MIXED-METHODS RESEARCH ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR IN-SITU AND VIRTUAL GEOLOGICAL FIELD TRIPS

Field-based learning is fundamental for geoscience, but many students lack access to the field because of logistical, financial, and accessibility constraints. For such students and for the general public, immersive, interactive virtual field trips (iVFTs) offer a means to explore and learn geoscience in pedagogically rich but generally inaccessible places. As long-time producers of geoscience iVFTs we are also studying their effectiveness, and how they relate to in-person field trips (ipFTs). These iVFTs differ significantly from virtual field trips presented elsewhere in the literature. They offer rich interactive multimedia elements found in traditional VFTs but uniquely marry these to an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). High-resolution and visually stunning multimedia components delivered to two-dimensional screens via the Internet reside within a software platform that allows students to ask and answer questions while providing embedded assessments and real-time feedback through the ITS. This combination of VFT and ITS has not previously been studied in the geoscience education community.

In an initial study we compared learning outcomes of ipFT- and iVFT-based field instruction at Grand Canyon National Park in two undergraduate geoscience courses, one introductory and one upper-division. Pre-post concept-sketch assessments showed learning in both groups, but gains by iVFT students were greater and statistically significant.Other measurements in both groups showed that both modalities engendered mostly positive emotions in students, and that completion of the iVFT typically enhanced students’ interest in taking an ipFT to Grand Canyon. We do not suggest that iVFTs can or should completely supplant ipFTs, especially for geoscience majors. However, a thoughtfully designed and implemented iVFT can meet or even exceed the learning outcomes expected with an ipFT; it can help prepare novice students for greater success during a subsequent ipFT; and it can introduce the geology of Grand Canyon and similar pedagogically powerful places to students who are unable to explore them in person. Our follow-on research includes: (1) rendering the digital realm more place-based, and (2) best practices for enabling teachers and students to create their own iVFTs.