Mapping the increasing sophistication of students’ understandings of plate tectonics: A learning progressions approach

Scott McDonald, Kathryn Bateman, Helen Gall, Arzu Tanis-Ozcelik, Aubree Webb, Tanya Furman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plate tectonics is the organizing paradigm of geosciences, but it is also conceptually complex, and students often struggle with developing a system level understanding of the earth. This article reports on research designed to create a characterization of the different levels of sophistication around plate tectonics in the form of a learning progression for middle grades (grades 6–9). A learning progression is an educational research construct that can guide curriculum, assessment, and instruction by creating a description not just of students’ misunderstandings but of a sequential pattern of increasingly sophisticated and productive student conceptions. This article reports on research findings from a 7-year National Science Foundation-funded project focused on the teaching and learning of earth and space science, which engaged in hundreds of conceptual interviews with students in diverse contexts across the state of Pennsylvania. This article focuses on the implications for higher education faculty in geosciences with regard to the preparation of students, the likely alternative conceptions they may hold, and hence instructional approaches to help their ideas mature toward a normative scientific understanding.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)83-96
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Geoscience Education
Volume67
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Education
  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mapping the increasing sophistication of students’ understandings of plate tectonics: A learning progressions approach'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this