A WISH LIST FOR TEACHING PLATE TECTONICS

Teaching Plate Tectonics is essential in any Introductory Geology course, for geology majors and non-majors alike. Whereas students majoring in geology usually easily latch on to Plate Tectonics, the enthusiasm for the elegance of this theory appears to be lost on the majority of non-science majors. Visual and electronic media certainly support getting the theory across yet pretty pictures and animations are not enough for students to grasp the concepts of interacting lithospheric plates. Students have to create their own understanding through research and inquiry-based learning, by manipulating real data, and through writing. Written work gives instructors the opportunities to assess the students’ learning and clarify misconceptions but they also have to be ready to teach students how to write a science paper. Most electronic media and CD-ROMs are not useful for making the structure of a science paper transparent.

On my wish list for teaching plate tectonics would be the following: Real earth science data that allow students to select and manipulate, supported by an electronic medium that lets them create graphics based on their collected data, and instructions for writing a scientific argument, rooted in sound pedagogy. The interactive CD “Our Dynamic Planet,” and course material available on the web, developed by Wm. Prothero together with G. Kelly from UCSB, come closest to fulfilling that wish list. Originally designed for a large oceanography class, the material was modified for use in a small introductory geology class. Students gather and manipulate real earth data of a plate tectonically active region, provided on an interactive CD-ROM. Several smaller writing exercises prepare students for a larger written scientific argument based on the students’ own observations.

My goals are for students to see the relationship between data and scientific theory, to learn how to derive conclusions from interpretations and observations, to back interpretations with observations, to be able to write a scientific argument, to understand the Theory of Plate Tectonics, and to gain a better understanding about how science works. The results of several surveys will be presented that confirm that most of the expected outcomes have been met.