We investigate the difficulties faced by undergraduate students during a four-hour cloud microphysics introductory lecture and aim to identify troublesome concepts. An open-ended survey was conducted after the lecture. Twenty-nine students answered five questions related to the concepts they were taught. Thematic analysis of the data resulted in a list of concepts related to the course content and their total counts from the survey. The analysis reveals that four properties could be extracted from the data: identifiability, novelty, difficulty, and importance. These properties are subsequently used to discuss potential threshold concepts in cloud microphysics. We also discuss the criticism that threshold concept theory is exposed to and motivate the necessity to develop a working definition of threshold concepts with a reduced set of properties that could uphold the discussion around their identification. Based on the results of the survey and a review of their geophysical structure, we find that “Homogeneous vs. heterogeneous nucleation”, “Subsaturation vs. supersaturation” and “Critical radius of a droplet” are prime threshold concept candidates. This study highlights the importance of considering the students’ perspectives and difficulties when investigating the nature of concepts in a specific discipline. It provides insights into the field of cloud physics education and informs the development of instructional material and teaching practices.

The three-dimensional visualization skills that are critical for using and interpreting topographic maps present a common stumbling block for students in introductory-level geoscience courses. The development of interactive technology such as augmented reality sandboxes (ARS) has provided new ways to introduce students to topographic map concepts. So far, the literature investigating the effectiveness of an ARS in a classroom setting has been inconclusive. This study presents instructional and assessment materials for teaching topographic map concepts to undergraduate students at an introductory level using the ARS in a structured, student-driven learning activity. Our instructional approach guides students through creating a 3D landscape and corresponding 2D topographic map, then using the 3D landscape to guide interpretation of topographic map components. The knowledge surveys assess student engagement and track both short-term learning gains (from pre-lab to post-lab scores) and long-term knowledge retention (from pre-lab to end-of-semester follow-up scores). Although our results do not show a significant difference (p = .15) in short-term learning gains in the ARS group compared to the 2D paper map group, a significant improvement (p < .001) was observed in long-term knowledge retention among the ARS group compared to the 2D paper map group. Students in the ARS group also self-reported higher levels of classroom engagement. This study suggests that assessing long-term learning may provide more insight into the effectiveness of interactive classroom tools such as the ARS.

Climate change is a major concern to undergraduate students. Understanding climate change relies on an understanding of polar regions. However, courses on polar regions are rare at undergraduate institutions. Polar ENgagement through GUided INquiry (PENGUIN) modules were designed to give students experience with polar research in a variety of standard courses, including physics, computer science, physical chemistry, and economics, through using course-specific and computational tools to analyze polar data. Here, we present a new PENGUIN module taught in a statistics class, in which students apply statistical tools to ice core data to reconstruct past temperature records. Quantitative student responses on pre- and post-surveys were collected in a quasi-experimental context to assess student knowledge gains for a test group of 91 students and a control group of 73 students (who did not complete the module). Test-group students made statistically significant increases of 25 to 46% on all six statistics questions, with a normalized gain of 56%. By contrast, control group statistics knowledge gains ranged from −4 to 25%, with statistically significant increases for only three questions and a normalized gain of 22%. For polar research questions, the test group demonstrated increases in correct responses to polar research questions (11 to 31%), with statistically significant improvements (p < .05) of 22-31% on 3 of 6 polar research questions. These findings support the conclusion that PENGUIN modules can successfully teach course concepts while increasing polar literacy.

This study explores the relationship between the self-confidence and content knowledge of undergraduate students in a large enrollment geoscience course following an active-learning think-pair-share (TPS) activity, and whether high confidence necessarily leads to overconfidence. We used a pre-experimental, one group pre-test – post-test design, and an audience response system to record students’ responses to a series of questions covering geoscience concepts and the level of confidence that students had in their answers. During each class session, the students were first asked to engage in one or two TPS activities before responding to a series of questions, focusing on content knowledge and self-confidence. We analyzed the data using exploratory data analysis, boxplots, bar graphs, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Chi-Square test. Results indicate that the content knowledge and self-confidence of students increased after students participated in TPS activities. 55% of students correctly answered the pre-activity question, and 74% correctly answered the post-activity question. The results also reveal that while the TPS activity helped to improve self-confidence from a median of 3 to 4 on a five-point scale, the proportion of responses from students that were overconfident in their abilities decreased from 22% in the pre-activity to 13% in the post-activity.

The utilization of a professional geoscience career panel as a curricular classroom activity can be essential for promoting career awareness. By interacting with professionals, students can be exposed to diverse geoscientific careers, helping them understand various professional paths and the real-world applications of their studies. Using social constructivism and critical reflection theories of learning, we designed and implemented a two-day career panel attended by ten ocean scientists in an undergraduate oceanography course for majors and non-majors. We used a qualitative, quasi-experimental design involving pre-and-post reflection data collected from the treatment group (n = 22) and control group (n = 19), and five post-treatment interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of the career panel on students’ ocean science career awareness. While the pre-reflections revealed that students in both the treatment and control groups had low awareness and knowledge about ocean science careers and practice, students in the treatment group showed improved awareness about ocean science careers and disciplines, processes of ocean science work, and the social and cultural impact of ocean science work after attending the career panel. Students in the treatment group also showed increased interest in ocean science and geosciences in general. Results indicate classroom career panel that include personal narratives, discussions, and students’ critical reflections can be effective tools to promote career awareness and interest in the geosciences. We provide implications for geoscience education such as supplementing classroom career panel with hands-on activities (e.g., job simulations), advanced organizers (e.g., worksite visits), and experiential learning opportunities (e.g., internships) as instructional tools to promote students’ career awareness.

During 2020 a free, 3-month long, certificate-granting, online workshop was offered to increase undergraduates’ knowledge, skills, self-efficacy, and interest in observational seismology and scientific computing. Course registrants were comprised of 760 upper-level undergraduates from across science and math majors, representing 60 countries. Performance data revealed 58% of registrants initiated the workshop by completing at least one assignment, and 30% successfully completed the full workshop. These rates were higher than most comparable large-scale, open-access courses. This study explores factors associated with persistence by examining registration, performance, and pre/post survey data through the lens of the expectancy-value theory (EVT). Results indicate that EVT constructs show moderate to weak associations with initiation, including intrinsic (p<.001), utility (p<.001), and attainment value (p=.24), and expectancy (e.g., completion intentions [p<.001], prior computing experience [p<.001], seismology research experience [p=.01], seismology self-efficacy [p=.84]). Two expectancy factors, academic major (p=.050) and prior geophysics coursework (p<.001), showed weak associations with completion. Demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, and gender were not associated with initiation or completion, but primary language showed an association with attainment and intrinsic values. Dissuading factors or costs were also captured through surveys. The few responses from non-completers limited the analysis. However, an examination of acute and accumulated costs suggests they may influence persistence, especially at completion. Based on these results, interventions are proposed to enhance persistence in future workshops. These include increasing motivational messaging, tailoring course structure to mitigate avoidable costs, and where possible, increasing communication to set time and effort expectations and showcase prior participants overcoming costs.

Online and hybrid instruction as a response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presented specific challenges in geosciences due to the role of laboratory and field activities. We carried out a research study on student learning in undergraduate mineralogy at a large public research university in the United States over a 4-year period including pre-pandemic in-person instruction and during pandemic online and hybrid instruction. A total of 94 students participated in course activities and mixed-method surveys. Survey results indicated that during the pandemic, students entered the course with lower sense of belonging relative to pre-pandemic students. Despite challenges related to instruction and student learning since 2020, the pandemic did not necessarily produce worse learning outcomes for mineralogy students as measured by course assessments. Structured course delivery and opportunities for interaction can offset challenges resulting from global emergencies.

Climate change education is a challenge for teachers, as they must have appropriate content knowledge to teach the topic adequately. Every teacher is confronted with both their own knowledge and non-knowledge, as well as with scientific knowledge and non-knowledge. The uncertainty about this knowledge depends on individual perception and can have an impact on teaching. In this study, the climate change knowledge and uncertainty about this knowledge of 226 pre-service geography teachers at four German universities were investigated using a questionnaire. Five different domains of knowledge about climate change are discussed, namely, knowledge about the (1) causes, (2) basics and (3) effects of climate change as well as (4) climate-friendly behavior and (5) the procedures of the climate sciences. The pre-service teachers answered most of the questions correctly (72.4%), and the anthropogenic nature of climate change is mostly recognized (91%). However, there are also gaps in knowledge, especially regarding action-related knowledge. Typical misconceptions about the greenhouse effect and ozone holes were identified. On average, 32.6% of all answers to all items were rated as “uncertain” by the participants. Male students scored significantly higher than female students. The results indicate a significant difference between the respondents’ university degrees in terms of knowledge. These results lay out the path for the possible improvement of university courses in the context of teachers’ knowledge about climate change.

This paper describes how plate tectonics and rock genesis, two topics that are typically addressed separately in secondary Earth science classes, can be taught together as an integrated system. We define the TecRocks Reasoning Framework, developed to support student reasoning about rock formation situated in the context of plate tectonics. We also explain how we leveraged the framework in the designs of a new curriculum, interactive computer simulation, and assessment instrument. We show how the instrument was used to evaluate the curriculum, which included the computer simulation. We analyzed pretest and post-test data of 319 students taught by 10 teachers in diverse middle and high schools in the United States. Our analysis allowed us to discern different levels of reasoning in student explanations. On average, students made a significant pretest to post-test gain (p < .001) with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.03) after using the curriculum. All student groups made significant gains regardless of their gender, English language status, race, or school level. However, the amount of gain significantly differed by school level, p < .001. The middle school students as a group made a larger pretest to post-test gain (d = 1.42) than the high school students (d = 0.66).