USING SOCIAL NETWORKING TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT THE ROCK CYCLE

Online classes are becoming increasingly more common in universities, yet the validity of this teaching method, especially for online laboratory classes, is largely untested. A previous study had students use social networking to both present information and collaborate with their fellow students about certain basic rock characteristics. The results of this study showed high test scores and increased student confidence in the material they learned, but did not directly compare the online assignment with a traditional counterpart. To this end, we compared the performance of students in an online and traditional lab activity to determine if online content delivery is as effective as learning in the laboratory classroom.

In order to measure student learning in both online and traditional collaborative lab activities, we utilized two different lab sections about the rock cycle from an introductory geoscience class. Each group completed an anonymous pre-activity, post-activity, and end-of-semester assessment that was traceable throughout the semester by assigning each student a personal identification number. Each group received the same directed learning materials, modified for the type of course delivery. For the traditional section, this included an interactive project that involved a collaboration amongst the entire class. In the online lab section, the students made a short presentation and shared it with other students. The students then commented on their peers’ presentations.

After analyzing the assessments, we observed an increase in average test scores following the completion of the activity in both types of formats. The average test scores were found to be similar for each session as well. Overall, our results suggest that the students retained similar knowledge in both the online and traditional lecture classes, suggesting that online labs are an effective teaching method when compared to traditional learning.