What do our students really know about geophysics?

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What are earthquakes? & What causes them?

A summary of student conceptions of earthquakes and other underpinning topics as informed by 30 years of research

Michael Hubenthal, Senior Education SpecialistJuly, 2011 v2.0

What are some of your students’ ideas about Eqs?

Explore

Student Understandings• Children develop their own non-scientific explanations

of events, prior to instruction (e.g. Ault, 1982, 1984, 1994)

• Can express scientifically accurate statements while also holding misconceptions ( e.g. Cohen & Kagan, 1979)

• Can recite correct definitions with no understanding (e.g. Haz et al, 1987)

• Understanding; description and explanation (Newton, 2000)

Explain

Challenges to conceptual understanding in the geosciences

(Ault, 1984)

( Blake, 2005)

(Piaget, 1929)

Explain

What is an EQ? - Young students(Ross and Shuell, 1991; Sharpe et al., 1995)

(Leather, 1987; Sharpe et al., 1995)

(Tsai, 2001)

Explain

What is an EQ? >age 14

(Barrow & Haskings, 1996; DeLaughter et al., 1998; Libarkin et al., 2005)Explain

Location of EQs

Leather, 1987; Shapre et al., 1995; Philips, 1991; Schoon, 1992Explain

Tectonic Plates

Nottis, 1995; Marques & Thompson, 1997; Libarkin et al, 2005Explain

Sharpe et al., 1995

Lillo, 1994

DeLaughter et al., 1998; Libarkin et al., 2005

Explain

Why is sizing this up important?

Elaborate

Making waves into your classroom

Elaborate

?

• Alternative or shallow conceptions exists despite instruction (e.g. Marques & Thompson, 1997)

• Across a huge span of ages middle school through undergraduates (e.g. Barrow and Haskings, 1996 & Libarkin et al, 2005)

• Strategies for addressing alternative conceptions do exist.

• drawings provide excellent opportunities for students to express their conceptual understanding, subsequent classroom discussion, one-on-one conversation, in-class questions

• Evidence that alternative approaches to traditional geophysics instruction can be effective (Steer et al, 2005)

We have some evidence that alternative instruction can overcome these misconceptions

Steer et al, 2005 – Relative thicknesses of Earth’s chemical boundaries.

The good news