Collaborative Research: Synthesis of Research on Thinking and Learning in the Geosciences

拟议的项目将综合现有知识，阐明与地球科学相关的认知和学习研究的关键领域未解决的问题。这项研究将集中于四个主题：(a)地质时间；(b)地球复杂系统；(c)地球科学的空间思维；(d)实地学习。一小群地球科学、地球科学教育、学习研究和认知科学方面的专家将聚集在一起，进行为期一周的学习/头脑风暴/写作静修。在写作静修之前，将有一个较小的为期两天的计划会议，在会议上，他们将阐明四个主题中的每个主题的主要问题，并确定一个具有足够研究基础的子集进行综合。研究结果将通过会议、网站和期刊传播，包括《地球科学教育杂志》的特刊，以及一份面向学习科学界的期刊。

The proposed project will synthesize existing knowledge and articulate unanswered questions in critical areas of research on cognition and learning relevant to the Geosciences. The study will focus on four themes: (a) geological time, (b) complex systems of the Earth, (c) spatial thinking in Geosciences and (d) field-base learning. A small group of experts in geoscience, geoscience education, research on learning, and cognitive science will gather for a week-long learning/brainstorming/writing retreat. The writing retreat will be preceded by a smaller two-day planning meeting, at which they will articulate major questions on each of the four themes, and identify a subset that have sufficient research base for synthesis. Findings will be disseminated through conference, websites, and journals, including a special issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education, and a journal that reaches the learning sciences community.