HR: 1340h
AN: ED33B-1225    [Abstracts]
TI: Using Lecture Tutorials to Increase Student Learning in Introductory Geoscience Courses
AU: * Kortz, K M
EM: kkortz@ccri.edu
AF: Community College of Rhode Island, Physics Dept 1762 Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI 02865, United States
AU: Smay, J J
EM: jessica.smay@sjcc.edu
AF: San Jose City College, Dept of Physical Sciences 2100 Moorpark Ave, San Jose, CA 95128, United States
AU: Murray, D P
EM: dpmurray@uri.edu
AF: Univ of Rhode Island, Geosciences Woodward Hall, Kingston, RI 02881, United States
AB: Students often leave introductory geoscience courses with their misconceptions still intact, and we developed Lecture Tutorials (LTs) to help alleviate this problem. LTs are 10-15 minute interactive worksheets that students complete in small groups in class, after a short introductory lecture. Topics for the LTs (e.g., climate change, the rock cycle, etc.) were chosen because they are commonly taught in introductory classes and include recognized misconceptions. The LTs typically follow a sequence beginning with factual-based questions that progressively become more difficult and culminating in application-type questions designed to provoke both discussion and critical thinking. Often, one of the latter questions is presented in the form of a debate between two students, where one student expresses the scientifically held view and the other espouses a view based on a common misconception. Students in the class must determine with which student in the LT they agree and explain why. These hypothetical debates allow students to confront their own misconceptions and replace them with the accepted scientific views. Lecture Tutorials increase student learning more than lectures alone. After a short lecture, students correctly answered 58% of multiple-choice questions (including embedded Geoscience Concept Inventory questions), and that value increased by 18% after they completed the LT. To determine if the increase resulted from extra time spent on the topic rather than the unique approach of LTs, we also tested how an extended lecture, in lieu of LTs, affected student scores. After an extended lecture, student scores increased by only 5% on multiple-choice questions. Therefore, we conclude that LTs are more effective than lecture alone in increasing student knowledge. LTs have been written to be relatively easy to implement in classrooms without a large time commitment or dramatic course redesign. Thirteen LTs have currently been tested, and more are being developed. They are available for instructor use by visiting the webpage: http://faculty.ccri.edu/kkortz/lt.shtml.
UR: http://faculty.ccri.edu/kkortz/lt.shtml
DE: 0810 Post-secondary education
DE: 0820 Curriculum and laboratory design
DE: 0825 Teaching methods
DE: 0845 Instructional tools
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting