How Do We Help Students Build
Beliefs That Allow Them to Avoid
Critical Learning Barriers and
Develop A Deep Understanding of
Geology?
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İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Istanbul, TURKEY
Publication date: 2007-12-23
EURASIA J. Math., Sci Tech. Ed 2007;3(4):251-269
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Students hold a surprising number of ideas about the Earth’s structure and process. This
paper begins with a discussion on the nature of understanding in the conceptually
confined domain of geosciences. There then follows a report on a study of the ideas about
a range of concepts relating to “crystals”, “volcanoes”, “rocks”, and the “Earth”, held by
eighth-grade students (13-14 years) in one middle school. Such patterns, described here as
“alternative frameworks”, can be used to inform our understanding of students’ learning
in earth science. If these alternative frameworks are not taken into consideration, they can
represent “critical barriers” to learning in this domain in addition to other barriers
identified in this research. The aim of this paper is to relate the students’ alternative
frameworks, the “critical barriers” that have been spotted and the possibilities of
overcoming them. Several different recruitment strategies were used to collect data in
order to get to know the students’ alternative frameworks. The methodology of this study
is based on two researches: a test of the Q-Sort and a paper–pencil test. Based on the
results, some suggestions to help teachers and students avoid critical barriers that may be
difficult to overcome later in their geological education are presented.