Abstract
The Tennessee State Parks Geological Conclave (referred to as "Geoconclave"), is a geology themed intercollegiate competition, hosted at a Tennessee State Park, and organized by academic institutions in Tennessee and the surrounding region. A combination of academic and non-academic events take place over the course of a Saturday, with teams arriving Friday and departing Sunday. Typical academic events include: rock identification, mineral identification, fossil identification, pace and compass mapping, and geologic map interpretation. In recent years, lunch has been provided by an AIPG representative who meets with students. The afternoon features non-academic events, the most popular being geode rolling and rock hammer throwing. After the non-academic events, students have the opportunity to hike, canoe, or swim while the faculty meet to tally scores. The competition culminates in the evening rock bowl quiz tournament. Rock bowl scores decide the rock bowl winner as well as the overall champion.The event contributes to an enhanced student experience as participation offers several opportunities for students to increase their knowledge, develop their soft skills, build a community, and grow their relationships in the professional geological community. Students take on leadership roles by coordinating event participation within their team, organizing transportation, and planning meals. Near-peer mentoring relationships are common at this undergraduate event, as the more senior students pass down their knowledge and strategy to the more junior. A single student from each team competes in each academic event, minimizing grading and giving the students a chance to reflect on their sub-disciplinary strengths and weaknesses. Competition motivates students to review material from ongoing and previous classes and pay particular attention to Geoconclave-relevant skills or topics throughout the school year. The benefits of participation are not limited to students. Many faculty have developed mentorships or scientific collaborations at Geoconclave. Faculty have also made curriculum adjustments based on knowledge gaps revealed by student performance. Geoconclave may act as a model for collaborative academic events in other areas of the country, and newcomers to the TN Geoconclave are always welcome.