ASSESSING STUDENTS' PRE- AND POST-INSTRUCTION CONCEPTIONS OF AQUIFERS

The teaching and learning of aquifer and groundwater principles has only been assessed in recent years by geoscience education researchers in the United States. The results of these initial assessments indicate that non-scientific, alternate conceptions held by the general public thrive regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, age, level of education, and geographic location. We conducted a study to assess students' pre- and post-instruction conceptions of aquifers and possible factors that lead to students' pre-instruction conceptions in introductory geology courses at Washington State University (WSU) and Youngstown State University (YSU). The assessments consisted of in-class assignments that asked students to draw and label a cross sectional diagram of an aquifer and respond to a number of items on a handout. Pre-instruction assessments indicated that 6% (n = 9/157) of the WSU students and 43% (n = 24/56) of YSU students had no or a naïve conception of an aquifer at the beginning of the course. The results of the post-instruction assessments indicated that all WSU and YSU students had some conception of an aquifer and only 4% (n = 7/157) of WSU students and 2% (1/56) of YSU students still retained a naïve conception of an aquifer at the end of the course. The result from the assessment of students' preconceptions permitted the development of a model-based, conceptual change method for teaching the principles of an aquifer. This instructional method appeared to be effective in overcoming students' initial lack of knowledge and most preconceptions about aquifers based on the results of the post-instruction assessments. Student responses to items on the handouts indicated that the primary source of students' drinking water may have influenced students' preconceptions of aquifers.