Karen M. Kortz

Alternative Conceptions of Plate Tectonics Held by Nonscience Undergraduates

Abstract The theory of plate tectonics is the conceptual model through which most dynamic processes on Earth are understood. A solid understanding of the basic tenets of this theory is crucial in developing a scientifically literate public and future geoscientists. The size of plates and scale of tectonic processes are inherently unobservable, necessitating the use of images and models in instruction. To explore plate tectonics conceptions held by undergraduates, we designed and administered a postinstruction survey instrument centered on a common schematic representation of plate tectonics. We report results from a sample of n =60 nongeoscience majors enrolled in five different introductory Earth-science courses taught at a major research university and a community college. Students held a number of alternative conceptions associated with terminology, plate motion, and plate-related subsurface melting. We also note that some aspects of figures commonly used to teach plate tectonics are problematic for students and may actually result in reinforcement of alternative conceptions. Further work at both the K–12 and college levels directed at innovative approaches to address student conceptions regarding plate tectonics, including designing images that support key scientific messages, is needed. This research can inform curriculum development for entry-level geoscience courses as well as the use of images to convey complex science.

Increasing Learning in Introductory Geoscience Courses Using Lecture Tutorials

Students often leave introductory geoscience courses without learning the scientific perspective, and we developed Lecture Tutorials to help alleviate this problem. Lecture Tutorials are 10–20 minute interactive worksheets that students complete in small groups in class after a short introductory lecture. They are specifically designed to combat alternative conceptions and increase learning on difficult topics. Our study shows that Lecture Tutorials increase student learning in the classroom more than just lecture alone. On related multiple choice questions asked before and after the Lecture Tutorial (but after a short lecture on the topic), student scores increased 19%. When a subset of these questions was given before and after an extended lecture instead of a Lecture Tutorial, student scores did not increase by a statistically significant amount. On the multiple choice assessment questions given on exams relating to the information covered in the Lecture Tutorials, students who completed the Lecture Tutorials scored significantly higher than students who heard just lecture. In addition, students feel that they are an important and useful part of their learning experience. Lecture Tutorials are being disseminated and are available for instructor use.

Barriers to College Students Learning How Rocks Form

Students do not have a good understanding of how rocks form. Instead, they have many non-scientific alternative conceptions to explain different aspects of rock formation. Using 10 interviews and nearly 200 questionnaires filled out by students at four different colleges, we identified many alternative conceptions students have about rock formation. We then used themes within those alternative conceptions to identify the underlying conceptual barriers that cause them. Conceptual barriers are deeply-held conceptions that prevent students from understanding scientific explanations. One conceptual barrier can cause many alternative conceptions, and alternative conceptions can be the result of more than one conceptual barrier. The seven conceptual barriers identified in the study that prevent students from understanding rock formation are Deep Time, Changing Earth, Large Spatial Scale, Bedrock, Materials, Atomic Scale, and Pressure. Because of these conceptual barriers, students cannot form scientifically correct mental models of how rocks form, resulting in alternative conceptions, so the conceptual barriers need to be overcome before students truly learn the scientific explanations of how rocks form. The results of this study can be applied to other areas of geology in addition to rock formation.

Emplacement of long lava flows within a graben network in Radunitsa Labyrinthus, Carson quadrangle, Venus

[1] Radar bright lava flows in the Radunitsa Labyrinthus region of the Carson quadrangle on Venus traveled up to 200 km within a network of orthogonal grabens. Using a cooling model for basalt to evaluate the graben-channelized lava flow emplacement process, we demonstrate that the lava flows would need to either be very thin (<5 m) or have a very low effusion rate (<50 m 3 s -1 ) in order to cease flow within the observed 200 km solely by cooling. Neither condition is likely given our mapping observations and what is known about long lava flow emplacement on Earth, leading us to conclude that lava flow emplacement in Radunitsa Labyrinthus was probably supply- rather than cooling-limited.

Editorial: Introduction to the Theme: Synthesizing Results and Defining Future Directions of Geoscience Education Research

INTRODUCTION The community of geoscience education researchers (GER) has reached a critical juncture where it is taking inventory in regard to the work that has been accomplished and what questions still need to be answered in GER. Through cross-community participation in a series of recent workshops (St. John et al., 2015, 2016, 2017; Macdonald, 2016), the GER community discussed pathways forward that may have the greatest collective impact on advancing teaching and learning in the field. As a result, this theme issue Synthesizing Geoscience Education Research: Where are we? What is the path forward? was proposed. One of the justifications for the theme issue was the identified need to increase the strength of evidence in the geoscience education research literature. Using the strength of evidence pyramid (Fig. 1; for further explanation, see St. John and McNeal, 2017), we have categorized the past year (Fig. 1) of published articles in the Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE). Using the recent JGE issue as a gauge, it is clear that the geoscience literature has been lacking in regard to systematic review papers as well as meta-analyses. Review papers provide strong evidence for what has been done in the field and what future steps may need to be taken in a particular research area through the identification and articulation of the current state of the collective research in a given topic area. Meta-analyses combine datasets that a series of researchers have published and address higher order questions that require multiple data sources through largescale analyses of the collective datasets. This JGE special issue contributes 11 literature reviews to the community. It also contributes a high number of commentary papers (six) and editorials (two). The community has collectively thought about future research needs and potential areas of growth, and the commentary paper submission category in the JGE allows for authors to discuss a variety of topics that are of interest to the GER community. Both literature reviews and commentary papers are peer reviewed in the JGE. This special issue also contributes a curriculum and instruction (C&I) paper and a research paper. Most of the previous submissions to JGE can be categorized as either case or cohort studies, with a few practitioner knowledge pieces (e.g., commentaries) (Fig. 1). Nearly equal distribution of C&I and research papers are typically published, with C&I manuscripts being slightly greater. This special issue significantly adds manuscripts within the literature review and practitioner knowledge categories of the strength of evidence pyramid. Unfortunately, the GER community is not yet capable of producing robust meta-analyses as there is currently no formal mechanism in place to share datasets. This is, in part, an infrastructure issue as well as an institutional review board (IRB) issue, since all of the data for GER research is protected by IRB human subjects review, and to share the data on a larger scale, researchers need to include such requests in their IRB applications prior to conducting the research. There are strategies to work these issues out, and they are being discussed currently within the GER community. However, to date no mechanisms for sharing datasets have been put in place making it difficult to complete metaanalysis research in GER. Highlighted in this theme issue is a collection of articles focused on GER practice and community development (Kastens and Krumhansl, p. 373; Manduca, p. 416; Shipley et al., p. 354; and St. John and McNeal, p. 363), graduate training (Bitting et al., p. 519; and McNeal and Petcovic, p. 399), access and success in the geosciences (Callahan et al., p. 563; Carabajal et al., p. 531; McDaris and Manduca, p. 407; and Wolfe and Riggs, p. 577), teaching practice (Cheek et al., p. 455; Holder et al., p. 490; Liu et al., p. 435; McConnell et al., p. 604; Ormand et al., p. 426; and Scherer et al., p. 473), and cognition and affect (Jaeger et al., p. 506; Semken et al., p. 542; Shipley and Tikoff, p. 393; and van der Hoeven Kraft, p. 594). We recognize that there are many other areas that could have been written about as important topics for consideration for future directions in GER, and this special issue is not intended to be an exhaustive list of manuscripts or ideas. Rather, it is an attempt to move the community forward adding resources as we continue to collectively consider the path forward. Whether you are long vested in GER or are new to the geoscience education research field, this special issue provides a wealth of information about some of the key research areas in GER, as well as provide the impetus for research you may be interested in pursuing in the future. We summarize each of the articles included in this issue in the sections below.

Establishing and Applying Literature-Based Criteria for Effective Communication of Science to Novices Via Introductory Geology Textbooks

ABSTRACT Textbooks are widely used in higher education by instructors and students. Therefore, it is useful to examine how textbooks present information because textbook design impacts how well students learn from them. This study has two parts. First, within the framework of the cognitive load and dual-coding theories, a set of recommendations based on research on how novices learn from printed materials was developed with the goal of establishing a set of best practices to improve student learning. These recommendations include integrating text and figures and minimizing extraneous geologic vocabulary. Any information in printed form, such as textbooks, lab manuals, and informative handouts, could benefit by using these recommendations in their design. Second, a subset of the recommendations was systematically applied to analyze the four introductory geology textbooks with the largest market share. The results of this analysis indicate that students would benefit from textbooks that are more closely aligned with how novices learn best.