UTILIZING PROBLEM SOLVING AND INQUIRY IN THE TEACHING OF EARTH SCIENCE AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL

Using a problem solving/inquiry approach to teaching involves opportunities for the students to observe, question, manipulate and draw conclusions based on information gathered. Earth science lends itself to this approach in that it deals with many concrete concepts that can be easily manipulated. When working with college students who intend to teach, this approach gives them an understanding beyond that of rote learning. As a result, they have the ability to pass this information on to their students with more clarity.

At the University of Texas at Dallas we use a problem solving/inquiry approach when training pre-service teachers as well as in the instruction of classroom teachers who are pursuing a graduate degree. Most of these students have very little science background. Giving them the opportunity to learn content, particularly earth science content, has been enthusiastically received. Our students indicate that learning in this manner has been extremely beneficial, allowing them to feel more confident and competent when teaching the material to their own students.

This presentation will discuss specific methodologies used in the teaching of certain geology concepts with the possibility of transferring this teaching style to the introductory courses in physical geology.