AIPG Luncheon Speaker - 4 December 2012 - Dr. Scott Clark - UW Eau Claire

Abstract:  Plate tectonics: A well-known theory that isn't so well known.

Knowledge of the key principles of the theory of plate tectonic is fundamental to understanding how the Earth works. With that in mind, I have asked: How well do geoscience novices and experts understand basic aspects of plate tectonics? In this seminar, Iwill address this question by presenting an analysis of eye-tracking data and questionnaires completed by people with a wide range of geoscience backgrounds. As might be expected, geoscience novices hold a number of alternative conceptions (AKA misconceptions) after their first college-level exposure to plate tectonics. Confusion is common on topics such as the fate of subducting plates, directions that plates move relative to one another, causes of melting, state of matter of the mantle, and how transform boundaries work. What might be surprising is how far into the expert realm many of these alternative conceptions can be retained. The findings of this study reveal how these misconceptions are encouraged by popular plate-tectonic images and by our teaching practices. In so doing, they also point to how we can reduce the extent of plate-tectonic misconceptions that are held by geoscientists.

Bio:
Scott K. Clark is an Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from The Universities of Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, respectively. His Ph.D. research was in the field of stable isotope geochemistry. While at The University of Illinois, he spent one year working with 5th-graders in southern IL, through a National Science Foundation GK-12 Teaching Fellowship. He found it rather amazing to see elementary students learning basic geoscience concepts as easily as many college-levelstudents. That experience piqued his interest in how people learn about Earth and Earth processes, and led him to a post-doctoral research program in Julie Libarkin's Geocognition lab at Michigan State University. Geocognition is a relatively new field that applies cognitive science methodologies to investigations of how people perceive and interpret the Earth and Earth phenomena. Beyond being interested in students' alternative conceptions about Earth and Earth processes, and the persistence of those conceptions across the expert-novice continuum, he is also actively studying how scientific concepts are communicated by instructors and the news media.
 
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