January 2005 Journal of Geoscience Education
Volume 53, Number 1The Use of a Mock Environment Summit to Support Learning about Global Climate Change
Catherine Gautier Geography Department and Institute for Computational Earth System Science, University of California Santa Barbara, CA
Stacy Rebich Geography Department and Institute for Computational Earth System Science,University of California Santa Barbara, CA
We propose that a learner-centered environment (LCE) is particularly suitable for Earth System Science (ESS) learning due to the nature of the knowledge and research environment that characterizes the field. We show how the principal characteristics of LCE effectively provide learners with motivation and opportunity to understanding this complex area of scientific inquiry.
We describe a course that supports learning the science of global change and address the human aspects of global change through the development and negotiation of an international environmental agreement. Students play the roles of country representatives and participate in activities such as writings, class discussions, presentations and negotiations. Rubrics developed for each activity are used both to assess student learning and to communicate feedback to students about their work.
Our study suggests that the adoption of a LCE enhanced student learning of content and critical skills. The frequent student presentations were found to play a major role in student learning. The rubrics served as scaffolding for knowledge construction, helped students to self-assess and maintain their quality of work, and allowed instructors to provide quick and efficient feedback. The development of basic learner-centered tools and teaching practices will help ESS instructors provide learning environments most suitable for their discipline.
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html#v53p5
Qualitative Analysis of College Students' Ideas about the Earth: Interviews and Open-Ended Questionnaires
Julie C. Libarkin Dept. of Geological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH
Steven W. Anderson Science Department, Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD
Julie Dahl Science Department, Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD
Meredith Beilfuss College of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
William Boone College of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html#v53p17
Designing Undergraduate Research Experiences for Nontraditional Student Learning at Sea
James E. Gawel Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program, University of Washington—Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
Cheryl L. Greengrove Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program, University of Washington—Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html#v53p31
Life (Briefly) Near a Supernova
Steven I. Dutch Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html#v53p27
The DLESE Community Review System: Gathering, Aggregating, and Disseminating User Feedback about the Effectiveness of Web-based Educational Resources
Kim Kastens Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Department of Earth & Environmental Science, Columbia University, Palisades, NY
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html#v53p37
The Transparent Velocity-Head Rod for Inexpensive and Accurate Measurement of Stream Velocities
Mark A. Fonstad James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
James P. Reichling Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Jon W. Van de Grift 4887 White Rock Circle, Boulder, CO 80301
URL for this article: http://www.nagt.org/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html#v53p44
Creativity Skills Applied to Earth Science Education: Examples from K-12 Teachers in a Graduate Creativity Class
Audrey C. Rule Department of Curriculum & Instruction, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY
In 1950, J. P. Guilford, the President of the American Psychological Association, gave a speech often identified as initiating national interest in creativity in which he asked researchers to find the promise of creativity in our children and to investigate enhancement of the development of the creative personality. Fifty years later, Yager (2000) called for the knowledge accumulated during the ensuing years of inquiry to be applied to science education.
This article briefly explores different aspects of creativity, and then examines K-12 teachers' reactions to exercises applied to earth science concepts in a graduate creativity class. Different types of puzzle activities centering on geoscience content include a quiz game based on Odyssey of the Mind spontaneous problems, and other exercises related to embedded words, transformed cliché