A bridge building exercise is designed to take one from
where they are, to where they want to go. As Wyoming EPSCoR transitions between
two large projects, there is an activity spanning both that serves as a bridge
and lovely example of applied student learning at the community college level.
The Interdisciplinary Climate Change Expedition, or ICCE, is a course taught at
Central Wyoming College, which is one of seven community colleges in the state. It culminates in a two-week trek into the Dinwoody
Glacier in Wyoming’s Wind River Range on which students engage in active
learning and applied research. The glacier, which is one of more than 100 in
the range, becomes their classroom and nature their guide. Groups use ground
penetrating radar, or GPR, to get a sense of what lies below the snow, they study
the microbial ecology of scree fields and emerging landscapes that arrive due
to the glacier’s receding. There is an archaeology team and one studying black
carbon, as well as a geographical information systems, or GIS, group. Scientific American recently published a science brief on the project, the article can be found here.
During the semester students have the opportunity to learn
mountaineering skills, ways to interact with scientific equipment, experiment
design, and outdoor leadership through a partnership with the National Outdoor
Leadership School.
As we cross the bridge into Microbial Ecology research
across the state, ICCE will continue to offer community college students an
opportunity to actively research and apply their learning to real world issues.
These hands on experiences may create another bridge, the transition from a
2-year school to the University of Wyoming.
