Introductory Geology Courses Research Articles

Two-Stage Exams Improve Student Learning in an Introductory Geology Course: Logistics, Attendance, and Grades

ABSTRACTTwo-stage exams—where students complete part one of an exam closed book and independently and part two is completed open book and independently (two-stage independent, or TS-I) or collaboratively (two-stage collaborative, or TS-C)—provide a means to include collaborative learning in summative assessments. Collaborative learning has been shown to have positive benefits, including increased student engagement and learning. To try to improve student learning, as measured by improvement in exam scores, two sections of introductory geology were taught using two-stage exams. It was hypothesized that class scores would be higher for semesters using two-stage exams—whether part two was TS-C or TS-I—than for semesters using traditional (T) exams. The median attendance rate was approximately 67% for all testing methods and was significantly greater when exams were TS-C (69%) rather than TS-I (53%). The class score was significantly greater during semesters when exams were TS-C (81%) but was not significantly different between T and TS-I semesters. To assess individual student learning over time, part one of the first exam and part one of the comprehensive final exam were compared. Across the F and D grade ranges, improvement on individual exam scores was significantly greater for the TS-C semester than for the TS-I and T semesters. Student learning, as measured by individual exam scores, improved due to the use of TS-C exams. The improvement in class scores due to the collaborative portion of two-stage exams was independent of increased attendance rates, greater for the lower-achieving students, and not observable if part two of the exam was completed as a take-home exam (TS-I).

Conceptions of Atmospheric Carbon Budgets: Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Mass Balance

ABSTRACT With recent U.S. government efforts to develop policy procedures for addressing climate change, public understanding of basic aspects of climate change is imperative in order for people to understand such policy. However, widespread misconceptions of basic atmospheric principles exist among the public. In this study, we document levels of misunderstanding that undergraduate students at a large U.S. research institution have with respect to atmospheric carbon budgets and factors that may account for variability in their understanding. Students enrolled in an introductory geology course (n = 947) completed a survey on atmospheric carbon budgets in two sequential semesters. Results indicated that most students did not have a basic understanding of mass-balance problems and that their misunderstanding varied according to gender and their interest in science but not according to factors, such as students' opinions of the seriousness of climate change. Students also tended to exhibit poor graphical interpretation skills when examining mass-balance graphs.

Evaluating Geoscience Students' Spatial Thinking Skills in a Multi-Institutional Classroom Study

ABSTRACT Spatial thinking skills are critical to success in many subdisciplines of the geosciences. We tested students' spatial skills in geoscience courses at three institutions (a public research university, a comprehensive university, and a liberal arts college, all in the midwest) over a two-year period. We administered standard psychometric tests of spatial skills to students in introductory geology, mineralogy, sedimentology and stratigraphy, hydrogeology, structural geology, and tectonics courses. In addition, in some courses we administered a related spatial skills test with geoscience content. In both introductory and upper level undergraduate geology courses, students' skills vary enormously as measured by several spatial thinking instruments. Additionally, students' spatial skills generally improve only slightly during one academic term, in both introductory and advanced geoscience classes. More unexpectedly, while there was a tendency for high-performing students to be adept at multiple spatial skills, many individual students showed strong performance on tests of one spatial skill (e.g., rotation) but not on others (e.g., penetrative thinking). This result supports the contention that spatial problem solving requires a suite of spatial skills, and no single test is a good predictor of “spatial thinking.”

Characterizing Teaching in Introductory Geology Courses: Measuring Classroom Practices

ABSTRACTMost research about reformed teaching practices in the college science classroom is based on instructor self-report. This research describes what is happening in some introductory geology courses at multiple institutions across the country using external observers. These observations are quantified using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). A scoring rubric created to support consistent application of the 25 items on the RTOP yields very high inter-rater agreement over multiple observations throughout a 3 y period. Using the adapted RTOP instrument, 66 separate observations of introductory physical geology classrooms at 11 different institutions (four associate's colleges, three baccalaureate colleges, a master's university, and three research universities) were collected, and those observations indicate three categories of instruction: (1) teacher-centered, traditional lecture-dominated classrooms (RTOP < 30) with little student talk and minimal student activity beyond listening and note taking; (2) transitional classrooms with some activities involving brief student discussions centered around right/wrong answers; and (3) student-centered classrooms (RTOP ≥ 50) with considerable time devoted to active learning and student communications to promote conceptual understanding. The progression from teacher-centered to transitional and then to student-centered categories is incremental across all subscales of the RTOP instrument except for propositional knowledge (character of the lesson's content and instructor's command of the material), which only increases between teacher-centered and transitional categories. This means there is no single path to an active learning, student-centered introductory geology classroom. Such learning environments are achieved with a holistic approach to all aspects of constructivist teaching as measured by RTOP. If the instructor incorporates small changes in multiple aspects of their teaching from disseminator of knowledge to supporter of student learning, then the transition to a student-centered classroom becomes an approachable process. Faculty can also use the RTOP and rubric to guide course planning, promote self-reflection of their teaching, and assist in the peer evaluation of other's teaching.

Tracking Student Pathways to Competency in Online Geoscience Learning

Tracking Student Pathways to Competency in Online Geoscience Learning Currently, more than 100,000 college students take introductory geology courses in online or blended learning formats. For the most part, these courses utilize a “competency-based” assessment rubric. Many geology professors contend that tracking students’ knowledge of subject material via competency-based testing may not be well suited to the geological sciences. One concern is that students can “guess” their way through exercises and produce the “appearance” of competency without actually gaining sufficient knowledge of the material.

Using Sieving and Unknown Sand Samples for a Sedimentation-Stratigraphy Class Project With Linkage to Introductory Courses

ABSTRACTUsing sieving and sample “unknowns” for instructional grain-size analysis and interpretation of sands in undergraduate sedimentology courses has advantages over other techniques. Students (1) learn to calculate and use statistics; (2) visually observe differences in the grain-size fractions, thereby developing a sense of specific size ranges, weight percentages being plotted, and how grain composition and properties are a function of size; (3) are enthusiastic and observant as they search for clues of the origin of their sample, but discover that determining depositional environments using grain-size analysis is not the hoped for “fingerprinting” technique; and (4) enjoy learning the geographic origin and depositional environment of their sample. Plus, sieving equipment generally is less costly to acquire and maintain than “black box” techniques, and sieving is a commonly used procedure in industry. Using unknown sand samples results in some students making “incorrect” interpretations, which allows for illustrating that a scientist may have an excellent data set and a valid interpretation based on that data but, although the data are sound, the interpretation may be erroneous. Moreover, using a suite of unknowns allows students in a class to collectively be exposed to sands from a range of environments and geographic locales without the need for local sediment-rich environments. Building a set of unknowns is aided by recruiting students in introductory geology courses to collect and document samples during their school-break travels for future “unknowns,” thereby linking courses and creating interest among nonmajors. When these students venture into the field to collect a sample and characterize the environment, they are enticed into thinking about sedimentary processes and possible anthropogenic effects, such as beach nourishment, while on break.

Broadening Diversity in the Geosciences Through Teacher–Student Workshops That Emphasize Community-Based Research Projects

ABSTRACTThe Geosciences Institute for Research and Education at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has been an example of a successful and effective model in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. The program emphasizes involving middle school and at-risk high school students from the Detroit area public schools, along with their teachers in geoscience research projects, through a series of spring and summer workshops. The workshops introduce students to the geosciences by emphasizing how geology can be used as a tool to solve community-based environmental problems. Students work alongside their teachers and university faculty on projects ranging from an assessment of brownfield sites in southwestern Detroit to the installation of groundwater monitoring wells to the evaluation of how former land use is impacting groundwater and surface water quality. Spring workshops focused on students from three African-centered middle schools in Detroit, while the summer workshops focused more on middle school and high school teacher training, but included a small group of middle school and high school students. Instruments used to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops included the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument, the Geoscience Concept Inventory, and survey questions from the Watershed Task. Pre- and postworkshop questionnaires and separate teacher–student focus groups demonstrate that we have not only increased student awareness of the geosciences, but we have also motivated students to pursue career opportunities in science. For example, more than half of the students completing the workshop (boys and girls alike) have expressed a strong interest in pursuing a career in the geosciences. Since its inception in 2005, we have reached over 100 middle and high school students, and 75 teachers. During this same period, the Earth Science major at the University of Michigan–Dearborn has tripled in size, and we have quadrupled the number of minority students taking introductory geology courses.

Calibrated Peer Review Assignments for the Earth Sciences

Calibrated Peer Review ™ (CPR), a web-based instructional tool developed as part of the National Science Foundation reform initiatives in undergraduate science education, allows instructors to incorporate multiple writing assignments in large courses without overwhelming the instructor. This study reports successful implementation of CPR in a large, introductory geology course and student learning of geoscience content. For each CPR assignment in this study, students studied web-based and paper resources, wrote an essay, and reviewed seven essays (three from the instructor, three from peers, and their own) on the topic. Although many students expressed negative attitudes and concerns, particularly about the peer review process of this innovative instructional approach, they also recognized the learning potential of completing CPR assignments. Comparing instruction on earthquakes and plate boundaries using a CPR assignment vs. an instructional video lecture and homework essay with extensive instructor feedback, students mastered more content via CPR instruction.

Teaching principal plate tectonic processes by means of analogue modeling

Analogue sand models have been used to demonstrate, how the principal plate tectonic processes work. A simple and versatile sandbox was built and used for the experiments. The principle of this apparatus was suggested by F. K. Lehner with a passive backstop and a basal mylar sheet, which is pulled underneath for studies of compressional tectonics. Boundaries of divergence can be modeled by turning back the direction of movement of the mylar sheet and transform faults by dividing the mylar sheet into a moving and a stationary half. The three principal kinds of plate boundaries can be modeled with single layer sand-packs producing grabens, thrusts and strike slip faults. The results can be correlated with geological structures in nature. Sandbox experiments can also be run between glass sidewalls. Observations can be made through the glass enabling the sequential development of faults and structures to be analyzed. It is suggested, that lessons learned from he models are used for introductory geology courses at universities or high schools.

Using Portable Media Players (iPod) to Support Electronic Course Materials During a Field-based Introductory Geology Course

Electronic course materials, such a videos, PowerPoint presentations, and animations, have become essential educational tools in classroom-based geoscience courses to enhance students' introduction to basic geological concepts. However, during field trips, the ability to offer students these electronic conceptual supports is lacking where students and faculty are often without access to the electrical grid. The video iPod offers an inexpensive and reliable means by which to provide students access to a wide range of electronic course materials during field trips. GeoJourney, a nine-week field-based interdisciplinary introductory geoscience program at Bowling Green State University, is the first geology field program to use the entire range of the video iPod's capabilities to support electronic course materials while in the field. A video iPod was issued to each student at the beginning of the program, along with a battery back-up and a DC charging cable which was plugged into a custom wiring harness installed in the transport vehicles. Students were able to use the iPods during travel time, in the field on hikes and projects, and in their tents at night. Types of materials included videos, still images, animations, text, audio files, and enhanced podcasts. Students' response to the use of the iPods is overwhelmingly positive and suggest their use on GeoJourney also reduces ‘novelty space’.

Sense of place in the practice and assessment of place‐based science teaching

AbstractWe teach earth, ecological, and environmental sciences in and about places imbued with meaning by human experience. Scientific understanding is but one of the many types of meanings that can accrue to a given place. People develop emotional attachments to meaningful places. The sense of place, encompassing the meanings and attachments that places hold for people, has been well characterized in environmental psychology. Its components, place attachment and place meaning, can be measured psychometrically. Place‐based science teaching focuses on local and regional environments and synthesizes different ways of knowing them, leveraging the senses of place of students and teachers. Place‐based teaching has been advocated for its relevance and potential to attract underrepresented groups to science. We posit that sense of place is a measurable learning outcome of place‐based science teaching. We developed an Arizona‐based, culturally inclusive, meaning‐rich introductory geology course, and used published surveys to assess place attachment and meaning in students who took the course. We observed significant gains in student place attachment and place meaning, indicating that these instruments are generalizable and sensitive enough for use in this context. Sense of place should be engaged by teachers of place‐based science, and further explored as an assessment measure. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 92:1042–1057, 2008

The Earth's Record of Climate: A Focused-topic Introductory Course

The Earth's Record of Climate is an introductory geology course offered at the University of St. Thomas that explores the science of paleoclimatology and its relevance to the climate change of the last century. Most undergraduate students that enroll in the course believe that climate change is a significant concern, but lack knowledge of the scientific basis or express important misconceptions about the problem. Students build the necessary skills to work with different forms of earth science data including oxygen isotopic data, fossils, and sediment descriptions. They also read and respond to articles on climate change. Students demonstrate their learning with: 1) a final project in which they complete a detailed paleoclimate reconstruction 2) a final exam essay in which they respond in a substantive fashion to a climate change skeptic, and 3) the results of a Knowledge Survey. Knowledge Survey results show a significant increase (1.17 points on a 3 pt scale) in student confidence by the end of the course. Representative comments from student reports on teaching suggest that it both challenges them and increases their interest in earth science. Numerical ratings from student reports on teaching are consistently higher (by 5% on average) than those for an introductory physical geology course that I teach.

Geoscience Conceptual Knowledge of Preservice Elementary Teachers: Results from the Geoscience Concept Inventory

Effective instruction hinges in part on understanding what prior knowledge students bring to the classroom, and on evaluating how this knowledge changes during instruction. In many disciplines, multiple-choice tests have been developed to gauge student prior knowledge and assess learning. In this study, a 15-item version of the Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) was used to assess the prior knowledge and learning of students enrolled in an introductory physical and historical geology course specifically designed for preservice elementary (K-8) teachers. Gains (pretest to posttest) among participants (n = 122) averaged 4%, similar to gains reported elsewhere. However, gains among participants enrolled in revised course sections (n = 84) averaged 7–8%. Detailed analysis shows that statistically significant gains occurred on test items related to geologic time, earthquakes, radiometric dating, and tectonics. Items for which the greatest gains were observed correlate with teaching method; classroom activities coupled with discussion and supplemental reading appear most effective in increasing student knowledge. Our interpretation of the GCI results suggests that students need multiple opportunities to work with geologic concepts in a variety of formats, and provides further evidence of the persistence of student prior knowledge in specific topics.

The Effect of Using Inquiry and Multiple Representations on Introductory Geology Students' Conceptual Model Development of Coastal Eutrophication

Collegiate introductory Earth science courses are frequently terminal science courses for non-science majors. As a result these courses, such as the introductory physical geology course in this research study, are the final opportunity Earth science instructors have to support and develop student learning in the sciences. The use of inquiry-based learning (IBL) and multiple representations (e.g., physical models and information technology) has been a call for reform in science education and may be a means to reach students in introductory courses. This research tested the pedagogical coupling of IBL and multiple representations to support introductory students' conceptual model development of the complex and dynamic Earth process, eutrophication, through the evaluation of student drawings and written reports. In this research, participants from nine laboratory sections were randomly placed into experimental (IBL and multiple representations style labs) and control (workbook style labs) groups. Statistical results indicated significant (ρ < 0.05) pre-post differences in the conceptual model drawings in only the experimental group, where student performance on the reports and drawings were significantly different (ρ < 0.01) between test groups. These results indicated that the use of IBL and multiple representations had a positive impact on introductory students' conceptual model development of eutrophication.

A GeoWall with Physics and Astronomy Applications

A GeoWall is a passive stereoscopic projection system that can be used by students, teachers, and researchers for visualization of the structure and dynamics of three-dimensional systems and data. The type of system described here adequately provides 3-D visualization in natural color for large or small groups of viewers. The name “GeoWall” derives from its initial development to visualize data in the geosciences.1 An early GeoWall system was developed by Paul Morin at the electronic visualization laboratory at the University of Minnesota and was applied in an introductory geology course in spring of 2001. Since that time, several stereoscopic media, which are applicable to introductory-level physics and astronomy classes, have been developed and released into the public domain. In addition to the GeoWall's application in the classroom, there is considerable value in its use as part of a general science outreach program. In this paper we briefly describe the theory of operation of stereoscopic projection and the basic necessary components of a GeoWall system. Then we briefly describe how we are using a GeoWall as an instructional tool for the classroom and informal astronomy education and in research. Finally, we list sources for several of the free software media in physics and astronomy available for use with a GeoWall system.

Diagnostic Testing of Introductory Geology Students

A diagnostic test for assessing the general and Earth science knowledge of entry-level college students was administered to 451 students in 2002 and 401 students in 2003 enrolled in an introductory geology course at Iowa State University. The study shows that male students, seniors, and science-technology-math majors score higher than female students, freshmen, and non-science-technology-math majors and that the differences are statistically significant. Also, students who scored higher on the diagnostic test were more likely to pass the course. The results support the feasibility of a standardized diagnostic test as a tool for geoscience instructors for curriculum planning, student advising, and curriculum assessment, similar to standardized diagnostic testing and pre-post testing used in chemistry and physics courses. Standardized national tests would enhance college geoscience education.

Teaching Geology in the Field: Significant Geoscience Concept Gains in Entirely Field-based Introductory Geology Courses

This study quantifies improvements in introductory students' concepts in geoscience after completion of a nine week, entirely field-based geology course. Sixty-three student participants in three consecutive introductory field programs demonstrated statistically significant improvements in geoscience concept knowledge as a result of their experiences on the field programs. Conceptual content gain was assessed using a 19-item, scaled Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI). The scaled GCI mean pre and post-test scores of field course participants show significantly greater improvement in geoscience concept understanding compared with scaled GCI scores from 29 other introductory geoscience courses from across the United States (n = 63 students). Geology courses taught as an extended field trip result in improvements in geoscience concepts for their introductory students that are significantly greater than comparable campus-based courses.

Re: The Use of a Knowledge Survey as an Indicator of Student Learning in an Introductory Biology Course

Re: The Use of a Knowledge Survey as an Indicator of Student Learning in an Introductory Biology Course

A Solid Waste Landfill Siting Exercise for an Introductory Environmental Geology Course

A solid waste landfill siting exercise has been developed for an introductory environmental geology course. Students are asked to site a county landfill using the actual state guidelines developed and enforced by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The students work in small groups and synthesize information from a variety of resources, including maps of geology, hydrology, land use, and topography. After choosing a site, students explain the benefits and drawbacks of the chosen location in oral and written formats. The exercise asks students to draw on a variety of topics and skills explored earlier in the term and to apply them to a real-world environmental problem. It has been successfully implemented as a capstone project at a liberal arts college and a large public institution.

Searching for the Difference: A Controlled Test of Just-in-Time Teaching for Large-Enrollment Introductory Geology Courses

At Western Washington University (WWU), we tested the effectiveness of Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) methods in introductory geoscience courses. JiTT is an interactive-engagement teaching method developed for introductory physics courses (Novak et al., 1999). The key to the JiTT method is a short time frame feedback loop in which student learning informs instruction. The JiTT method includes several distinct components. (1) Web-based WarmUp exercises check on students' comprehension of reading assignments and ability to connect new concepts to those previously developed. Students submit answers to these exercises via the web up to four hours before each lecture. (2) Interactive lectures based on WarmUp responses emphasize problem-solving skills. (3) Web-based puzzles wrap up topics with critical thinking problems. We conducted our test using two sections of Geology 101 at WWU: the experimental section applied JiTT methods and the control section was taught using the traditional lecture format. Our experimental and control sections were non-major general education courses, had the same learning objectives, and objectives were assessed using the same exams. Students completed a First Day Survey providing baseline data about their demographics, science courses taken previously in high school and college, their attitude about studying science and their knowledge about basic Earth science concepts. On the first exam, the JiTT students scored significantly higher than the students in the traditional lecture section by an average of 2 points out of 50. The JiTT students' combined average on three exams during the course was higher, but not statistically significant. When the data from the First Day Survey were taken into account using multi-variable regression analysis, all differences in performance on exams becomes insignificant. We interpret our results to indicate that scores on objective (emphasizing knowledge and comprehension) exams may depend strongly on students' incoming prior knowledge, more than on the specific methods used to teach the class. Student evaluations of the course taught using JiTT methods were very positive toward the JiTT methods and their experience with introductory geology. Although we hope that such affective differences foreshadow long-term enhancement in learning (that our study did not assess), we caution instructors not to rely only on exam scores or student evaluations to gauge teaching effectiveness. Conversely, we recognize that scores on objective exams may not capture development of higher order thinking that the JiTT method may foster.