Earth & Environmental Studies in Ireland

Summer 2010: July 1 to 16 (tentative dates)

Program Location

One of the most picturesque and remote parts of Ireland is the Connemara Peninsula, including Counties Galway and Mayo.  The site of the classic movie, “The Quiet Man,” this area is also noted for a unique combination of geology, ecology, and history that intersects that of the eastern United States of the last 500 million years.

The base site will be the Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre (http://www.petersburg.ie), in the scenic and historic Connemara Peninsula of Western Ireland, which has served as the base camp for the JMU Field Geology Course.  This site is centrally located to a range of beach, mountain, woodland, lake, and peat bog environments.  It is also a focal point for the Celtic history of Ireland.  Students will stay in en-suite quad dormitory rooms, with meals provided).  On-site attractions include hiking, caving, rock-climbing, kayaking, and sailing.

Academic Program

This course concept is designed to fulfill several needs of IDLS students, specifically those Mathematics & Science concentration candidates. With adaptation, it can also serve the needs of prospective secondary Earth and Biology teachers. It will serve as an intensive, field-based, upper division course of 3 credit hours each in Earth Science and Biology, and will last two weeks. 

The proposed course will embody Earth and environmental science content, where students will examine first-hand the geology, flora, and fauna of Connemara, as well as the interactions of these elements with each other and the relative impacts of humans.  Specific themes to be pursued in the course design include:

• The Bedrock – Igneous & metamorphic rock, sediments & sedimentary rock, and fossils;
• Shaping the Land – Geomorphology of glacial, fluvial, and karst environments;
• Where the Land meets Sea – Coastal environments;
• The Veneer of Life – Flora and fauna of bog, lacustrine, and stream environments;
• Impact of Humans – The impact of development, pollution, and overall global changes;
• Design of Field-Based Scientific Investigations – how to design, conduct, and report the results of a field-based inquiry, translatable to a classroom or home setting;
• Biological communities and commercial utilization of natural resources;
• Cultural Similarities and Differences – Tour of Galway, Neolithic, Bronze-age, and Medieval sites.

This course will allow students to meet general program objectives for international study, specific to mathematics and science.  It will also provide an inquiry-based experience for prospective teachers that match requirements of scientific investigation required by accrediting bodies, especially for prospective middle-grades teachers. 

An additional 1 credit hour assignment for each course will be available for students by the completion of an additional instructional task.  Additional tasks that would extend the credit option would include the development of instructional materials for classroom use and service learning tasks such as developing interpretive signage and materials for use on “geo-trails” in both the US and in Ireland.

Instructional methods include lectures, guided tours, field work, maps and laboratory reports, journal assignment and/or papers, and exams.

Tentative course offerings:
GEOL 399 or BIO 399: Earth and Environmental Studies in Ireland, (3)
GEOL 501 or BIO 501: Topics in Geology-Earth and Environmental Studies, (3)

Pre-requisites: Math and Science concentration; coursework: GSCI 161-166 completed prior to program

Accommodations

Students will reside in dormitories. Some group meals will be provided.

Program Costs

For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.

Application

For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.

For More Information

For additional information about the program, please contact the program directors:

Dr. Eric J. Pyle
Associate Professor
Department of Geology and Environmental Science
Tel: 540-568-7115
E-mail: pyleej@jmu.edu

Dr. Michael Renfroe
Associate Professor
Department of Biology & Biochemistry
Tel: 540-568-6617
E-mail: renfromh@jmu.edu