DEVELOPMENT OF AN ONLINE GEOSCIENCE CURRICULUM: THE USE OF “SCALE” TO ENHANCE SCIENCE LEARNING

A geoscience curriculum should not only provide content instruction, but also emphasize the nature of science and foster the development of scientific habits of mind within students. While previous educational research studies revealed that inquiry-based and active-learning strategies in traditional classrooms resulted in meaningful student learning, there has been little research in the translation of these methods into online environments. Therefore, we investigated curriculum development in the online environment by which geoscience content, the nature of science, and scientific habits of mind can be conveyed to online students. Our research also attempted to incorporate the guiding principle of many geologists, or that “geology is best taught in the field.”

We researched online geoscience curriculum development over multiple semesters (N = 15) and several online geoscience courses (N = 6). Our research demonstrated that online curriculum development proceeds successfully through incorporation of SCALE. Student learning was enhanced when our online geoscience classrooms incorporated Self-directed autonomous student activities, Community-based learning, both within an students’ local areas and in the online environment, Active-learning strategies that require students to move beyond the computer environment, and Local Environment incorporation for easy access and sense of place relevance to individual learners. Our SCALE method allows for interdisciplinary and integrated science curriculum in a variety of online science environments. The resultant geoscience content is also consistent with the learning theory of human constructivism, which emphasizes that “less is more,” while promoting quality over quantity, meaning over memorization, and understanding over awareness.

We found that SCALE can be accomplished through autonomous informal activities that utilize students’ local field sites, history of science investigations, online community discussions, and interdisciplinary topic portals for self-directed research. Our mixed methodology research investigations indicate that more successful learning occurs within an online geoscience SCALE curriculum. SCALE may also result in more positive student attitudes toward online science courses.