Audrey Rule
Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction
State University of New York at Oswego

Education:
BA Anthropology/Archaeology, U of Missouri – Columbia
MA Geology (Petrology), U of Missouri-Columbia
Ph.D. Geology (X-ray Crystallography/ Mineralogy) U of Wisconsin-Madison
MA Elementary Education, U of Alabama-Tuscaloosa
MA Gifted/Talented Education, U of Alabama-Tuscaloosa
Montessori Elementary Teacher Certification, American Montessori Society, North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education

Areas of Expertise: Science education, crystal structures of micas and chlorites

How I Became Interested in Clays

"I have always loved sand, rocks, and crystals. When I was a preschooler, I spent every day in the sandbox in my backyard. I sieved the sand and examined the different colors, shapes, textures, and transparencies of the grains. An elderly neighbor a few houses away from me had a neat garden in her backyard with rocks, crystals, and seashells lining her flowerbeds. I was always anxious to be invited over to see it. When I was in 3rd grade, the road I lived on was repaved with tar and coated with gravel. I spent many afternoons lying on the grass by the side of the road picking through the loose gravel. I was looking for transparent quartz grains that I called "diamonds" and kept in a little box. I also remember a neighbor landscaping around his bushes with glittering stone – pebbles of drusy quartz. I frequently walked over to that house to admire those rocks!"

"Something else that has interested me from an early age is pattern, symmetry and geometric shape. I passed many happy hours arranging marbles, buttons, and pebbles in symmetrical patterns. When I was five, I learned how to make a paper cube by drawing six connected squares, cutting, folding, and taping them together. I was intrigued with figuring out the different ways to connect the squares on paper so that they would fold up to form a cube. Facetted beads and bottles, colored glass, wooden blocks in odd geometric shapes all fascinated me. I wanted any toy that resembled a crystal in shape or luster."

"There were no earth science or geology classes offered at my high school so I did not have the opportunity to learn about rocks and minerals in a formal way until I took Introduction to Geology as a freshman in college. I had already decided to be an anthropologist or archaeologist so that I could travel to remote places and discover exciting artifacts. I enjoyed my courses in this area, but found myself enrolling in more and more geology courses. Traveling to Wyoming for geology field camp and seeing miles and miles of exposed rock convinced me that I wanted to be a geologist. I just loved the shapes and colors of rock. There was mystery there too- you never knew if you might find a fossil or interesting pattern or a vug full of crystals."

"My doctoral dissertation research involved figuring out the crystal structures- atomic arrangements- of several layered silicate minerals. It was satisfying to be able to find out how atoms join together in symmetrical patterns in micas and chlorites (clay minerals) - to really understand how matter is put together at the atomic level. A crystal of one mineral I worked on looked like a flake of green glitter. Thinking about how beautiful it was (in appearance and complexity) helped me through some of the tedious and seemingly endless calculations involved in refining its structure."

"In my current job as a college professor, I help prepare elementary teachers to teach children math and science. I love to share my excitement in the mysteries of science with them. My research centers on the most effective ways to teach kids how the world works."