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Disciplines Combine to Offer Students New
Perspective on Art and Geology It sounds like the start of a bar-room joke – “What do you get when you combine a geologist with a landscape painter?” The answer, at least in this case, is a unique experience designed to give college students a taste of how the disciplines of art and geology connect. It was over a dinner conversation at a professional development conference that University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc Professor of Geology and Geography, Catherine Helgeland, and UW-Stevens Point Professor of Art Diane Bywaters, met and found common ground within their respective disciplines. Out of their conversation came the conclusion that students could benefit from their collaboration. After further planning, discussion, and a grant from the UW System Curricular Redesign Granting Program, they were able to develop methods for incorporating each others’ disciplines into their courses. Last spring, Helgeland’s geology course, “Earth Science and Human Environment” included a landscape painting perspective provided by Bywaters, who traveled to Manitowoc several times to present in the class. Last summer, Helgeland took her geological knowledge on the road to Stevens Point to assist Bywaters in her course titled “Landscape Painting.” In Helgeland’s class, Bywaters used art to demonstrate environmental effects such as shoreline erosion. She also taught about the use of natural minerals as paints. Helgeland says the course was successful in achieving its goal of demonstrating the interaction between geology, geological materials, earth systems and art. “Students couldn’t help but see the connection between geology and art,” Helgeland notes. In fact, the connection dates back in history to the 19th century, when landscape painters often went on geologic expeditions to record the landscape. Helgeland also included a course field trip to Cave Point in Door County so students could further experience the connection by drawing the landscape with water soluble pencils. Helgeland’s role in Bywaters’ Landscape Painting course was to help students interpret the landscape and explain how subjects had been formed, as well as teach about atmospheric formation. Helgeland says she’s not sure who learned more – the students or her. It was while teaching this course that Helgeland picked up a paintbrush for the first time in her life and began depicting the landscapes on canvas that she’s been teaching for the past 25 years. “The experience taught me to see the environment in a different way than I ever have before,” she says. “I’ve always seen texture, shadow and shape in terms of formation and content, not how to put it on a canvas.” As for the students’ reaction to the collaboration, Helgeland says that they were pretty apprehensive at first. “In each class students had little awareness about the other discipline,” she explained. In the end, however, she said that students were surprised by how connections could be made and had a very enjoyable experience. Bywaters remarked that “the blending of information created a more fulfilling experience for my students. They fully appreciated the subject matter and became more interested in the environment.” Helgeland’s and Bywaters’ teamwork served more than just the purpose of student enlightenment. In addition to giving students a glimpse of how disciplines overlap in the real world, their collaboration allowed students to fulfill special requirements set forth by their respective schools. UW-Manitowoc students were able to fulfill the UW-Colleges requirement to complete an interdisciplinary studies course before receiving an Associate’s Degree. UW-Stevens Point students were able to fulfill their environmental literacy credit needed to graduate. Helgeland and Bywaters both hope that their cooperative effort will not be a one-time occurrence. Through their grant they were able to videotape their work for use in creating Learning Objects, or portable teaching tools. In future classes, students will be able to use CDs containing video lectures and animated landscape formation to learn about the interaction between geology and art without the instructors having to travel to different campuses. Helgeland and Bywaters also continue to apply for grants in hopes of creating more collaborative opportunities and furthering their investigation into the different types of visual learning students use. “While the course was designed as a learning experience for students, the instructors definitely learned a great deal, too,” says Helgeland. As someone who is always looking for ways to improve her teaching methods, Helgeland has already revised the curriculum for her geology course to include drawing requirements. “This experience has really made a difference in how I teach,” she says. Bywaters says that having a non-artist’s (Helgeland’s) perspective of learning the skill of painting and drawing has impacted her teaching. Helgeland notes that their collaboration is a prime example of what the UW System is encouraging professors to do - link different disciplines together, as well as different campuses. |
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