GEOSPATIAL THINKING AND REASONING ENHANCED IN A STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY AND TECTONICS COURSE USING WEBGIS, AS VALIDATED BY CONTENT EXPERTS

Efficient technologies combined with well-designed curricula facilitate the interpretation and manipulation of spatially referenced data, improving spatial reasoning skills and higher-order cognitive processes. A “Plate Game”(originally developed by K. Condie, and edited by D. Chapman and K. Furlong) integrates geological and geophysical data sets and requires learners to reconstruct ancient plate motions was more effective when delivered as a GIS assignment. It allows students to creatively apply tectonics content, but they require appropriate background knowledge. We present Web GIS based tectonics tools including full raster coverages of marine and terrestrial data sets, including topography, bathymetry, sediment composition and thickness, magnetic anomalies earthquakes, and geology. The Web GIS layers promote inquiry based learning and geospatial thinking. Users are able to dynamically explore plate and tectonic processes. Implementation with Lehigh University undergraduate students resulted in a significant learning increase in tectonics content and geospatial thinking and reasoning when compared to the business as usual approach, a paper-based exercise. High student engagement during activities and learning by exploration and inquiry is effective. The assignments promote creativity and scientific reasoning, e.g. consideration of multiple working hypotheses. Students are guided by instructional videos and direct contact hours with real-time instructor feedback. Scaffolding guides students towards a solution without limiting their individual creative processes. The Web GIS and exercises are freely available on the Web (http://gisweb.cc.lehigh.edu/tectonics/).