Geology students transcend classroom learning with creative project

More than 150 geology students had the opportunity to interact with a local author whose work was the topic of an assignment that attempted to transcend the classroom.

Peter Riemersma, associate professor of geology, recently assigned his Living with the Great Lakes classes the task of reading “Pandora’s Locks,” written by Jeff Alexander, an award-winning author currently living in Grand Haven.

The students then submitted a “creative work” based on a topic of interest from the book, which examines the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the resulting invasion of exotic species into the Great Lakes. Submissions could come in the form of anything from an illustration or photograph to a sculpture, game or video.

Alexander made a special appearance at the Mary Idema Pew Library when the students’ submissions were on display November 13 and 14.

Riemersma said the primary goal of the project was to really create a deeper sense of learning beyond simply reading a book in a classroom.

“[The project] is definitely not what they expect to do in a science class. I hope it gets them thinking more deeply about something they are interested in, while promoting the ‘learn how to learn’ aspect of a liberal education,” Riemersma said. “It’s one thing to learn something yourself, but it is another matter to teach that to somebody else. I think it requires a deeper level of understanding.”