PREDICT-OBSERVE-EXPLAIN: A PROMISING ACTIVE LEARNING PEDAGOGY FOR PROMOTING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING, SELF-EFFICACY, AND INTEREST IN GEOSCIENCE IN INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY

Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) is an inquiry based pedagogy that has been implemented in physics, atmospheric sciences, and chemistry. Previous literature suggests the POE pedagogy is useful for facilitating conceptual change. POE is typically implemented with classroom demonstrations of discrepant events or computer-based simulations. Engaging students in predictions elicits students’ existing conceptions. Students then work with peers gain a better understanding of the phenomena then revisit their prediction to revise their original model. The goal of this study was to assess whether the POE pedagogy increased student conceptual understanding, self-efficacy, and interest in the geosciences. The study took place in an introductory geology course at a four-year, Midwestern University. The authors developed 15 POE activities that were implemented approximately once a week during half of the class time. Students worked in self-selected groups to complete the activities. To examine the effectiveness of the POE implementation a pre- and post-instruction survey was administered. The survey was composed of items from three previously validated instruments: Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI), Motivated Strategies of Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and Student Perceptions about Earth Science Survey (SPESS). The survey was given during the first and last week of classes, 33 students completed both the pre- and post-instruction surveys. Paired-sample t-tests show significant improvement on MSLQ subscales associated with Intrinsic Value, and SPESS subscales associated with Conceptual Problem Solving and Science and Society. Effect sizes on motivation and interest gains ranged from d=0.36 to 0.80. Significant improvement was also seen on the GCI, with an effect size of d=0.97 indicating that POE is a useful pedagogy for promoting conceptual understanding. Future work should compare POE to other active learning strategies to evaluate the value added by this approach.