Students' Conceptions of Glaciers and Ice Ages: Applying the Model of Educational Reconstruction to Improve Learning

Autor/in	Felzmann, Dirk
Titel	Students' Conceptions of Glaciers and Ice Ages: Applying the Model of Educational Reconstruction to Improve Learning
Quelle	In: Journal of Geoscience Education, 65 (2017) 3, S.322-335 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1089-9995
DOI	10.5408/16-158.1
Schlagwörter	Climate; Geology; Earth Science; Science Instruction; Water; Student Attitudes; Foreign Countries; Grade 8; Secondary School Students; Secondary School Science; Science History; Qualitative Research; Interviews; Content Analysis; Misconceptions; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Klima; Historische Geologie; Earth sciences; Geowissenschaften; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Wasser; Schülerverhalten; Ausland; School year 08; 8. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 08; Sekundarschüler; History of science; Wissenschaftsgeschichte; Qualitative Forschung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Inhaltsanalyse; Missverständnis; Deutschland
Abstract	Glaciers and ice ages are important topics in teaching geomorphology, earth history, and climate change. As with many geoscience topics, glacier formation, glacier movement, glacial morphology, and ice ages consist of a wide variety of processes and phenomena. Accordingly, it must be decided which of those processes and phenomena should be part of the curriculum. Although little is known about students' conceptions of glaciers and ice ages, this study aimed to unite the scientific and the student perspectives to formulate recommendations regarding what should be taught about this topic to young, teenage students (approximately 14 y old). The student perspective was analyzed through teaching experiments in which the students were asked about their conceptions and later received instruction in the topic. The scientific perspective was analyzed with textbooks. The comparison of these perspectives showed that students overemphasized the importance of processes with liquid water for glacier formation, glacier movement, and glacial morphology. Further, they preferred to construe one-time processes with a focus on the whole when they had to explain glacial processes. For example, they explained glacier formation by a sudden freezing of huge masses of liquid water. Implications for teaching, for example, about how glacier formation can be described as a continuous process on the microscopic level in the absence of fluid water, are outlined (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Carleton College W-SERC, One North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057. Tel: 540-568-6675; Fax: 540-568-8058; e-mail: jge@jmu.edu; Website: http://nagt-jge.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01