IMPACT OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ SPATIAL SKILLS ON PLATE TECTONICS LEARNING WITH COMPUTER VISUALIZATION
Open Access
- Author:
- Epler-Ruths, Colleen
- Graduate Program:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- January 25, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Dr. Scott McDonald, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Dr. Scott McDonald, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Dr. Richard Duschl, Committee Member
Dr. Julia Plummer, Committee Member
Dr. Gabriela Richards, Outside Member - Keywords:
- spatial skills
plate tectonics learning progressions
computer visualizations
noticing - Abstract:
- This mixed methods study investigates the impact of middle school students’ spatial skills on their plate tectonics learning while using a computer visualization. The research includes both qualitative and quantitative questions: QUAL—How do students’ spatial skills mediate student understanding of plate tectonics when using a computer data visualization? QUAN—What is the relationship between student spatial skills (as measured by SRI) and plate tectonics learning content gains while using the GEODE curriculum with the computer data visualization? MIXED—What results emerge when comparing the qualitative data generated while using the data visualization with the qualitative demographic and outcome data measured? Student demographics, spatial scores, and pre/post science content scores were used to test whether spatial skills influence students’ learning when using a computer simulation. The qualitative data include student interviews, screencasts, and online artifacts. Qualitative data suggest that students go through an iterative cycle of noticing and interpreting when using a scientific model. Quantitative data support the idea that spatial skills correlate to plate tectonics learning, with or without the computer. Overall results show a significant relationship between spatial skills and plate tectonics learning. In the pilot study, I developed a noticing framework tool to interpret students’ words and work in spatial terms. The noticing framework was used in the QUAL and QUAN parts of the dissertation to better understand what students notice and interpret while using the Seismic Explorer visualization. The findings are that students with high spatial skills use more spatial words, notice and interpret more in computer visualization, and score higher grades than students with lower spatial skills. An explanation for the increased gain in plate tectonics comprehension is that students with higher spatial skills notice more, so they are able to interpret more details of the model.