ASSESSING LEARNING OUTCOMES IN FIELD GEOLOGY INSTRUCTION

Field-based instruction is widely acknowledged to be a central part of undergraduate education in geology, and recent research into understanding and documenting learning gains in the field is realizing significant advances. This is partly due to a growing focus on monitoring the growth of problem solving skills and related cognition. The essential problems motivating continuing studies of field geology education are related to a persistent lack of reliable and objective assessments of student learning, and a lack of clear insight into nature and causes of learning barriers commonly encountered by students in the field. While anecdotal data, years of instructional experience, and time-tested, successful instructional approaches are abundant within the geological community, we still have little insight into how students succeed in field courses and how to intervene during instruction to increase learning in the field for a broader array of students. The central challenge is the lack of direct observations into student problem solving processes. Exactly what happens in students’ minds at the outcrop in the field is only just coming to be understood. Many studies are geared toward summative assessments (e.g. analysis of final maps or projects), but we have only basic documentation of real-time thought processes. A handful of recent and ongoing studies have experimented with novel approaches to understanding thought processes and geologic problem solving in the field, including the use of GPS to track student navigation, field-portable eye-tracking during field work, real-time recordings of reflective field notes, and direct observations of student behavior. These studies are starting to document the stages of geologic problem solving such as disembedding of relevant information from outcrops, real-time interpretation of this information by students, and incorporation of information into evolving geologic models. These same studies are also beginning to show where these processes break down for less successful students, which in turn will lead to insights into instructional interventions. This presentation will review current developments in assessment of learning in field geology instruction at the advanced undergraduate level, and suggest possible directions and new challenges in this research area.