A NEW SURVEY TOOL FOR ASSESSING ATTITUDES ABOUT LEARNING GEOLOGY: THE COLORADO LEARNING ATTITUDES ABOUT SCIENCE SURVEY, GEOLOGY VERSION

Numerous studies have investigated student attitudes regarding science to improve teaching, but there are few that focus on geology. The lack of geology attitudinal studies may be attributed to current validated surveys that inadequately capture the unique nature of learning geology and/or the difficulty of processing large number of questions in a variety of testing formats. Instructors can develop surveys to provide timely and appropriate information regarding their specific class, but due to limited resources, these surveys are not validated to ensure the questions that will not be interpreted in multiple ways.

The Colorado Learning Attitude about Science Survey (C-LASS) was developed to assess student attitudes effectively in multiple undergraduate classes by developing discipline-based versions. The survey consists of multiple correlated statements to capture viewpoints in five categories that influence science learning: personal interest, real-world connections, problem solving abilities, sense making/effort, and conceptual connections. Students respond using a Likert-scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree) and scoring is based on the percentage of students that agree with an expert view (favorable); disagree with the expert view (non-favorable); or did not express a preference (moderate). Rigorous validation ensures that statements in each version of the C-LASS are discipline appropriate. Statements are tested in interviews with faculty and students for clarity and brevity, which results in unambiguous expert and novice responses, respectively.

Surveys are administered in the first two weeks of the course (pre-semester) and at the last week of the course (post-semester) Easy processing means responses can identify potential areas of concern at the start of the semester such as low self-efficacy in problem-solving or a lack of personal interest in geology. Comparison of pre and post surveys measures attitudinal changes in the five categories due to the course itself. If there a negative or no shift in attitude, faculty can modify course material for future use that address specific issues, such as conceptual connections.