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Creating A Computer-Enhanced Geology Learning Environment
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Learning Problems and Goals
When a faculty member considers curriculum reform, there are usually problems or learning environment challenges that the faculty member is attempting to address. This section of the San Diego State University case presents those challenges as well as the philosophy and goals that motivated Eric Frost to depend heavily on computer-based learning strategies.
Problems that Motivate Eric Frost to Utilize Computer-Dependent Learning Strategies
Eric: Sometimes I would walk out of a lecture that I gave and say, "That was a really powerful lecture, that was worth the money these guys paid." But my students would say, "hmm?" indicating that they didn't quite understand. And instead of saying, "Well, those stupid students," I would say, "If all the students in there didn't understand what I was saying, then I didn't teach them what was necessary, and now I need to figure out how."
At SDSU, low student performance and engagement were the two main reasons encouraging Eric Frost to try a new approach.
Eric Frost's decision to reform his teaching methods arose from a sense that, despite his efforts, students weren't grasping the geological concepts that he was trying to impart to them. Although these concepts were perfectly clear to him, he was unable to transfer this knowledge while
standing in front of class.a
Even his students who received top grades fell short in their ability to comprehend the subject
material that he presented to them.b
Specifically, his students had difficulty visualizing geological processes in three dimensions, an ability that is
crucial to success in geology.c
Because of their inability to visualize, Eric said his students could only see the complexity of geological processes, and failed to see the
patterns in them.d
Because of these shortcomings that he experienced in trying to get his student to learn meaningfully, Eric resolved to change the way he taught his classes. Below, we examine the goals that Eric set for himself in order to carry out that change.
Learning Goals that Eric Frost Seeks to Achieve
The technology-enhanced learning environment that Eric Frost created was largely influenced by the goals that he set for student learning. As we mentioned earlier, Eric felt that simply standing in front of his class and talking about geology wasn't fostering what he considered to be meaningful learning. He wasn't providing his students a learning environment that was conducive to their future professional success in geology.
His efforts to reform began with the realization that his students did not lack the ability to understand, but that he himself was coming up short in
presenting the material.e
Therefore, instead of simply lecturing on the things he knew best, Eric decided instead to make it his goal to
teach his students how to think.f
To him, this meant examining his own processes, as an educator, and then altering what he does.
Eric: I happen to be very good at visualizing these things on my own and there was nothing that I did to gain that ability. I can look at and turn three-dimensional geological models in my head. What I needed to do is put that knowledge, which was obvious to me, into three dimensions and allow the students to turn it and look at it as well. Then it would be totally obvious.
As a result of reconsidering his own thinking on how he teaches, he began providing students with tools that allowed them to visualize three-dimensional, geological processes, and placing them in real-life situations, like group settings, where they could collaborate to
solve geology problems.g
a.
Eric: The information that I saw in an image was not the information that they were understanding. I can look at an image and it's really obvious to me, there's a whole series of different kinds of things taking place, and I would show students these kinds of images and they'd say, "It's a pretty picture." It would boggle my mind why they couldn't see all of the different interactions that were taking place.
b. Eric: Before I started using the visualization tools, students could say the right words, but the understanding was not in their mind. There was a real frustration on my part because they could answer the questions to get a grade in the class, but they didn't get it. The light didn't go on. They actually just didn't see why this is important.
c. Eric: Students normally can't look at an image and perceive the fact that they're looking at a three-dimensional surface. They don't see that what appears in one place is down underneath the surface, and what appears another place is above the surface that there's a three-dimensional puzzle.
d. Eric: A lot of these geological processes are analogous to cutting a head of red cabbage. Most of the time when you cut it you get a very complex pattern. If you cut it horizontally, you get a much different pattern than you would by cutting it vertically. And by looking at the complexity of geological processes, like the red cabbage, most students just see the complexity, they don't see the order. And so the thing that I found in teaching this class is that there had to be a better way than just to teach people how to process on the computer, or how to look at a hard copy, because they obviously weren't getting it. The information that I saw was not the information that they were understanding. No matter what kind of words I used, they still didn't get it.
e. Eric: Instead of saying, "Well, those stupid students," I would say, "If all the students in there didn't understand what I was saying, then I didn't teach what was necessary." And I'm trying to figure out why they didn't learn.
f. Eric: The world is moving very quickly and what students want me to do is help them figure out what they are trying to do in it. Once they figure that out, they want to know how the university can help them go that direction. So, rather than conveying the specifics of that narrow part of the science that I have really done all of my work in, I have switched to trying to convey the wisdom and insight of how they can use tools and understanding to accomplish what they set out to do. I'm trying to teach them, basically, how to think, and also to be motivated to take ownership of their ideas, and to take responsibility for their own learning.
g. Eric: The real world does not work like the university system where individuals fend for themselves. You don't pursue a problem in an oil company just by yourself and expect to learn your little piece of the puzzle. That is not the way the world works; not in geology anyway. We get a whole bunch of people working together on the same problem in a group setting. That, as far as I know, is the way the industry works.
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