Research on Learning

Systems Theory and Modeling part of SERC Web Resource Collection

From the website: 'This site is for teachers, students, and anyone else who would like a very brief, general introduction to systems thinking and systems modeling. It was written primarily as a ...

Causality in Complex Dynamic Systems: A Challenge in Earth Systems Science Education part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Federica Raia
This paper explores the concepts of causality necessary to understand complex system behavior and evolution and simple but important steps in teaching about complexity can support students in ...

Designing Coherent Science Education: Implications for Curriculum, Instruction, and Policy part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Yael Kali, Marcia C. Linn, Jo Ellen Roseman
Too often in today's science classes, students learn isolated facts but are unprepared to apply scientific thinking outside of checking off answers on standardized tests. Designing Coherent ...

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 ...

The Role of Scaffolding Student Metacognition in Developing Mental Models of Complex Earth and Environmental Systems part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Bruce E. Herbert
Students organize knowledge in Earth and environmental sciences and reason about environmental issues through manipulation of mental models. The nature of the Earth and environmental sciences, which ...

Inquiry learning through students' East-West Coast online collaboration about plate tectonics part of SERC Print Resource Collection
J. Gobert
This paper describes a collaborative online project about plate tectonic activity involving middle and high school students in California and Massachusetts. The students collaborated online using ...

Outside the Lines: Issues in Interdisciplinary Research part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Liora Salter, Alison Hearn (eds.)
This book explores the nature and practice of interdisciplinary research in Canada. Contributors address the ways in which interdisciplinary research is defined, positioned, and handled by ...

Groundwater Field Station for Geoscience Students part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Paul F. Hudak
This article from the Journal of Geography describes how to create a low-cost groundwater field station for a college hydrogeology course. The article discusses how students use the station to ...

Journal of Geoscience Education special issue on Student Thinking about the Earth part of SERC Print Resource Collection
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
The papers included in this volume represent a significant contribution to the literature on student conceptions, cognition, and conceptual change specifically related to the geosciences. A wide ...

Design, Implementation, and Assessment of an Earth Systems Science Course for Secondary Teachers part of SERC Print Resource Collection
Jeffrey C. Owen, Stephen A. Norton, Maasch Kirk, Michael Wittmann
This article in the Journal of Geoscience Education provides information about a course offered at the University of Maine's Department of Earth Sciences for secondary science teachers. This ...