Qualitative Analysis of College Students' Ideas about the Earth: Interviews and Open-Ended Questions
Julie C. Libarkin, Steven W. Anderson, Julie Dahl Science, Meredith Beilfuss, William Boone January 2005 Journal of Geoscience Education v53 n1 p17-26

This article in the Journal of Geoscience Education discusses alternative conceptions held by college students about the geosciences. Data were collected from students enrolled in introductory level geoscience courses at four different institutions in the form of interviews and open-ended questions. The students were asked about topics related to the Earth’s crust and interior well as geologic time. Results of this study showed that students hold non-scientific ideas about the Earth and apply a range of ontological categories to geologic phenomena, with significant implications for teaching geosciences from a systems perspective.


http://serc.carleton.edu/nagt/jge/abstracts/jan05.html Full Text of the article is available online.


Subject: Education:Assessment
Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Research Results, Journal Article
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16)
Research on Learning: Assessment, Geoscience Expertise:Geologic Time, Cognitive Domain:Misconceptions/barriers to learning