The course-embedded research project in undergraduate geoscience education: introduction to research, development of communication skills and means of programmatic assessment

Summary The Pet Rock Project, a course-embedded research project, in the junior-level Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology course at Louisiana State University (LSU) has been a successful vehicle to provide all undergraduate geology students with a controlled research experience and with an opportunity to instruct students on effective methods of oral and written communication. The rubrics developed for assessment of individual students on this project have been repurposed to examine the level of attainment of the communication learning outcome associated with the BS degree program at LSU.