THE EFFECT OF INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION ON CONCEPTUAL GROWTH IN AN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY CLASS AND AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF NON-TRADITIONAL PEDAGOGY

Qualitative and quantitative data from an experimental section (ES) of an introductory geology course were used to evaluate the effects of inquiry-based instruction and affective factors on student learning. Traditional sections of this course meet for two 50 minute lectures and a 110 minute lab weekly. The ES met for two 110 minute sessions per week to facilitate more lab work and inquiry-based learning. The ES comprised 25 students with various backgrounds, interests, and skills. 28% of the students had science or science-related majors.

This study sought 1) to track the effectiveness of group learning on forming relationships where students view their peers as friends (affective domain) and educational resources (cognitive domain) and 2) to assess whether these factors influenced students' progress in developing understanding of geoscience concepts.

Students worked in groups on various projects that required them to form and support their own conclusions. Through this process, students developed research skills and their ability to question, understand and explain problems. The group structure of the class was designed to promote social interaction as well as learning. 73% of the students reported a preference for group learning and 80% preferred the nontraditional learning environment to lecture-based instruction.

Growth of students' understanding of geoscience concepts was evaluated through GCI pre and post testing. Our null hypothesis was that there would be no significant growth of student understanding. T test results for paired samples led us to reject the null hypothesis. The inquiry-dominant ES group showed substantial gains in conceptual understanding. GCI mean scores increased from 35.27±15 (pre test) to 44.17±11 (post test) (n=21). Published GCI data (Libarkin and Anderson 2005), dominated by lecture-based instruction, show means of 43±11 and 47±12 for matched pre and post tests (n= 930). Our results indicate that inquiry-based, constructivist pedagogy produces greater conceptual growth than lecture-based instruction, especially when instructional design includes affective considerations. These results are consistent with the observation of Libarkin and Anderson (2006) that some non-traditional approaches are more effective than lecture alone.