Investigation of alternative conceptions about Plate Tectonics across the expert-novice continuum: When a well-known theory isn't so well known

地质学（42）本专题调查学生和专家对板块构造的概念性理解。由于板块构造是地球上大多数动态过程的概念模型，因此对模型基本原理的深入理解对于培养未来的地球科学家和科学素养的公众至关重要。该项目的总体目标是：1）突出对学生理解构成障碍的具体概念; 2）通过在演讲和期刊出版物中传播结果，使教师意识到问题的严重性; 3）调查板块构造模型的复杂性、跨学科性和持续演变是否导致教学工具中嵌入了替代概念，与潜在的通过这些替代的概念，以目前的本科生和研究生;和，4）改善教育实践，使教师意识到共同的替代概念举行的学生以及问题与模棱两可的表示数字，并建议替代方法来教学有关板块构造使用图像。正在开发专门针对研究中揭示的替代概念和问题领域的讲座教程。讲座导师将通过出版物和通过在全国会议上的教师讲习班传播。 该项目影响了几个社区，包括地理认知研究人员，教师和学生。该项目通过在专家-新手连续体中生成独特的、全面的板块构造概念数据集，为STEM教育知识库做出贡献。此外，这项工作对未来的地球科学教育实践和研究具有重要意义，通过深入了解常用插图对概念模型开发的重要性和影响。

Geology (42)This project is investigating students' and experts' conceptual understanding of plate tectonics. Because plate tectonics is the conceptual model through which most dynamic processes on Earth are understood, a solid understanding of the basic tenets of the model is crucial in developing future geoscientists and a scientifically literate public. The overarching goals for this project are to 1) highlight specific concepts that pose barriers to students' comprehension; 2) make faculty aware of the extent of the problem by disseminating results in presentations and journal publications; 3) investigate whether or not the complexity, interdisciplinarity, and the continual evolution of the plate tectonic model leads to alternative conceptions being embedded within instructional tools, with the potential for passing these alternative conceptions on to current undergraduate and graduate students; and, 4) improve educational practices by making instructors aware of common alternative conceptions held by students as well as problems with equivocal representations in figures, and by suggesting alternative approaches to teaching about plate tectonics using images. Lecture Tutorials are being developed that specifically target alternative conceptions and problem areas revealed in the research. The Lecture Tutorials will be disseminated via publication and through a faculty workshop at a national conference. This project impacts several communities, including geocognition researchers, faculty and students. This project is contributing to the STEM education knowledge base by generating a unique, comprehensive data set of plate tectonics conceptions across the expert-novice continuum. Additionally, this work is having significant implications for future geoscience education practice and research, by providing insight into the importance and impact of commonly used illustrations for development of conceptual models.