Scientific Argumentation in Earth System Science Education part of SERC Web Resource Collection

Diane Schweizer Clayton, Catherine Gautier
We investigate the merit of including deliberate instruction on argumentation and debate in an undergraduate Earth system science course. We examine sample student evaluations of arguments ...

Climate Change: Confronting Student Ideas part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Diane Ebert-May, Jan Hodder, Kathy Williams, Doug Luckie
This journal article from Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment discusses student-centered, inquiry-based instructional strategies and learning goals for helping students learn about climate ...

Students' Conceptions of Scale Regarding Groundwater part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Daniel Dickerson, Timothy J. Callahan, Meta Van Sickle, Genny Hay

Spatial Ability and Earth Science Conceptual Understanding part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Alice A. (Jill) Black
Relatively little research has considered the relationship of spatial abilities with common misconceptions and broader conceptual difficulties in the Earth sciences. This article from the Journal of ...

Challenging Students Ideas About Earth's Interior Structure Using a Model-based, Conceptual Change Approach in a Large Class Setting part of SERC Print Resource Collection
David N. Steer, Catharine C. Knight, Katharine D. Owens, David A. McConnell
This article from the Journal of Geoscience Education discusses the difficulties and importance of grasping the concept of plate tectonics for entry level students. Research has shown that many ...

The Effects of Different learning Tasks on Model-building in Plate Tectonics: Diagramming Versus Explaining part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Janice D. Gobert
Based on previous work in students' conceptions in geology, this article from the Journal of Geoscience Education features three studies of students' conceptions and cognition in plate tectonics. ...

A Study of Junior High Students' Perceptions of the Water Cycle part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Orit Ben-zvi-Assarf, Nir Orion
This study explored junior high school students' perceptions of the water cycle. The findings indicated that the students understand various hydro-bio-geological processes, but most of them lack ...

The Effect of an Earth-Science Learning Program on Students' Scientific Thinking Skills part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Nir Orion, Yael Kali
This study published in the Journal of Geoscience Education explores junior high school students' understanding of the essential concepts involved in scientific thinking: observation, hypothesis and ...

The Development of Student Conceptions of the Earth-Sun Relationship in an Inquiry-Based Curriculum part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Christina Salierno, Edelson Daniel, Bruce Sherin
This case study published in the Journal of Geoscience Education features an in-depth investigation of three fifth-grade students throughout their participation in a curriculum on Earth surface ...

How Students Think: Implications for Learning in Introductory Geoscience Courses part of SERC Print Resource Collection
David A. McConnell, David N. Steer, Katharine D. Owens, Catharine C. Knight
This study, published in the Journal of Geoscience Education, discusses the way that students in introductory geology courses think and how this can influence what they learn. Non-major students in ...