Broadening Student Horizons: The Development, Delivery, and Assessment of a New Course in Earth System Science

Journal of Geoscience Education, May 2006 by Hurtt, G C, Wake, C, Wawrzeniak, T, Frappier, A, Et al

DISCUSSION

The understanding of the Earth System has progressed markedly through history from early conceptions of the earth at the center of the universe under external control, to modern understandings of the universe, Earth System dynamics, and concepts for global environmental management (Schellnhuber, 1999). Today, many of the most important questions in Earth System Science lie at the intersection of traditional disciplines, and must be addressed through an integrated systems perspective (Jacobson et al., 2000; Falkowski et al., 2000; Moore et al., 2001; Steffen et al., 2003; Pielke et al., 2003). The educational challenge is to train the next generation of scientists to address interdisciplinary questions (Sung et al., 2003).

In this study, we have described the development, structure, and results of a new course designed to enhance the teaching and learning of Earth System Science. The course exposed advanced undergraduate / beginning graduate level students to a course in Earth System Science that was simultaneously broad and deep. Considerable effort was placed on the selection, organization, coordination, and development of course materials (readings, lecture, labs, etc.). These resources were essential to delivering an effective course. However, the most important lessons learned from this course were not about content, but about how the course was taught. Earth System Science is such a vast topic, that it is easy to see that any conceivable course would necessarily omit important content. Early realization of this fact helped us to design from the outset the creation of an inquiry-based learning-centered approach. This approach was perhaps the single most important aspect to the success of student learning in the course.

To gauge student learning and to provide feedback on course attributes, we applied a range of assessment methods. Because of the difficulty of collecting and evaluating relevant assessment information, the lack of control groups, and because of relatively small class sizes, we were not able to use statistical tests as a means of formal hypothesis testing. Therefore, several of our conclusions are based on thelargely qualitative standard of identifying lessons learned from what a reasonable person would conclude from our data. Exams and student interviews documented that students broadened their understanding of key Earth System concepts and interactions. Student research projects demonstrated their enhanced ability to effectively address interdisciplinary Earth System topics quantitatively and in teams.

Despite strong student demand for new courses, significant challenges remain in making students and advisors aware of new courses, fitting new courses into degree requirements, and resolving potential scheduling conflicts. Our efforts at publicizing the course and getting necessary approvals were important to achieving our enrollments. More work is needed in these areas to sustain and grow enrollment including: an expanded effort at student recruiting, approval as a permanent (recurring) course offering, and listings in relevant university course catalogues.