Increasing Spatial Thinking and 3D Visualization Skills with Visible Geology

Tuesday 1:30pm-4:00pm
Poster Session Part of Tuesday Poster Session

Authors

Alyssa Abbey, California State University-Long Beach
Amy Weislogel, West Virginia University
Rory McFadden, Carleton College
Andrew Laskowski, Montana State University-Bozeman
Hannah Blatchford, Eastern Michigan University
Students often find that some of the most difficult geoscience concepts to grasp require the development and practice of spatial reasoning in three dimensions. The difficulty comes from little training in spatial thinking and 3D visualization early in their education and not enough practice with applicable scientific examples. We use Visible Geology to create teaching modules that help introduce students to 3D models of various geoscience concepts and build intuition about spatial relationships. Visible Geology is a free online application (https://www.visiblegeology.com/). We have partnered with SERC (Science Education Resource Center) to create new educational resources with Visible Geology to help faculty integrate the application and spatial thinking skills into their courses. We have created eight new teaching activities that range from ~1 hour of time to longer labs or multi-class sessions (3+ hours). Our activities cover topics like the rule of V's, folds in maps and stereonets, fold interference patterns, cross-sections, basin correlation, and reservoir stratigraphy, and are intended for use in classes like field methods, structural geology, and sedimentology/stratigraphy. These activities enable spatial reasoning growth in students through the creation of 3D models, hypothesis testing, and self-guided exploration. The modules are peer reviewed and freely available through Teach the Earth including teaching notes, student examples, and answer keys making them an approachable resource for instructors who aim to increase the development of spatial thinking and 3D visualization skills from a geoscience context.