A typical class spends the lecture hour going over previous exercises and describing how to do the up-coming exercise. Then the class travels to the field site of study and proceeds with the new exercise. Each week's class is built upon knowledge gained during the previous week. In the second half of the course, the class is divided up into groups of two or three students. Each group is responsible for making a field map of a geologically complex area near Radford.
Individualized instruction is emphasized during the course.
The course is designed to be taken during the student's final semester at Radford, thus tying in information learned in all previous geology courses in a field situation. Students will develop field expertise which will prepare them for subsequent study in graduate school or geologic field camp. An essay-style midterm exam will have students think through the steps of setting up and implementing a hypothetical mapping exercise, and a final practical exam will have students demonstrate geologic data collecting skills at a real outcrop. Each student will submit a final report based on their mapping project in which the student will have to present their data, summarize their findings, and write their interpretation of the geologic history of their mapping area.