HR: 10:50h
AN: ED12A-03    [Abstracts]
TI: Activites to Support and Assess Student Understanding of Earth Data
AU: * Prothero, W A
EM: prothero@geol.ucsb.edu
AF: William A. Prothero, University of California, Santa Barbara Dept. of Geological Sciences, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 United States
AU: Regev, J
EM: jregev@education.ucsb.edu
AF: Jacqueline Regev, University of California, Santa Barbara, Graduate School of Education, Santa Barbaraa, CA 93106
AB: In order to use data effectively, learners must construct a mental model that allows them to understand and express spatial relationships in data, relationships between different data types, and relationships between the data and a theoretical model. Another important skill is the ability to identify gross patterns and distinguish them from details that may require increasingly sophisticated models. Students must also be able to express their understanding, both to help them frame their understanding for themselves, and for assessment purposes. Research in learning unequivocally shows that writing about a subject increases understanding of that subject. In UCSB's general education oceanography class, a series of increasingly demanding activities culminates in two science papers that use earth data. These activities are: 1) homework problems, 2) in-class short writing activities, 3) lab section exploration activities and presentations, and 4) the science paper. The subjects of the two papers are: Plate Tectonics and Ocean and Climate. Each student is a member of a group that adopts a country and must relate their paper to the environment of their country. Data are accessed using the "Our Dynamic Planet" and "Global Ocean Data Viewer" (GLODV) CD's. These are integrated into EarthEd Online, a software package which supports online writing, review, commenting, and return to the student. It also supports auto-graded homework assignments, grade calculation, and other class management functions. The writing assignments emphasize the construction of a scientific argument. This process is explained explicitly, requiring statements that: 1) include an observation or description of an observation (e.g. elevation profiles, quakes), 2) name features based on the observation (e.g. trench, ridge), 3) describe of features (e.g. trends NW, xxxkm long), 4) describe relationships between features (e.g. quakes are parallel to trench), 5) describe a model or theory (e.g. cartoon type representation of a subduction zone), and 6) describe the relationship between the model/theory and the data. Students generate and select data representations with the appropriate data display software, which seamlessly uploads each generated image to the student's personal storage area (on the class server). There they are available to be linked to the writing text. The assignment is "handed in" online, where it is commented, graded according to a rubric, and returned. Students rate the writing assignment as one of the most effective activities that contributes to their learning in the course.
UR: http://oceanography.geol.ucsb.edu/~gs4/Index.html
DE: 6605 Education
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting