Teaching methods for active student participation in a Rocks and Minerals Practical

F.M. Brouwer* & S. Wehr^

* Dept. of Petrology (FALW), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
^ Center for Advanced Studies, Postgraduate Certificate Programme in Higher Education, University of Berne, Switzerland

Educational Developments 8.3, 18-21, 2007.

Introduction

This article was prepared within the framework of a Postgraduate Course College Teaching at the University of Berne. It offers a comparison of the deductive teaching methods used in a practical for first year Geology students with the inductive approach of nineteenth-century icon of natural history and its teaching Louis Agassiz. On the basis of this comparison suggestions are made for the implementation of aspects of Agassiz inductive and individual approach, with a view to improving student learning in practical sessions.