Collaborative Research: Enhancing the Geosciences Curriculum Using GeoBrowsers-based Learning Objects

该项目正在创建计算机资源和相关的教案，以帮助本科生使用Google Earth(TM)可视化地质学，并将评估使用真实研究数据与简化教科书的学习。全国的学生将能够通过熟悉的谷歌地球界面来研究巨大的地质规模和深部地质时代的概念，从而获得一种技术赋权的感觉。正在开发交互式模型，以显示各种地质特征，如山脉、构造断层、火山、矿藏和油气圈闭，当学生在计算机显示器上拖动鼠标时，这些特征会从地下浮现出来。通过研究覆盖在谷歌地球表面的古地理修复与具有代表性的岩石和矿物样本，学生有独特的启示来理解地质时间尺度。测试课上的鼠标和键盘操作被用来评估学生学习的系统性。集中在教学密集型2年制和4年制大学的大学教授小组将参加适合州和地方需求的教案设计研讨会。他们将测试学习对象，并充当顾问委员会。两项更大规模的研究正在评估匹配的队列(不同班级的学生，他们的教授相同，GPA大致相同，等等)。测试将发现学生的误解，并将包括迁移类型的问题，学生必须明智地概括。智力价值：从这个项目中学习的目标是促进本科生对地质学和地球物理学的理解，并通过超链接到研究数据的4-D互动地球仪来更全面地了解地球。考虑到关于学生如何通过技术学习的研究结果，预计该项目将显著提高下一代地球科学家的知识和技能。更广泛的影响：在地球科学入门课程和高级地球科学课程中开发和使用创新的可视化材料，促进了广大学生对科学和科学调查性质的发现和理解。免费下载这些材料将促进广泛传播。

The project is creating computer resources and associated lesson plans to aid undergraduate students in visualizing geology using Google Earth (TM) and will assess learning with real research data versus textbook simplifications. Students nationwide will be able to investigate concepts of vast geologic scale and deep geologic time via the familiar interface of Google Earth, and thereby gain a sense of technological empowerment. Interactive models are being developed to show a variety of geologic features, such as mountains, tectonic faults, volcanoes, mineral deposits, and hydrocarbon traps, that emerge from the sub-surface when students drag the mouse across their computer monitors. By studying paleogeographic restorations draped over the Google Earth surface in association with representative rock and mineral specimens, students have a unique affordance to understand the geological timescale. Logging of mouse and keyboard actions in test classes are being used to evaluate the systematicity of student learning.Focus groups of college professors in teaching-intensive 2- and 4-year colleges will attend workshops on lesson plan design suited to state and local needs. They will test the learning objects and serve as an advisory board. Two larger-scale studies are assessing matched cohorts (students in different classes who have the same professor and whose GPAs, etc., are roughly equivalent). Tests will identify student misconceptions and will include transfer-type questions in which students have to generalize wisely.Intellectual Merit: Learning objects from this project are promoting undergraduate comprehension of geology and geophysics and a more complete understanding of Planet Earth with the aid of 4-D interactive globes that hyperlink to research data. Mindful of research findings on how students learn via technology, it is predicted that the project will significantly improve the knowledge and skills of the next generation of geoscientists. Broader Impact: The development and use of innovative visualization materials in both introductory and upper-level geoscience courses are advancing discovery and understanding of the nature of science and scientific investigations among a wide and diverse population of students. The availability of these materials for free download will promote broad dissemination.