A Summary and Analysis of Twenty-Seven Years of Geoscience Conceptions Research Kim A

Commentary: A Summary and Analysis of Twenty-Seven Years of Geoscience Conceptions Research Kim A. Cheek1 ABSTRACT Seventy-nine studies in geoscience conceptions appeared in peer-reviewed publications in English from 1982 through July 2009. Summaries of the 79 studies suggest certain recurring themes across subject areas: issues with terms, scale (temporal and spatial), role of prior experience, and incorrect application of everyday knowledge to geoscience phenomena. The majority of studies reviewed were descriptive and employed only one method of data collection and response type. Eleven-fourteen-year-olds and university undergraduates were most commonly represented in the samples. A small percentage of studies of geoscience conceptions of K-12 students made reference to standards documents or a curriculum as justification for the research design. More directed descriptive studies, along with greater parity between descriptive and intervention studies is needed. Greater attention to developmental theories of concept acquisition, national standards documents, and intersection with cognitive science literature are warranted. INTRODUCTION students to erroneous conclusions about geoscience Research into students’ conceptions in science has phenomena. Much of the research on student conceptions been going on for several decades. There is a large body of of geologic time and plate tectonics has been conducted scientific conceptions literature, though there is since her review. It is important to determine whether her comparatively less in the geosciences than in other earlier conclusions apply to newer research and novel scientific disciplines (Libarkin, S. Anderson, Science, topics. Dove did not discuss methodologies of the studies Beilfuss, & Boone, 2005; Dodick & Orion, 2003a). she reviewed. With the research base that has developed Nevertheless, a substantial body of research into students’ in the eleven years since her review, a discussion of geoscience conceptions has appeared within the past methodological trends is warranted. twenty-seven years. It is prudent to periodically review King’s (2008) more recent geoscience education the available research literature within a discipline and review provides a broad overview of factors important in summarize what has been done to date. Reviews provide geoscience education, including geoscience conceptions. direction for future research, curricular and instructional Like Dove, King’s review did not discuss studies’ decisions, and educational policy. methodologies. This paper updates the synthesis of Dove Two prior literature reviews provide a foundation for and King while also providing an overview of this paper. Dove’s (1998) narrative review dealt with methodologies employed in these studies. students’ ideas about rocks, volcanoes, earthquakes, Seventy-nine studies dealing with geoscience Earth’s structure, landforms, weathering, erosion, and conceptions that appeared in the literature between 1982 soil. The focus of her summary and conclusions was on and July, 2009 were reviewed. An initial electronic commonalities among studies’ results. She found that database search was conducted. Additional articles were students tended to: found through reference lists within articles and a hand Use everyday terms such as “pebble” in scientific search of major science education journals in which contexts geoscience conceptions research appears. The review was Confuse concepts that are closely related or are limited to peer-reviewed journal articles in English. In a taught together few instances, two articles by the same author(s) described Rely on insignificant features such as color to identify one study albeit different aspects. In those cases, the two specimens articles were reported together. Articles that argue for a Ascribe human or animal characteristics to objects or particular teaching methodology but provide no data that events tests the effect of the strategy on conceptual change were Have trouble visualizing changes in Earth’s surface not included. Following the precedent of King (2008) and features over time Dove (1998), the review was limited primarily to articles Generalize too broadly (all igneous rocks come from dealing with what has traditionally been seen as Earth volcanoes) science. Studies that would fall under the heading of Earth Lack sufficient background knowledge to acquire system science--oceanographic, astronomical, or new geoscience concepts atmospheric processes--were excluded with one Hold explanatory ideas that mirror those held by exception. Climate change issues are frequently covered earlier generations of scientists (Dove, 1998) by the mainstream news media. They are some of the most significant geoscience issues of which the general Dove noted that textbooks and teaching public is aware, have implications for the entire Earth methodologies can be partly blamed for students’ system, and particularly relate to human interactions with conceptual difficulties. In a desire to simplify concepts for the Earth system. Understanding these issues is important novices, definitions and stereotypical schematics can lead for the development of an educated citizenry that can make wise decisions regarding sustainability. Thus, 1 Valley Forge Christian College, Department of Education; articles dealing with students’ conceptions of climate [email protected] 122 Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 58, n. 3, May, 2010, p. 122-134 change issues have been included in this review. 5-14-year-olds) believed that soils are put down as rock The seventy-nine studies were sorted into subject layers (Gosselin & Macklem-Hurst, 2002) perhaps because areas based upon their primary emphasis (Table 1). This they focus on the horizons in a soil profile. was done to facilitate discussion of common themes across A contributing factor to these broad generalizations studies while generating a manageable number of was a misunderstanding of terms. Word pairs such as categories. Sorting was done from a developmental minerals and rocks or soil and dirt were viewed as perspective according to when a student would likely first synonymous. Terms with multiple meanings were be exposed to a particular topic in the U.S. (American problematic, particularly those with vernacular as well as Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993). This scientific meanings (Kusnick, 2002; Happs, 1984, 1985; may not correspond to curriculum progressions outside Rule, 2005; Gosselin & Macklem-Hurst, 2002). For the U.S. The choice of subject areas was based upon the example, both preservice teachers and 11-12-year-olds primary emphasis of the study as stated by the authors. tended to ascribe common everyday terms and meanings Findings that apply in another area are reported there as to phenomena rather than scientific ones, i.e., clay is well. The general geoscience subject area includes studies something you use to make pottery (Rule, 2007), texture whose aim was to probe conceptions across a range of means “rough,” “bumpy,” or “sharp” (Ford, 2005, p. 286), geoscience topics. Findings reported in those studies were or rocks are found in nature but are not building materials sorted into the remaining subject areas and added to the (Dove, 1996). Even 11-12-year-olds could supply a school already tabulated studies to create column three of Table definition of a term like “rock” after instruction. This 1. Since many in this group describe results for multiple didn’t always mean that they had good conceptual subject areas, the total number of studies listed in column understanding, however. Those same children tended to three is greater than 79. view the rock cycle as the cause of rock formation rather than a description of possible pathways through which SUMMARY OF FINDINGS BY SUBJECT AREA lithospheric materials might pass (Ford, 2003). In one Key findings for each subject area are summarized. instance, learners did not generalize broadly enough. Results of the eleven general geoscience studies are Oversby (1996) found that a majority of preservice discussed under the particular topic areas to which they teachers thought a footprint preserved in rock and a apply. Summaries focus on recurring themes across mammoth frozen in ice were not fossils. studies. Participants in these studies tended to view Earth as static and unchanging and believed many geologic Earth Materials & Structures processes require far shorter periods of time than they This section includes studies on rocks, minerals, clays, actually do. Kusnick (2002) says, “Students can quote the soil, renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, water, age of the Earth, but they still cite surprisingly short time groundwater, & watersheds. Students at a variety of ages scales in describing rock formation” (p. 35). Rule (2005) had difficulty identifying rock types or specific rocks and found that a significant number of preservice elementary minerals (Finley, 1982; Stofflett, 1993; Blake, 2004). teachers thought petroleum forms in hundreds of years or Identification frequently focused on surface features such less. Similarly, some 11-17-year-olds and university as color. However, both Finley and Blake found that students in Happs’ (1984) study estimated the age of soil students developed more scientific understanding of as less than 20 years. Others in the same sample said up to minerals and rocks, respectively as a result of instruction. 100 million years. The latter figure may suggest that some Across studies, broad generalizations were common. For students

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