Developing Science Literacy using Interactive Engagements for Conceptual Understanding of Change Through Time

Abstract

General education requirements for science classes exist to convey science literacy. The realm of science concerns matter, energy, and time. A particular value of geology lies in providing students with understanding of change through time, which enables one to conceptualize the temporal qualities of change in general. Students arrive in college with limited awareness of time based on common-sense models derived from personal experience, but deeper understanding of science is possible by learning how to consider age, order of events, patterns, rates, magnitudes, durations and frequencies. Tracing origins of our modern ideas about temporal qualities helps us to understand how the process of discovery produced the framework of reasoning unique to geoscience. Lifelong applications result if one realizes how awareness of the temporal qualities of a process influence everyone's perceptions of events caused specifically by that process. For example, the process that produces strong, infrequent earthquake events in the Midwest can lead those living there during long time spans between events to perceive there is no danger. Inappropriate building codes, insurance availability, etc., there result largely from such misperceptions. This paper presents some effective active learning classroom activities: role play, timeline exercises, scaling, storytelling, and group analyses of natural phenomena as a means to promote conceptual thinking about change through time. All exercises, instructional aids, and tools mentioned are available in a downloadable zip file.