An Applied Geophysics Laboratory for Introductory Environmental-Geology Courses

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.

The emergence of smart technology has given rise to classroom response systems that offer instructors quick access to students’ understanding. Recently, this technology has been used to explore student understanding of introductory-level geological concepts using click-on-diagram (COD) response-style questions. The current study extends this line of research and investigates student conceptions of groundwater and surface water flow. Participants were predominantly undergraduate non-science majors enrolled in an introductory geology course at one Midwest and one Canadian university. Course instructors presented a set of six diagram-based questions where students were asked to make a prediction. Students were shown plan view river channel diagrams (straight and curved channels) and a cross-sectional diagram of the subsurface and landscape with a house and septic tank (source of pollution). They answered by clicking on the diagram in response to a prompt. When shown the river channel diagrams, students were asked to predict the location of the greatest erosion and fastest water speed. When shown the cross-sectional landscape diagram, students were asked where the pollution from the septic tank would end up after either 1 month or several months. Results of the study showed robust misconceptions related to water velocity and erosion, especially for curved river channels. Approximately 40% of students misidentified the inside of a river bend as having the highest level of erosion. Misconceptions were found related to pollution transport as well, with approximately one-third of students correctly selecting a location within a plume which accounted for both gravity and topography (i.e. local groundwater flow). This study demonstrates that a substantial portion of incoming undergraduate students do not reason about surface and groundwater flow using accurate physical principles. Future work will further investigate the sources of errors or alternative reasoning behind student’s answers to the questions in this study.

The integration of student research into a general chemistry laboratory and an environmental geology course has been evaluated for its effectiveness to improve (i) student attitudes about science and chemistry, (ii) student understanding of the nature of experimental science and the scientific method, and (iii) student perceptions of the application of science and the interdisciplinary nature of science. Students in introductory science courses frequently devote all or most of their time and effort to learning basic laboratory techniques by following predefined procedures that have intentionally predictable outcomes. Though this longstanding model of laboratory structure is an important means of effectively preparing students for future chemical study, it often neglects items i−iii. Students were guided through a research experience by an interdisciplinary team of faculty so that students could begin the research and bring it to an appropriate conclusion, including formal presentations, within a single se...

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

Introductory geology courses comprise an important part of a complete undergraduate education, and federal law stipulates that they must be accessible to all students. Mobility-impaired students, unfortunately, tend to avoid courses with required field trips because of real and perceived barriers to physical accessibility. Inexpensive evaluation, revision, and creation of accessible laboratories are pragmatic approaches that satisfy federal laws and open earth-science careers to talented students with mobility impairments.We have developed three new accessible field exercises for Stanford University's introductory geology course that improved the course rather than compromising its academic merit. In developing two new field trips, we set the following goals: 1) to locate potential sites relevant to material; 2) to eliminate obviously inaccessible locations; 3) to evaluate the remaining sites with, regard to accessibility criteria developed with advice of mobility-impaired students; 4) to test site accessibility with mobility-impaired persons; and 5) to advertise the new field trips. A third exercise creates a hypothetical field problem to teach principles of geologic mapping in an accessible setting.

Writing assignments can be a valuable teaching tool to help students learn geology and develop their writing and thinking skills. The view that writing is a process through which students learn, as well as a product that can be evaluated, has stimulated renewed interest in using writing assignments to teach geology. To write, one must go through thought processes such as understanding concepts, organizing material, making comparisons, analyzing data, developing arguments, and drawing conclusions. In introductory geology courses, writing assignments such as in-class responses, journals, abstracts, short papers, laboratory reports, and term projects can help develop valuable thought processes and augment students' comprehension. Many students have never written a paper for a science class and need instruction about expected content, format, and style, and guidance in writing, reviewing, and revising papers. Pre-writing exercises, required or optional rewrites, and critical review by the instructor and peers...

Classroom techniques and laboratory exercises have been developed for the benefit of visually impaired students enrolled in an introductory geology course. The students attend lecture sessions with other students enrolled in the course, participate in all field trips and, with the exception of one modification, attempt the same laboratory exercises. Upon completing the course, these students (1) feel they have been totally involved in the class, (2) have been introduced to a number of instruments available to the visually impaired for making various types of measurements/observations and (3) have been introduced to the scientific method as well as some of the concepts of geology. The following laboratory exercises have been developed: (1) doing library research; (2) graphing geologic data; (3) identifying minerals, rocks, and fossils; (4) measuring attributes of the earth and earth materials; (5) solving geologic structural and plate tectonic problems; (6) reading maps and recognizing landscapes, and (7) ...

An analysis of student evaluations of an introductory physical geology course over a five year period showed generally positive feedback from the students about the overall nature of the course. In particular, instructional and pedagogical traits were assessed as being of importance in contributing to the satisfaction of the students with the course.

The problem of trying to develop introductory geology courses in the secondary schools cannot be solved by transferring college freshman courses and materials (with a few modifications). Secondary-school courses require an approach quite different from the “read-and-listen” method used in colleges. The traditional geology laboratory hardly meets the needs of the secondary-school pupil. Florida State University has adopted a sequence of geology courses specifically designed for the education major (the prospective school teacher). In the first of these courses, the student is taught—by example—that the most effective method of reaching the school pupil is by means of student-built models. Approximately 35 models, simple enough for ninth- or tenth-graders to build and operate, are covered, along with the usual geological glossary of terms and ideas. These models involve the pupil in activities as diverse as measuring the acceleration of gravity, producing a miniature Permian Basin under an infrared lamp, an...

Learning complex concepts is necessary for student success, but it is often challenging. Learning such concepts can be influenced by students’ study order choices during learning to switch to a new category (interleaved study order) or stay within the same category (blocked study order). Students often prefer stay decisions during learning and make relatively few switch decisions; however, an open question is whether students’ switch decisions are related to their level of prior knowledge in the domain and the learning strategy they use (retrieval practice versus study). To examine these relationships, we recruited undergraduate students from an introductory geology course. Prior to the course modules on rock classification, students self-rated their knowledge, took a prior knowledge test, classified rock exemplars by completing study or retrieval practice trials, and made study order choices. Students then completed assignments and attended lectures in their geology course on igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Next, students self-rated their knowledge, took a new prior knowledge test, completed study or retrieval practice trials, made study order decisions, took final classification tests, and self-reported beliefs about study order choices. Even though students’ knowledge increased after course modules on rock identification, and most students believed that domain knowledge impacts study decisions, prior knowledge did not predict students’ switch decisions. In contrast, students who completed retrieval practice trials made substantially more switch decisions (i.e., interleaved study) than did students who completed study trials.

Jason, a junior faculty member in a geoscience department, has been asked by his chair to take over the training of graduate teaching assistants in the department. He was chosen mainly because he has attended a few teaching workshops and has been trying some new teaching approaches in his introductory geology course. Jason is not sure how one should structure a program to build graduate students' teaching skills. He begins with a literature search in the science education literature to find what other science departments are doing to prepare graduate students for their teaching roles. What are the key items that should be in a professional development program for graduate student instructors? He quickly finds that although many science departments have published articles describing their approach to developing graduate students' teaching skills, very few of these programs have ever been evaluated. So Jason starts a more general search through the literature focusing on teaching approaches that have some research base. His plan is to build a professional development program for graduate student instructors around research-based approaches. In this column, we chronicle Jason's progress, summarize the research in this area and highlight the areas where more research is needed. Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) play a prominent role in undergraduate education at higher education institutions. They are frequently utilized to instruct courses in a cost efficient manner, with the rationale that the experience will prepare them for careers in academia. In fact, GTAs instruct the majority of undergraduate laboratories and discussion sections at research universities (Travers, 1989). As instructors, GTAs frequently make instructional, curricular, and assessment decisions throughout their courses. They decide how information should be presented, what concepts should be emphasized, and how to evaluate student work. Unfortunately, GTAs often make these decisions with little guidance from faculty. By involving GTAs in college science education reform now, we can advance reform efforts, both in the short term, by increasing the quality of instruction in undergraduate science laboratories and discussion sections, and in the long term, when these graduates move on to permanent faculty positions and develop and teach both undergraduate and/or graduate courses. Regrettably, GTAs are often subjected to training programs that offer limited instructional support regarding the teaching of science (Carroll, 1980; Rushin et al., 1997; Golde and Dore, 2001) and they often experience limited support for developing their teaching skills from their departments or advisors (Jones, 1993; Golde and Dore, 2001). In a recent study that surveyed over 4000 doctoral students across disciplines from 27 universities in the U.S., 83% of doctoral students responding to the survey cited enjoyment of teaching as their main reason for pursuing a faculty career (as opposed to 72% who cited enjoyment of research as the primary reason), yet most students lamented the lack of training they received to develop their teaching skills (Golde and Dore, 2001; full text of the report is available online at http://www.phd-survey.org). This comment is representative of many doctoral students in the sciences: have always considered teaching my main reason for pursuing an academic degree. I am amazed at how little preparation I am receiving in how to teach. I am still planning on pursuing a teaching position but am filling in the gaps in education and preparation on my own time with little encouragement from my academic program - quote from a molecular biology doctoral student. (Golde and Dore, 2001) Literature on GTA Training Programs in the Sciences It is estimated that by 2014, 500,000 new professors will be teaching at American colleges and universities (Jones, 1993). Improving undergraduate education for current and future students will depend upon thoughtful and careful attention to the training of these future faculty members, especially in light of the fact that the reason many undergraduate students cite for abandoning science majors is poor teaching (Seymour and Hewitt, 1997). …

There has been a shift to offering more STEM courses in a variety of different modalities. The benefit to offering courses in different modalities has the potential to reach a wider student audience. As a result of the pandemic this forced many individuals to pivot to an online platform and into emergency remote teaching. The following study will focus on novel multimedia that were created as a result of the pandemic for an introductory geology course that was originally taught face-to-face but has moved to a permeant online course. This study takes place at the University of Central Florida a large research institution. The lecture videos were created specifically for this course and used novel multimedia instruction to engage students and increase their perception and interest in geology. The following presentation will explore the construction of these videos along with engagement and student’s perception of instruction of the course.

To support student construction of knowledge during class meetings, there is a growing demand to incorporate active learning practices. However, ’active learning’ can range from occasionally voting on a multiple-choice question, to spending all of class time on worksheets. Consequently, the outcomes of active learning course reforms vary widely. Here we present an exploratory study comparing student outcomes from two introductory geology courses that both use active learning practices. In one course, students regularly respond to ‘Clicker’ questions with no peer interaction, using a personal response system. In the other course, students engage in Clicker questions as well as collaborative predict-observe-explain (POE) activities. Our results showed no statistically significant difference in content knowledge gains between these two courses POE activities. However, we find that students who experienced both Clickers and POE activities have enhanced self-efficacy and interest in the subject. As self-efficacy and science interest are integral for retention in STEM beyond first-year courses, we argue that some active learning strategies, such as POE, may be better suited to recruiting and retaining STEM majors. Thus we highlight the need for more studies that compare active learning strategies while monitoring student feelings and perceptions in addition to content knowledge.

Complex concepts and ideas are often presented to introductory level students in a simplified form for educational purposes. This simplification sometimes requires that the “whole truth” not be presented. However, the simplified material should be current and factual to the extent that future lessons that build on the introductory material will expand on the originally presented material rather than contradicting it. The presentation of soil classification in many current introductory physical geology textbooks is over 35 years out of date. In addition, the way soil classification terminology is used would be questionable even if it were still current. Individuals teaching introductory geology courses that include sections on soils and the authors of textbooks using incorrect classification terminology should obtain current references on soil classification and correct these deficiencies.

A review of aqueous-phase VOC transport in modern landfill liners