ABSTRACT This field trip focuses on accessible and inclusive design in field-based teaching and learning through a broad investigation of the geology of Arizona, followed by more detailed exercises that focus on the Upper Triassic stratigraphic sequences in Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO). The first day of the field trip will traverse the three physiographic provinces of Arizona, from fault-bounded, basement-cored uplifts and valleys of the Basin and Range in the greater Phoenix area, through the Transition Zone to the Mogollon Rim, and ending in Upper Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Colorado Plateau at Holbrook. The second day of the field trip will encompass more detailed, collaborative exercises in PEFO that utilize the expertise of both student and faculty participants in mixed-ability groups. The main priority of this accessible field experience is the development of an inclusive community of learning driven by paired student-faculty interactions, facilitated as needed by technology integration to mitigate barriers and foster engagement, communication, and collaboration across a spectrum of ability and content knowledge. Please note that the collection of archaeological artifacts, fossils, rocks, or other natural history objects without an active research and collection permit is illegal at Petrified Forest National Park. Please refrain from collecting samples or specimens of any kind from anywhere in the park.

Ethnogeology, the scientific study of geological knowledge of groups such as indigenous peoples, can be combined with mainstream geological sciences to enhance our understanding of Earth systems. The Amazon rain forest has been extensively studied by both mainstream scientists and indigenous researchers. We argue that knowledge of Amazonian geology and hydrology held by indigenous Uitoto experts is valid, empirically based, and, in many cases, more nuanced than mainstream scientific knowledge. We also argue that knowledge sharing between mainstream and indigenous researchers can improve geological and environmental knowledge on both sides and provide solutions for current environmental problems such as increased pressure on water resources and global warming. We applied methods from ethnography and earth science to examine the traditional ecological knowledge of an Amazonian tribe in Colombia, the Uitoto, about water, and how that knowledge correlates with that of mainstream earth scientists. The study demonstrates how ethnogeology can be applied in a water-rich environment to: (1) compare knowledge about the natural history of an area, (2) study the geological resources available and their uses, and (3) examine the bases of native classification schemes using mainstream science methods. We found parallels and complementary concepts in the two bodies of knowledge. Our results suggest that the Uitoto have a meticulous taxonomy for water and wetlands—knowledge that is essential for protecting, conserving, and managing their water resources.

Place-based education is locally situated, experiential, and transdisciplinary. It is informed not only by scientific knowledge of places and regions, but also by the humanistic meanings and affective attachments (senses of place) that people affix to them. Enhanced sense of place is an authentic learning outcome of place-based teaching. Qualitative analyses of a student's behavior and attitudes in a place-based learning context can be used to triangulate instrument-driven psychometry of pre- to postexperience changes in sense of place and content knowledge. Two qualitative ethnographic methods, direct behavioral observation and semistructured interviews, were used formatively and summatively in a Southwest-based earth science course offered to in-service teachers in two underserved rural Arizona school districts in 2006–2007 and 2007–2008. Direct observations were obtained as field notes and video recordings, which were transcribed and coded in an ethogram to ascertain engagement with curriculum and pedagogy. Ethnographic analysis demonstrated increased engagement with place-based course elements over more globally situated components. For interviews, a questionnaire was developed to elicit cognitive and affective responses regarding the course, its curriculum and pedagogy, and the student's sense of the places studied. Verbal, text, and content analyses were applied to the interview data to uncover concepts, patterns, and relationships that were linked into thematic categories. Positive responses to the place-based approach were reported by a majority of participants in three areas: enhanced place attachment and meaning, enhanced science comprehension, and enhanced teaching. These ethnographic methods offer a means to evaluate situated, transdisciplinary teaching for which quantitative instruments may not capture all relevant outcomes.

Since 2003, the standard igneous and metamorphic petrology class at Fort Lewis College has been taught as a field-based, inquiry-driven course focused on topics in three different field areas (Ship Rock, Western Needle Mountains, San Juan volcanic field). This format allows undergraduate students to investigate advanced topics in petrology through field research while developing skills for continuing education and scientific careers. These courses serve the needs of the students by promoting critical analysis and inquiry, and building on content taught in previous courses to solve actual geologic problems. Many of the students also find enthusiasm for continued research and make further contributions to the geologic community. A research-focused field course at the undergraduate level allows students to engage in all facets of research in the context of natural geologic complexity. In addition, these students can collaborate with professional geoscientists to network and find opportunities that are not readily available to their peers outside the course. Engaging undergraduate geoscience students in authentic research projects is a benefit to their education and career development.