ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPEDITIONARY FIELD TRIPS ON STUDENT MISCONCEPTIONS IN GEOSCIENCES

This study reports the results of the use of the Kurdziel and Libarkin, (2001) geosciences concept test as a summative assessment tool to determine the effect of field-based learning experiences on addressing student misconceptions in the geosciences from two similar interdisciplinary introductory-level expeditionary field programs: Bowling Green State University’s GeoJourney and the University of Georgia Interdisciplinary Field Program. Both programs are 8-9 week long field expeditions which use 29 national and state parklands across the US as field settings to teach introductory-level geologic concepts and both programs employ the use of electronic audio/video aids in vehicles while in route to field stops. The study includes data from 68 students from three different expeditions completed during the summers of 2003 and 2004 and the fall of 2004. Video taped interviews of the participants provide summative anecdotal evidence of the expeditions’ effectiveness on student attitudes towards and perceptions of geology. Geology field experiences traditionally have been touted as examples of pedagogies employing the best practices (e.g. inquiry-based, hands-on, development of higher order thinking skills) in education research. This is the first time a study has been done to measure the effects that using instructional media in route to field stops and field-based introductions to geology has on student misconceptions in the geosciences. As a result of the longstanding lack of a standard viable assessment instrument for use with variable pedagogies, limited quantitative data sets exist allowing comparative analysis of the effectiveness of variable pedagogies on student learning in geosciences. Although studies producing qualitative data and anecdotal evidence support field experiences as models for the use of best practices, the dearth of quantitative data has rendered field-based pedagogies without the necessary evidence required by the community of geoscientists with primary research areas outside an education focus. Few instruments have been developed and validated for assessment of geosciences content or pedagogies, with the exception being the recently developed Kurdziel and Libarkin (2001) geosciences concept test.