interesting to see what impact humans and environments have on water quality,” said Weber. “Even though most students might not be science majors, they still really enjoy it and have fun.”
All faculty play similar roles with studies in their own area. Biology courses offered by Dr. Brian Hazlett, Dr. Steve Munzinger, and Dr. Ted Wilson include Flora of the Black Hills and Badlands, Birds of the Black Hills, Geology of the Black Hills, Forest Ecology, Mammals of the Black Hills, Biodiversity and Invertebrates.
Complete Article: www.briarcliff.edu/campus_organizations/cliffnews/06-07%20Campus%20Life/001.html