1. Cathy Manduca, SERC Earth Educators Rendezvous 2017
Creating a Community Research Plan Lessons from Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences Manduca, Mogk and Stillings 2002
Cathy Manduca, SERC
Earth Educators Rendezvous 2017

2. Establishing Context What do you hope to accomplish?
Why is now the right time?

3. Why 2002? How People Learn (2000) Hake, 1998 Existing efforts
Community call
dvances in the science of learning have reached the stage where application to educational practice can have a major impact on student learning (How People Learn, NRC, 2000; Knowing What Students Know, NRC, 2001). A critical step in the successful application of principles of learning science to the classroom, has been the development of disciplinary communities that adapt research results to the specifics of the particular educational problems of the discipline and engage in discipline focused research on learning. For example, the identification of specific misconceptions, techniques for engaging students in conceptual understanding, and assessment instruments for verifying the efficacy of these techniques has been integral to the application of research on learning to the Physics community (e.g., McDermott and Redish, 1999). Similarly, the development of a community of learning scientists and chemists to address issues surrounding visualization in chemistry was an important first step in applying learning science to this important area of chemistry education (
2000
2017

4. Connect and expand GER research dramatically
To what end?
Connect and expand GER research dramatically
Bring learning research into use in geoscience
dvances in the science of learning have reached the stage where application to educational practice can have a major impact on student learning (How People Learn, NRC, 2000; Knowing What Students Know, NRC, 2001). A critical step in the successful application of principles of learning science to the classroom, has been the development of disciplinary communities that adapt research results to the specifics of the particular educational problems of the discipline and engage in discipline focused research on learning. For example, the identification of specific misconceptions, techniques for engaging students in conceptual understanding, and assessment instruments for verifying the efficacy of these techniques has been integral to the application of research on learning to the Physics community (e.g., McDermott and Redish, 1999). Similarly, the development of a community of learning scientists and chemists to address issues surrounding visualization in chemistry was an important first step in applying learning science to this important area of chemistry education (
2000
2017

5. build connections between experts on learning and geoscience educators
develop buy-in from geoscience educators and creators of educational resources on the value and applicability of research on learning
develop interest in researchers on learning in exploring questions of high interest to geoscience educators
disseminate research on learning and its effective application to the classroom within the geoscience education community

6. Explore feasibility of developing a research project that engages geoscience faculty in obtaining and interpreting data addressing a learning question of high utility in informing geoscience educational practice.

7. What Happened as a Result?
Add books, GER most recent report, JGE? Division?
2000
2004
2017

8. Key Findings From Report
Lots of mutual opportunity at intersection of geoscience and learning science
Discovery must be coupled with bringing research into use
Capacity building is necessary
Coordinated effort among geoscience educators and learning scientists
Creation of connections
Linking research and practice
Research strategy

9. Key Findings From Report
Research strategy:
Expertise: What is nature of geoscience expertise?
Learning: What is path to expertise?
Instruction: How does instruction support this learning?
Creation of connections
Linking research and practice
Research strategy

10. Key Findings From Report
Research strategy:
Expertise
What characterizes the thinking of an expert geoscientist?
What important concepts and skills are essential?
How do geoscientists understand the Earth system in the context of complex interactions?
What are goals of geoscience education?
Learning
Instruction
Creation of connections
Linking research and practice
Research strategy

11. Key Findings From Report
Research strategy:
Expertise
Learning
What are cognitive pathways to achieving this expertise?
How does this fit in with more general developmental and learning progressions?
Time, Complex Systems, Visualizing the Earth
Instruction
Creation of connections
Linking research and practice
Research strategy

12. Key Findings From Report
Research strategy:
Expertise
Learning
Instruction
How should learning environments be developed to effectively support students’ achievement of geoscience expertise?
Field experiences, work with geoscience data
Assessments to understand the above
Creation of connections
Linking research and practice
Research strategy

13. What Happened as a Result?
Goals drive Outcomes
Outcomes drive Impacts
Remember goals – link to learning sciences, link research to dissemination, build capacity

14. What Happened as a Result?
Coordinated Effort Among Geoscientists and Learning Scientists
Science of Geoscience Learning Proposal (~2005)
Spatial Intelligence Learning Center (2006)
Coordinated effort among geoscienc educators and learning scientists
2000
2017

15. SILC Geo Research Agenda 2005 Presentation
Focus on common visualizations
Characterize expert perception
Develop understanding and tests of student perception
Develop and test materials that lead students from novice to expert perception
Disseminate materials and results

16. What Happened as a Result?
Capacity Building is Necessary
Cutting Edge: Pedagogic Emerging Themes
Teaching with Visualization 2003 to
Teaching about Time 2012
Synthesis of Research on Thinking and Learning in the Geosciences (2008)
Importance of building bridges to learning scientists
Viz 2003
Assessment 2004
Affective Domaine 2006
Metacognition 2008
Comlex Systems 2009
Temporal learning 2011
2000
2017

17. What Happened as a Result?
Discovery must be coupled with bringing into use
Pardee Symposium
Earth and Mind I (2006)
How Geoscientists Think and Learn (EOS, 2009)
Earth and Mind II (2012)
Starting Point: Teaching Introductory Geoscience
Viz 2003
Assessment 2004
Affective Domaine 2006
Metacognition 2008
Comlex Systems 2009
Temporal learning 2011
2000
Lots of individual/research group publications
2017

18. What Happened as a Result?
a research project that engages geoscience faculty in obtaining and interpreting data addressing a learning question of high utility in informing geoscience educational practice.
Geoscience ConceptTests, Geo Concept Inventory
InTeGrate Student Learning
Classroom Observation Project
Time scale of path to research project
GARNET
2000
2017

19. What Didn’t Happen as a Result?
Emergence of GER as a field
How published/where published

20. Emergence of GER JGE NAGT GER Division GER Advanced Degree Programs
This effort
Add books, GER most recent report, JGE? Division?
29 Papers in Past Year
4 Papers in 1994
1 Paper in 1967
1994
2017
1994

21. What Didn’t Happen as a Result?
Emergence of GER as a field
how important was the report vs the general times?
relationship to GER Division?
NSF funding initiatives or programs
Guiding research agenda within GER
How published/where published

22. What does this mean for you?
Publish in a journal or book series where people will look for it
Website is a valuable archive and community tool