Rachel Teasdale

A multidimensional assessment of reformed teaching practice in geoscience classrooms

This study analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from classroom observations combined with instructor survey results to characterize the application of reformed teaching practices in undergraduate geoscience classes in the United States. Trained observers used the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) to score 204 geoscience classes. Observed faculty represent a diversity of institutions, teaching rank, and years of experience. Classrooms observed included introductory and upper-level undergraduate courses that ranged in size from 6 to 275 students. Total RTOP scores do not correlate with class size, class level, institution type, instructor gender, instructor rank, or years of teaching experience. Classroom instruction was separated into three categories based on total RTOP scores: Teacher Centered (≤30), Transitional (31–49), or Student Centered (≥50). Statistical analyses of RTOP subscales and individual item scores are used to identify the instructional practices that are characteristic of each category. Instructor survey responses and qualitative classroom observations provide additional details about instructional practices common within each instructional category. Results of these analyses provide a coherent picture of instructional strategies used in geoscience classrooms. Instruction in the most Student Centered classrooms differs from that in Transitional and Teacher Centered classrooms in at least one of three ways. Student Centered classes are more likely to include (1) students engaged in class activities with one another; (2) activities in which instructors assess student learning and adjust lessons accordingly; and (3) opportunities for students to answer and pose questions that determine the focus of a lesson.

Applying the Geoscience Education Research Strength of Evidence Pyramid: Developing a Rubric to Characterize Existing Geoscience Teaching Assistant Training Studies

ABSTRACT Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are responsible for direct instruction of geoscience undergraduate students at an array of universities and have a major effect on the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of their students. GTAs benefit from in-department training in both beliefs and practices that align with the existing literature on teaching and learning in the discipline, and such training can have long-standing effects when GTAs transition into faculty roles. However, the most recent review, in 2003, revealed little literature examining outcomes of geoscience GTA training programs. Using the framework of the GER Strength of Evidence Pyramid, this article outlines the development and application of a rubric to allow the user to analyze the existing geoscience GTA training literature and provide example study designs at each level of strength. Extending back to 1980, we discovered a total of three peer-reviewed articles describing and empirically evaluating the effect of GTA training programs in the geosciences. Thus, this article also draws from other science disciplines to provide examples for the levels of the rubric not currently represented in the geoscience literature, providing a set of contextually similar models that future designers of geoscience GTA training might draw on to maximize their strength of evidence, given specific institutional and programmatic constraints. Furthermore, we describe ways in which the use of the rubric provides a framework for characterizing the GTA training literature, which revealed areas of research and characteristics of rigor needed for future work.

Synthesis: Discussion and Implications

Kristen St. John, James Madison University; Kelsey Bitting, Northeastern University; Cinzia Cervato, Iowa State University; Kim A. Kastens, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Heather Macdonald, College of William & Mary; John R. McDaris, SERC at Carleton College; Karen S. McNeal, Auburn University; Heather L. Petcovic, Western Michigan University; Eric J. Pyle, James Madison University; Eric M. Riggs, Texas A&M University; Katherine Ryker, University of South Carolina; Steven Semken, Arizona State University-Tempe; Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico.

Evaluation of student learning, self-efficacy, and perception of the value of geologic monitoring from Living on the Edge, an InTeGrate curriculum module

ABSTRACT The InTeGrate curriculum, Living on the Edge: Building Resilient Societies on Active Plate Margins (LOE), explores geologic hazards and related societal risks at plate boundaries. The curriculum incorporates research-based pedagogical practices and the use of geologic data for students to analyze and interpret. Materials were developed for broad use and have been implemented at 3 institutions in a range of undergraduate geoscience classroom settings. Here we present an analysis of student learning based on new data collected with a pre- and post-LOE curriculum instrument. Results indicate increased student learning in all types of classrooms examined. Learning gains occur in large classes (50–140 students) that spent the least amount of time on each unit (≤ 50 minutes), but students achieve even larger gains in small classes (< 15 students) that spent more time on curriculum (≥ 75 minutes per curricular unit). Learning gains occured in all class types in activities that required application of information as well as in items that required only simple recall. Students’ self-efficacy in their ability to accurately identify factors that determine hazards and risks at plate boundaries increased by at least 1 point on a 5-point scale following their participation in the curriculum. Most students agree (or strongly agree) that geologic monitoring is likely to be valuable to them and to society, which makes LOE activities relevant to them and correlates with their learning. Significant student learning also occurred in courses taught by an instructor who was not an LOE author, which supports the goal that InTeGrate materials can be widely used.

Using near-real-time monitoring data from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent at Kīlauea Volcano for training and educational purposes

Training non-scientists in the use of volcano-monitoring data is critical preparation in advance of a volcanic crisis, but it is currently unclear which methods are most effective for improving the content-knowledge of non-scientists to help bridge communications between volcano experts and non-experts. We measured knowledge gains for beginning-(introductory-level students) and novice-level learners (students with a basic understanding of geologic concepts) engaged in the Volcanoes Exploration Program: Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (VEPP) “Monday Morning Meeting at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory” classroom activity that incorporates authentic Global Positioning System (GPS), tilt, seismic, and webcam data from the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruptive vent on Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i (NAGT website, 2010), as a means of exploring methods for effectively advancing non-expert understanding of volcano monitoring. Learner groups consisted of students in introductory and upper-division college geology courses at two different institutions. Changes in their content knowledge and confidence in the use of data were assessed before and after the activity using multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Learning assessments demonstrated that students who took part in the exercise increased their understanding of volcano-monitoring practices and implications, with beginners reaching a novice stage, and novices reaching an advanced level (akin to students who have completed an upper-division university volcanology class). Additionally, participants gained stronger confidence in their ability to understand the data. These findings indicate that training modules like the VEPP: Monday Morning Meeting classroom activity that are designed to prepare non-experts for responding to volcanic activity and interacting with volcano scientists should introduce real monitoring data prior to proceeding with role-paying scenarios that are commonly used in such courses. The learning gains from the combined approach will help improve effective communications between volcano experts and non-experts during times of crisis, thereby reducing the potential for confusion and misinterpretation of data.

Active Learning Strategies for Constructing Knowledge of Viscosity Controls on Lava Flow Emplacement, Textures and Volcanic Hazards

We present instructions for a series of quantitative experiments designed to help students build their intuitive knowledge of the rheological properties of fluids. The results of the experiments are quantified by students and are used to calculate fluid viscosities using Jeffreys Equation. During the course of the experiments, students test hypotheses about the effects of temperature, dissolved H2O, and the addition of bubbles or solid particles on fluid viscosity. They extend their experimental results to assess the role of viscosity in understanding volcanic hazards due to explosive eruptions and lava flows. Students can use a Dynamic Visual Equation (DVE) for Jeffreys Equation as either a pre-lab introduction to use of the equation or as a tool to calculate viscosities during the lab in place of a spreadsheet or calculator. Informal assessments of student attitudes suggest the experiments heightened student interest and learning.