Scientific observation in geoscience: Geoscientists' conceptualizations of learning, teaching, and using geological observation
Open Access
- Author:
- Snider, Julianne
- Graduate Program:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 06, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Julia D Plummer, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Julia D Plummer, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Gregory J Kelly, Committee Member
Kimberly A Powell, Committee Member
Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Outside Member - Keywords:
- scientific observation
geological observation
professional vision
habits of mind - Abstract:
- Scientific observation is essential for full engagement in STEM domains and disciplines. In the discipline of geoscience, scientific observation (i.e., geological observation) is the basis of hypothesis development, data collection, knowledge transfer, and effective communication within the discipline and its domains. Learning to make meaningful observations in geoscience is contingent upon education, training, practice, and feedback from those with geological observation expertise; however, geological observation is seldom explicitly taught in undergraduate geoscience courses. Observations made with lack of instructional support and inadequate content knowledge are ineffective for data collection and do not contribute to knowledge gains of the observer or the science community in which the observations are made. How expert geoscientists (who teach undergraduate geoscience courses) conceptualize learning, teaching, and using geological observation will affect how their students acquire the skills and habits fundamental to making meaningful observations in geoscience. Placing geological observation in a theoretical framework comprised of professional vision (Goodwin, 1994) and constructivism (Papert, 1991) provides the structure for this qualitative investigation of geoscientists’ conceptualizations of their own engagement with geological observation in the contexts of their research and teaching and how they conceptualize how learning to observe occurs. The conceptual framework guiding this investigation is constructed from eight dispositional habits of mind (HoM) identified in visual arts education (Hetland, Winner, Veenama, & Sheridan, 2013) and six attributes of engagement (AoE) associated with gaining expertise in skills and practices (Dall’Alba & Sandberg, 2006; Eberbach & Crowley, 2009; Lehrer, Schauble, & Lucus, 2008; Paxton, Frith, Kelly-Laubscher, Muna, & van der Merwe, 2017). The HoM-AoE framework became a multidimensional, non-hierarchical analysis tool for recognizing and categorizing data from study participant narratives captured in open-ended interviews as well as other data sources. Implications from this study point to: the complexity of geological observation as a system of skills and practices; similarities between science and visual art disciplines for learning and engaging in gathering, recording, interpreting, and communicating observation-based data; and the need for teaching geoscience students how and why to make meaningful observations, visualize and manipulate three dimensionally, and keep observations and interpretations of observations separate.