1. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Tuesday, June 24, 2014 Strategies for Research and Scholarship
Karen M. Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island
Cindy Shellito, University of Northern Colorado
With help previously from Carol Ormand, SERC, Carleton College

2. We are planning to talk about:
What is research on learning?
How does research on learning compare to traditional geoscience research?
How does one get started conducting research on learning?
At the end, you will brainstorm a small research project you can implement next semester.

3. What is research on geoscience learning?
Brainstorm:
What is research on geoscience learning?

4. What is research on learning?
Geoscience education includes:
Geoscience content
Social science
Pedagogy (teaching methods)

5. What is research on learning?
Two levels
Publishable
Inform your teaching or program

6. Discipline Based Education Research (DBER)
Understand how people learn the concepts, practices, and ways of thinking of geoscience
Understand the nature and development of expertise
Identify and measure learning objectives and instructional approaches
Contribute to the knowledge base to transfer DBER findings to classroom practice
Identify approaches to make geoscience education broad and inclusive
Singer et al., (2012) Discipline Based Education Research, National Academies Press.

7. Theoretical Vs. Applied Research
Theoretical (Geocognition)
The cognitive processes underpinning perception, understanding, learning
Metacognition, affective domain, place-based learning
Applied (Curriculum and Instruction Research)
The links between classroom experiences and learning
Application of research to developing and implementing new educational tools or materials to enhance learning

8. Place the following research as either Theoretical or Applied
Do students learn concepts better if they have illustrations or animations?
How do spatial visualization skills affect learning?
How do students move from novices to experts, from pre-college to professional geoscientists?
What is the effectiveness of process-of-science labs?
How does student motivation influence learning in the classroom?

9. Brainstorm:
How is research on learning similar to and different from traditional geoscience research?

10. Similarities to Geoscience Research
Answering significant and interesting questions
Testing hypotheses (often with experiments)
Collecting data via observations
Interpreting large, incomplete data sets (sometimes using statistical analyses)
Inferring process and cause from observed behaviors
Collaborating with scientists in other fields
Data only good if instrument is calibrated/valid and reliable
Qualitative vs. quantitative
Theoretical vs. applied

11. Differences from Geoscience Research
Human subjects!
IRB (Institutional Review Board)
So many possible confounding factors….
Your classroom can be your laboratory
How you collect data
Instruments used
Attitude of other faculty/administrators
Less professional support

12. Identify a question that intrigues you
Getting Started
Identify a question that intrigues you
What do you want to know about the learning process?
What do you want to know about what works in your own classes?
Watch your students and where/why/who struggles
Most faculty start with applied research

13. Go to research on learning sessions at conferences (e.g. GSA)
Getting Started
Read the science education literature (e.g. Journal of Geoscience Education)
Go to research on learning sessions at conferences (e.g. GSA)
Read successful educational research proposals
Discipline Based Education Research (National Academies Press: DBER: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering (2012) )
There will soon by a follow-up book by Nancy Kober with user-friendly, practical advice on implementing DBER

14. Strategies for Aspiring JGE Authors
Do your homework, and put your work in a literature-based context.
Evidence of effectiveness is essential to a strong argument.
Get familiar with IRB.
Consider collaborating.
Be concise but complete in describing what you did, how you did it, and who you did it with
Do not just report results; discuss why they are meaningful both to your particular situation and more broadly.
Lastly, make good use of the peer-review comments when you revise your manuscript.
St. John, Dickerson, McNeal (2013) Guide to Aspiring Authors, JGE 61,

15. Strategies for Aspiring In The Trenches Authors
Document your experiences with new teaching methods in an informative, accessible, and entertaining way
Share your thoughts about teaching and interesting ideas – start a trend!
Share you great photos with the NAGT community (or have your students share their photos)

16. Quick Ideas
Spend a few minutes coming up with a small research project you can implement next semester.
What question do you want to answer?
What methods will you use to answer your question?
How will you collect data?

17. From DBER: Example Future Geoscience Education Research
Conceptual Understanding and Conceptual Change
Describe where and why there are misconceptions
Whether and how misconceptions are different for different groups of students
Evidence of conceptual change over time from instruction
Research on effective methods for promoting conceptual change (including longitudinal studies, influence of students’ personal belief system)
How incorrect ideas originate (including research on conceptual understanding of K-12 teachers)
Design instruction to move students toward more accurate understanding

18. From DBER: Example Future Geoscience Education Research
Problem Solving
Better understanding of similarities and differences in problem solving among subpopulations
Investigating the effects of various individual differences (e.g. spatial skills) and implications for instruction
Need for measurement tools that assess student problem solving skills for large numbers of students in an authentic classroom system