Incorporating Concept Sketching Into Teaching Undergraduate Geomorphology

Abstract

ABSTRACTConstructing concept sketches (diagrams annotated with short captions in which students demonstrate their understanding of form, process, and interactions) provides a new and different way to teach Earth surface processes and assess the depth of student learning. During a semester-long course in Geomorphology, we used concept sketches as an icebreaker, as a means to help students place field observations in a spatial context, and as a catalyst for understanding complex graphical presentations of data. For the mid-term and final assessment components of the course, we required students to consider a historic aerial photograph of a local site they had not visited previously in order to strengthen their abilities in landscape interpretation based upon imagery alone; a task many of them will be required to undertake in their future endeavors. Anecdotal student response to the use of concept sketches in Geomorphology was uniformly positive with students self-reporting that the sketches helped them to synthesize large amounts of seemingly disparate information. As instructors, we found concept sketches particularly useful for motivating students and for identifying misconceptions and knowledge gaps.