Deconstructing a Geology Field Trip to Reconstruct Around a Pedagogical Framework: A Case Study on the Integration of Cognitive Learning Theories and Learning Progressions.
Main Article Content
Abstract
Field-based education is an integral component of undergraduate geoscience curricula and provides educational and social benefits associated with enhanced learning. But field excursions can too often end up as simple show-and-tell events and fall short of implementing effective teaching practices and achieving desired student learning gains. Moreover, logistical and economic pressures tend to discourage or impede the inclusion of field-based activities in undergraduate geoscience programs, especially in commuter-based colleges and universities. This case study shares how a one-day field trip offered at a commuter-based undergraduate campus of Indiana University was deconstructed to identify content-specific learning outcomes, and then reconstructed to a unit-based learning progression. The site-specific geologic content focused on describing and correlating outcrops of Paleozoic sedimentary strata in the Starved Rock area of Illinois. Shifting from a single-day field trip to a multi-session learning progression focused on instructional scaffolding and emphasized formative assessments that integrate cognitive learning theories including retrieval practice, elaboration, spaced practice and dual coding. Common practices of field geologists such as creating sketches of outcrops (dual-coding) were purposefully integrated as meaningful activities with opportunities for peer mentoring and reflection. Restructuring to a three-week unit included pre- and post-trip assessments to enable instructors to identify and address knowledge gaps and facilitate self-driven learning opportunities for students.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (JoSoTL) right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC-BY) 4.0 International, allowing others to share the work with proper acknowledgement and citation of the work's authorship and initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
- Authors are able to enter separate, additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
- In pursuit of manuscripts of the highest quality, multiple opportunities for mentoring, and greater reach and citation of JoSoTL publications, JoSoTL encourages authors to share their drafts to seek feedback from relevant communities unless the manuscript is already under review or in the publication queue after being accepted. In other words, to be eligible for publication in JoSoTL, manuscripts should not be shared publicly (e.g., online), while under review (after being initially submitted, or after being revised and resubmitted for reconsideration), or upon notice of acceptance and before publication. Once published, authors are strongly encouraged to share the published version widely, with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
References
American Geophysical Institute. 2019. Does your department have a Licensure Qualifying Program? Factsheet 2019-002; October 28, 2019.
Anderson, J. R. (1983). A spreading activation theory of memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22, 261–295. DOI: 10.1016/S0022-5371(83)90201-3
Baddeley 1998. Recent Developments in Working Memory. Current Opinion in Neurobiology.8, 2, 234-238. DOI: 10.1016/S0959-4388(98)80145-1
Bloom, Benjamin S. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. New York: Longmans, Green, 1956. Print.
Boyle, A., Maguire, S., Martin, A., Milsom, C., Nash, R., Rawlinson, S., Turner, A., Wurthmann, S., Conchie, S. 2007. Fieldwork is Good: the Student Perception and the Affective Domain. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 31 (2). 299–317. DOI: 10.1080/03098260601063628
Bruning, R., Schraw, G., Norby, M., & Ronning, R. (2004). Cognitive psychology and instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Clark, J.M., Paivio, A. 1991. Dual Coding Theory and Education. Educational Psychology Review, 3 (3): 149-209. DOI: 10.1077BF01320076
Cohen, P. A. 1980. Effectiveness of Student-Rating Feedback for Improving College Instruction: A Meta-Analysis of Findings. Research in Higher Education 13 (4): 321–41. DOI: 10.1007/BF00976252
Duncan and Hmelo‐Silver, 2009. Learning Progressions: Aligning Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46 (6) 606-609. DOI: 10.1002/tea.20316
Dunlosky, J. (2013). Strengthening the student toolbox: study strategies to boost learning. American Educator, 37(3), 12–21.
Dunlosky, J., and J. Metcalfe. 2009. Metacognition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. (HA Ruger & CE Bussenius, Trans.1913). Reprinted with permission (2013). Annals of Neuroscience 20: 155-156. DOI: 10.5214/ans.0972.7531.200408
Elkins, J.T, Elkins, N.M.L. (2007) Teaching Geology in the Field: Significant Geoscience Concept Gains in Entirely Field-based Introductory Geology Courses, Journal of Geoscience Education, 55:2, 126-132, DOI: 10.5408/1089-9995-55.2.126
Engelkamp, J., & Zimmer, H. D. (1984). Motor programme information as a separable memory unit. Psychological Research, 46, 283–299. DOI: 10.1007/bf0030888
Felder, R.M., 1993. Reaching the Second Tier: Learning and Teaching Styles in College Science Education. J. College Science Teaching, 23(5), 286-290.
Project-based Field Trips to the Starved Rock Area for Geoscience Educators, Northern Illinois, North-Central Geological Society of America, April 20, Geological Science Field Trip Guidebook 2016, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State Geological Survey
Kang, S. H. (2016). Spaced repetition promotes efficient and effective learning policy implications for instruction. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3, 12–19. DOI: 10.1177/2372732215624708
Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches: Geological Society of America Special Paper 461, p. 57–64, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE461
Knowles, M. S. (1990). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co.
McConnell, R.J. (1979). The geography teacher and outdoor education. New Zealand Journal of
Geography, 66, 9–12. DOI: 10.1111/j.0028-8292.1979.tb00630.x
McKenzie, G.D., Utgard, R.O., & Lisowski, M. (1986). The importance of field trips: A geological example. Journal of College Science Teaching, 16(1), 17–20.
McNamara, E.S., & Fowler, H.S. (1975). Out-of-doors earth science: One reason why. School Science and Mathematics, 75, 413–418.
National Research Council (NRC). (2005). Systems for state science assessments. In M.R. Wilson & M.W. Bertenthal (Eds.), Committee on testing design on K-12 science achievement. Washington, DC: The National Academy Press. DOI: 10.17226/11312
National Research Council (NRC). (2007). Taking science to school: Learning and teaching science in grade K-8. In R.A. Duschl, H.A. Schweingruber, & A.W. Shouse (Eds.), Committee on science learning, kindergarten through eighth grade. Washington, DC: The National Academy Press. DOI: 10.17226/11625
Nelson, T. O., and J. Dunlosky. 1991. When People’s Judgments of Learning Are Extremely Accurate at Predicting Subsequent Recall: The Delayed JOL Effect. Psychological Science 2 (4): 267–70. DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2017.1406523
Nelson RS, Malone DH, Jacobson RJ, Frankie WT (1996) Guide to the geology of Buffalo Rock and Matthiessen state parks area, La Salle County, Illinois: Field Trip Guidebook 1996C, Illinois State Geological Survey, 62 p.
Pashler, H., Bain, P. M., Bottge, B. A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., and Metcalfe, J. (2007). Organizing instruction and study to improve student learning. IES practice guide. NCER 2007–2004. National Center for Education Research.
Popham, J.W., 2007, The lowdown on learning progressions: Educational Leadership, v. 64, no. 7, p. 83–84.
Postman, L. (1976). Methodology of human learning. In W. K. Estes (Ed.), Handbook of learning and cognitive processes (Vol. 3). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Puntambekar, S., Hübscher, R. 2010. Tools for scaffolding students in a complex learning environment: What have we gained and what have we missed? Educational Psychologist. 40 (1). 1-12. DOI: 10.1207/s15326985ep4001_1
Roediger, H. L. (1985). Remembering Ebbinghaus. [Retrospective review of the book On Memory, by H. Ebbinghaus]. Contemporary Psychology, 30, 519–523. DOI: 10.1037/023895
Rosenshine, B. & Meister, C. (1992). The use of scaffolds for teaching higher level cognitive strategies. Educational Leadership. April. 26-33.
Salatas, H. and Flavell, J.H. 1976. Retrieval of Recently Learned Information: Development of Strategies and Control Skills. Child Development, 47 (4), 941-948. DOI: 10.2307/1128429
Salter, C.L. (2001). No bad landscape. The Geographical Review, 91, 105–112. DOI: 10.1111/j.1931-0846.2001.tb00463.x
Scotese, C.R., 2002, http://www.scotese.com, (PALEOMAP website).
Shepphard, P., Donaldson, B.A., Huckleberry, G. 2010. Quantitative assessment of a field-based course on integrative geology, ecology and cultural history. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 19 (4), 295-313. DOI: 10.1080/10382046.2010.519150
Simons, K.D., Klein, J.D. 2007.The Impact of Scaffolding and Student Achievement Levels in a Problem-based Learning Environment. Instructional Science. 35:41–72. DOI: 10.1007/s11251-006-9002-5.
Stokes, A., and Boyle, A.P., 2009, The undergraduate geoscience fieldwork experience: Influencing factors and implications for learning, in Whitmyer, S.J., Mogk, D.W., and Pyle, E.J., eds., Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modem Approaches: Geological Society of America Special Paper 461, p. 291-311, doi: 10.113012009.2461 (23).
Schunk, Dale H. Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective. , 2016. Print.
Thomas, R.C., and Roberts, S., 2009, Experience One: Teaching the geoscience curriculum in the fi eld using experiential immersion learning, in Whitmeyer, S.J., Mogk, D.W., and Pyle, E.J., eds., Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches: Geological Society of America Special Paper 461, p. 65–76, doi: 10.1130/2009.2461(07)
Thomson, D. M., & Tulving, E. Associative encoding and retrieval: Weak and strong cues. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1970, 86, 255-262. DOI: 10.1037/h0029997
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 159pp.
Walberg, H. 1991. Improving School Science in Advanced and Developing Countries. Review of Educational Research. 61(1) 25-69. DOI: 10.3102/00346543061001025
Wammes, J. D., Meade, M. E., Fernandes, M. A. (2016). The drawing effect: evidence for reliable and robust memory benefits in free recall. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69, 1752–1776. DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2015.1094494
Weinstein, Y., Gilmore, A. W., Szpunar, K. K., McDermott, K. B. (2014). The role of test expectancy in the build-up of proactive interference in long-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 40, 1039–1048. doi: 10.1037/a003616
Whitmeyer, S.J., Mogk, D.W., and Pyle, E.J., 2009, An introduction to historical perspectives on and modern approaches to fi eld geology education, in Whitmeyer, S.J., Mogk, D.W., and Pyle, E.J., eds., Field Geology Education: Historical Perspectives and Modern Approaches: Geological Society of America Special Paper 461, p. vii–ix, doi: 10.1130/2009.2461(00).
Wiggins, Grant, and McTighe, Jay. (1998). Backward Design. In Understanding by Design (pp. 13-34). ASCD.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The Understanding by Design guide to creating high-quality units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Winkelmes, MA. (2013) Transparency in Teaching: Faculty Share Data and Improve Students' Learning. Liberal Education 99, 2.