The Value of Click-on-Diagram Questions in Geoscience

地质学的研究需要图表来表示大多数地质结构和过程的极端空间和时间尺度，然而图表可能是学生误解的来源。最近网络技术的进步使得课堂工具可以让学生直接点击图表来回答老师的问题。然后，教师可以显示图表的热图，显示学生的反应频率，并使用此反馈来指导教学。本提案的主要研究人员对该技术进行了试点测试，发现点击图表问题揭示了地球科学教育文献中没有记录的空间误解。本项目的目标是：(1)将点击图问题与定性方法相结合，验证新的空间误解的存在；(2)对比选择题和开放式点击图题的学习效果；(3)培训教师开发可提高学生对地质学空间理解的图解题。该项目旨在通过建立关于改进STEM教学实践的证据，以及通过实施和测试方法来改善教育研究对教学实践的采用，从而改善STEM学习。这项工作将侧重于地质学课程，但提高对学生对图表误解的理解适用于大多数（如果不是所有的话）STEM领域。一项课堂研究将测试教育研究文献中确定的两种学习机制：空间反馈和提示与开放检索。除了教育研究活动外，该项目还旨在促进在本科STEM课堂中广泛使用循证资源和教学法。为此，教师研讨会将帮助教师提出问题，评估记录在案的地质学误解，并探索教师在自己的课堂上观察到的概念性挑战。研讨会的交付成果将是设计建议，如何将现有的课堂问题转变为有效的点击图表问题。本项目开发的问题将在STEM教育资源中心的“行动教学法”网页上开放获取。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The study of geology requires diagrams to represent the extreme spatial and temporal scales of most geologic structures and processes, yet diagrams can be the source of student misconceptions. Recent advancements in web-based technology have resulted in classroom tools that allow students to click directly on a diagram in response to an instructor's question. Instructors can then display a heat map of the diagram that shows the frequency of students' responses and use this feedback to guide instruction. The principle investigators of this proposal have pilot tested this technique and found that click-on-diagram questions reveal spatial misconceptions that are not documented in the geoscience education literature. The goals of this project are to: (1) Combine click-on-diagram questions with qualitative methods to validate the existence of novel spatial misconceptions; (2) Contrast the learning from multiple choice and open-ended click-on-diagram questions; and (3) Train instructors to develop click-on-diagram questions that can improve students' spatial understanding in geology.This project aims to improve STEM learning by building evidence about improved STEM instructional practices and by implementing and testing approaches to improve adoption of education research into teaching practice. The work will focus on geology courses, but improved understanding of student misconceptions about diagrams and charts is applicable to most, if not all STEM fields. A classroom study will test two learning mechanisms identified in the education research literature: spatial feedback and cued versus open retrieval. In addition to its education research activities, the project also aims to foster widespread use of evidence-based resources and pedagogies in undergraduate STEM classrooms. To this end, a faculty workshop will help instructors develop questions that assess documented geology misconceptions and that explore conceptual challenges that instructors have observed in their own classrooms. A workshop deliverable will be design recommendations for how to change existing classroom questions into effective click-on-diagram questions. The questions developed in this project will be hosted for open access on the STEM Education Resources Center Pedagogy in Action webpage.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.