LINKING CONCEPTIONS OF BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING TO EARTH SYSTEMS THINKING SKILLS

Research has shown the highest level of understanding in the geosciences to be the ability to think about the Earth as a dynamic system. Biogeochemical cycles, such as the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous cycles, are fundamental constructs linking all components of the Earth system. As these cycles link the major spheres of the Earth system through the movement of matter and energy, they provide a valuable tool to give insight into undergraduate students’ systems thinking abilities. This talk will overview how qualitative and quantitative methods can be used to probe undergraduate students’ systems thinking skills by examining their conceptions of major biogeochemical cycles and provide a framework for assessing Earth systems thinking skills and biogeochemistry content knowledge. Through analysis of undergraduate interviews and drawings of major biogeochemical cycles, students’ systems thinking abilities were probed, which led to the development of concept inventories to enable future research. This talk with synthesize the work of several studies employing qualitative and quantitative methods to explore connections between biogeochemistry content knowledge and systems thinking and how this work led to the creation and validation of two concept inventories.