CONSTRUCTING AN INTERACTIVE SANDSTONE PETROLOGY CD FOR UNDERGRADUATES:BRINGING A CLASSICAL SUBJECT INTO THE DIGITAL AGE

Choh, Suk-Joo, Milliken, Kitty L., and McBride, Earle F. (sand@geo.utexas.edu; hppt://www.geo.utexas.edu/sscd/)

Department of Geological Sciences, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1100, Austin, TX 78712-0254

Paper No. 95-2

AbstractMore than 80% geoscience departments in North America include coursework specific to sedimentary rocks, and almost all major geology departments have offerings that cover sedimentary petrology at the undergraduate level. Knowledge about the pore-scale properties of sedimentary rocks, a key element of sedimentary petrology, is fundamental to the management of water, oil, and gas resources. A clear national interest exists for maintaining a cohort of professionals who can effectively engage problems relating to the vital resources upon which economic and energy security depend. However, in the "curriculum squeeze" of the last two decades, petrographic instruction has been replaced in many curricula by other materials. Thus, it is imperative to find a way to retain petro-graphic instruction at the university level.

An interactive sandstone tutorial CD is being built through NSF DUE-CCLI funding (2003-2005) to provide undergraduates a 'virtual microscope' resource for efficient learn-ing of sandstone petrography. It addresses the challenges of teaching highly visual mate-rials by use of a large collection of interactive images. Students learn the components of a complex and heterogeneous natural system by repeated exposure to examples linked to conceptual information. More than 500 interactive images taken under plane- and cross-polarized light, reflective light, back-scattered electron, and cathodoluminescence are currently incorporated into the tutorial, supplemented by more than 100 quiz questions to check the progress of the user.

Assessment from six participating departments reveals that undergraduate students make significant gains in content attainment through use of the tutorial. Students also express strong approval of the tutorial and its approach. Complex expert knowledge about natural objects relevant to any field of natural science can be preserved and transmitted using in-teractive digital tools such as the sandstone tutorial.

1. The Challenges

External challenge: • Between 1989 through 2002, the number of “geo-“ departments (geology, geological

sciences, and geosciences) in the U.S. dropped by 16% and “earth science” depart-ments decreased by 22% (Rossbacher and Rhodes 2004).

• During the same time period, 19 colleges and universities cancelled bachelor’s degree programs in earth sciences (Rossbacher and Rhodes 2004).

Internal curriculum squeeze:

• Petrographic instruction is disappearing from the modern curriculum, due, in part, to the fact that it must compete for time within an increasingly diverse list of required courses (e.g., Fitz 2000).

• Experiences in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin exemplifies the challenges for retaining petrography in the curriculum. As a consequence of additional departmental requirements for undergraduates, including courses in geophysics and hydrogeology, the sedimentary rocks curriculum con-tracted in the mid-1980s.

• Today, sedimentary petrology instruction at UT Austin is subsumed under GEO416M “Sedimentary Rocks” and student receive 3 laboratory exercises in petrography of sandstone with 15 thin sections, and additional 2 exercises in carbonate petrography with 15 thin sections.

• A ‘virtual microscope’ resource addresses the need to keep the level of content attain-ment of the students equal to that in effect the prior to the curriculum squeeze.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

U.T. College of Natural Sciences 9 mo. funding

First working concept

with 30 images

Informaldemonstrationat Reno GSA

Annual Meeting

Version 0.5with 90 images

Demonstrationat Denver AAPGAnnual Meeting

Choh et al. (2001a)

Version 0.8with 250 images

Boston GSAAnnual Meeting

Choh et al. (2001b)

Version 0.9with 300 images

Version 0.98with 330 images

Choh et al.(2002)

Milliken et al. (2003) Choh et al.(2003)

Version 1.1with 380 images

& 55 quiz questions

Version 1.5with 500 images

& 110 quiz questions

DenverGSA

AnnualMeeting

Version 2.0Milliken et al. (in prep)

through AAPG

Fall 2001Assessment

Spring 2002Assessment

Choh & Milliken(in press)

Fall 2002Assessment

Spring 2003Assessment

Fall 2003Assessment

Spring 2004Assessment

Fall 2003Assessment

Funding

Educationalassessment

2. The Audience• The sandstone petrology tutorial is designed for use in laboratory courses such as

‘general geology’, ‘petrology’, ‘sedimentology’, ‘stratigraphy’, and ‘sedimentary petrology’.

• A clear national interest exists for maintaining a cohort of professionals who can effectively engage problems relating to the vital resources upon which economic and energy security depend.

• Random examination of 344 geoscience department web sites among 500 geosci-ence departments in North America (http://www.usd.edu/esci/geodepts.html) shows that 82% of these departments in-clude coursework specific to sedimentary rocks.

• Knowledge about the pore-scale properties of sedimentary rocks is fundamental to management of vital resources such as water, gas, and oil. An understanding of porosity evolution is particularly relevant as companies drill deeper and explore un-conventional rock types in the search for these resources.

18%

19%

26%17%

1%

19%

Sedimentary petrology courseSed. pet. within petrology courseSed. pet. within sed./strat. courseSedimentary rocks course(sed. pet. content indeterminate) Not offeredOnly Grad-level sed. pet.

5. The Future

Toward version 2.0 of the sandstone tutorial:

• More complete coverage of lithic and non-QFL components are under way.

• Mudrock section is being built with a greater diversity of petrographic images such as BSE (backscattered-electron) and CL (cathodoluminescence).

• Quiz module is undergoing revisions based on the student inputs

Educational assessment shows:

• The tutorial works well for undergraduate geoscience students, who are demonstrated to make significant gains in content attainment through use of the tutorial. Students express strong approval of the tutorial.

• The educational approach of the tutorial can be applied to similar fields in geosci-ences as well as any field of natural science that utilizes highly visual data.

And thus ultimately:

• The sandstone tutorial may form a single component of a much larger digital library of petrographic images encompassing carbonate petrology, igneous petrology, meta-morphic petrology, and paleontology.

ReferencesChoh, S.-J, K.L. Milliken, in press, Virtual carbonate thin section using PDF: New method for interactive visualization and ar-

chiving: Carbonates and Evaporites, 19, 87-92.Choh, S.-J., K.L. Milliken, E.F. McBride, 2001a, Interactive sandstone petrology: A digital tutorial for future reservoir geolo-

gists [abstract]: American Association of Petroleum Geologist Annual Convention Program, 10, A35.Choh, S.-J., K.L. Milliken, E.F. McBride, 2001b, Multimedia sandstone petrology tutorial for undergraduate sedimentary rocks

laboratory: Will enhanced learning leads to improved enrollment? [abstract]: Geological Society of America Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 33, 6, A125.

Choh, S.-J, K.L. Milliken, E.F. McBride, 2002, Interactive sandstone petrology: A digital tutorial for future reservoir geolo-gists: Search and Discovery, http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/choh/index.htm

Choh, S.-J, K.L. Milliken, E.F. McBride, 2003, A tutorial for sandstone petrology: architecture and development of an interac-tive program for teaching highly visual material: Computers & Geosciences, 29, 1127-1135.

Fitz, T.J., 2000, Themes of a one-term course in minerals and rocks [abstract]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 32, 4, A13.

Milliken, K.L., J.P. Barufaldi, E.F. McBride, and S.-J. Choh, 2003, Design and assessment of an interactive digital tutorial for undergraduate-level sandstone petrology: Journal of Geoscience Education, 51, 381-386.

Milliken, K.L., S.-J. Choh, and E.F. McBride, 2002, Sandstone Petrology: A tutorial petrographic image atlas multimedia CD-ROM: American Association of Petroleum Geologists/Datapages Discovery Series No. 6, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Rossbacher, L.A. and Rhodes, D.D., 2004, Building geology for the future: cui bono?: Geotimes, 49, 24-27.

Project Timeline

3. The Tutorial

• The tutorial addresses the challenges of teaching highly visual materials by use of a large date base of interactive images.

• Students learn the components of a complex and heterogeneous natural system by repeated exposure to examples that are linked to identifying and conceptual infor-mation.

• The tutorial could be used as a sequential tutorial, an image browser, and a sand-stone image database

• The tutorial is currently at version 1.52, with over 500 interactive images and 100 quiz questions

• More than 700 copies distributed to undergraduate students for evaluation and in class use.

• Over 500 copies of version 1.0 sold through AAPG (as of summer 2004)

Houston AAPGAnnual Meeting

SEPM clastic diagenesisresearch group

invited talk (KLM)

DUE-CCLI ‘proof-of-concept’12 mo. funding

DUE-CCLI ‘full development’36 mo. funding

East TexasGeological Societyinvited talk (KLM)

Version 1.0Milliken et al. (2002)

available through AAPGWashington & Lee Univ.& Oklahoma State Univ.invited speaker (KLM)

• Strong student approval of the digital sandstone tutorial

• The functional aspects of the tutorial worked well for the undergraduates

• The students report a high level of tutorial use

• Apparent improvement in student attainment (Fall 2001 semester w/o the tutorial vs. Spring 2002 semester w/ the use of the tutorial)

• Development of the tutorial reflecting student feedback (1st generation quiz module in Spring 2004 semester, 2nd generation quiz module in Fall 2004 semester, 3rd generation quiz module construction in progress based on Fall 2004 feedback)

Tutorialdevelopment

and

4. The Assessment

dissemination

Student attitude toward thetutorial (Spring 2002 - Fall 2004)

Features student wanted more from the tutorial (Spring 2003 - Fall 2004)

Normalized student usage patternof the tutorial (Fall 2004)

Neutral PositiveNegativeAuditory clues needed?

Recorded voice content?

Design overhaul needed?

SEM and CL images?

Low-mag. Images?

Expanded image collection?

Database function?

Quiz module needed?

Expanded glossary?

Universal back button?

Neutral PositiveNegative

Fall 2004 (n=90)Spring 2004 (n=76)Fall 2003 (n=47)Spring 2003 (n=60)Fall 2002 (n=13)Spring 2002 (n=56)

Entertaining?

Artistic look?

Imagequality?

Comparisonto hard copy

atlases

Functionsself-evident?

Heroes

How to use

History

Search

Goals

Glossary

Other grains

Quiz

Architecture

Texture

Compaction

Subtutorials

Browse

Image collection

Main tutorial

Never Most often Neutral

0102030405060708090

100110

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Cumulative %

Indi

vidu

al g

rade

s

FALL 2002

SPRING 2003

Cumulative distributions of individual grades on the laboratoryexamination in siliciclastic petrography in fall 2001 and

spring 2002 semesters of GEO 416m at UT Austin(after Milliken et al. 2003).

A. Digital photomicrograph8 bits per channel RGB color image,

800 x 600 pixels,JPEG medium high compression

(90-390 KB per image)

B. Transparent polygonoverlays

C. Scripting algorithmfor each polygon

mouse pointeron polygon?

mouse pointerchanges fromarrow to hand

YES NO

mouse clickon polygon?YES NO

inverse polygonarea duringmouse click

display longtext information

regarding polygon

displayglossary

information

mouse clickon anywhere

erase longtext information

mouse clickon hyperlink

NOYES

mouse clickon "Done"

eraseglossary

information

display shorttext information

regarding polygon

erase shorttext informationafter 1 second

type of textinformation?

Short text,no hyperlink

Long text with orwithout hyperlink(s)

NOYES

NOYES

Detritalquartz grain withiron oxide coating

Detritalquartz grain withdust rim(dashed line)

Quartz cement Pore space

Detrital quartzgrain with quartz overgrowth

• Interactivity is achieved by drawing transparent polygons on top of the features to be explained in the digital photomicrograph.