EXPLORING VOLCANIC SYSTEMS WITH A VIRTUAL VOLCANO SIMULATION AND THE SCIENCE WRITING HEURISTIC

An ongoing study involving over 600 undergraduate students at post-secondary institutions across the country has revealed that while many students have studied Earth science in 9th grade or later, they begin their first post-secondary geoscience courses with a very limited understanding of volcanism and volcanic hazards. Students struggle to conceptualize complex dynamic relationships between active processes within a volcano. In particular, factors that dictate when and how volcanoes erupt are particularly misunderstood, and many students are not able to accurately predict hazards likely to be associated with a specific volcano. Virtual Volcano, a visually rich 3-D computer simulation, allows students to select a volcano from a world map and manipulate slider controls for SiO2 content (by wt %), volatile content (by wt %), and magma temperature (ºC) in order to generate a simulated eruption. The 3-D environment allows students to explore the consequences of their initial conditions from any perspective, including the subsurface. Allowing students experimental control over an otherwise difficult to observe geologic system makes Virtual Volcano ideally suited for implementation via the science writing heuristic, a guided-inquiry writing-to-learn pedagogical model, wherein students make and test their own hypotheses in a collaborative environment. In addition to learning volcanological content, student users gain valuable experience in the evaluation of observations and evidence, experimental design, argumentation, and hypothesis testing. Preliminary testing with undergraduate students shows that most students enjoy the simulation and are engaged through their own explorations and collaborative discussion with their peers. Users interested in the science writing heuristic framework may contact the development team to receive report templates and activity guidelines. A beta version of Virtual Volcano is currently available for Windows XP at: http://create.louisiana.edu/index.php?option=com_jdownloads