Abstract During the past fifteen years, a significant movement to reform science education has occurred in response to the growing need for a scientifically literate citizenry who are prepared for a technologically advanced, globally competitive, democratic society. In an effort to fuel and guide this transformation, standards and benchmarks (statements of what students should know at certain points in their education) for science education have been developed from current theory and research concerning how humans learn. This chapter first examines the currently accepted Constructivist approach to learning and research that informs the pedagogy upon which these education reforms are based. Then, two important science reform documents, the Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy ( American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993 ) and the National Science Education Standards ( National Research Council, 1996 ), both developed for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) students, will be examined for extension and application to teaching clay science at the college level. Chapters following this chapter will provide examples of application of these principles to effective teaching of clay science.

Abstract Science professors at colleges and universities are being faced with new terminology and types of assessment more familiar to their colleagues in colleges of education and public school systems. Objective test instruments such as exams and quizzes will remain powerful assessment tools in colleges and universities, especially when supplemented with term papers, lab reports and homework. Professors will continue to evaluate, correct, or grade these assessment vehicles and decide, on the bases both of objective scoring and more subjective professional judgment, whether the effort was worthy of a passing or failing grade. New types of assessment tools are being introduced to determine the effectiveness of instructional methods and curricula in achieving desired educational outcomes. Some of these tools, including scoring rubrics, can be used effectively both for assessment of educational programs and evaluation of quality of individual student work. Public school (K-12) assessment procedures have evolved to where they are today as a result of national concerns about educational quality in the sciences that are discussed in two important documents, the Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy ( American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993 ) and the National Science Education Standards ( National Research Council, 1996 ). Professors are now being exposed to content standards, curriculum frameworks, learning outcomes, and performance assessment. Professors teaching clay science can learn much about these from their colleagues in university departments and colleges of education and from their public school colleagues, while helping them with the science subject-matter requirements now mandated for primary, middle and high schools programs.

Abstract This article discusses some important relations between the history and philosophy of science and the education of future professional geoscientists and teachers. A brief survey is presented of the discussions about the relations between these fields over the past 50 years, with an emphasis on the pedagogical role of the history and philosophy of science. A recent geological example is considered to pull together the conclusions advanced by some classic papers in science and geoscience. These conclusions reinforce the relevance of historical and epistemological reflections in improving the development of the profession and renewing educational practices, pointing out the potential of interdisciplinary learning and new innovative teaching methods. The careful, well-selected and documented utilization of controversial historical cases can foster experimentation and the comprehension of diverse examples of important scientific changes, thus contributing to a better education in the geosciences.

Abstract Well Mondot-1 was drilled, cored and logged behind an outcrop of the Eocene Sobrarbe deltaic complex in the Aínsa Basin, Spanish Pyrenees. The data acquired represent a fluvial-dominated delta system prograding over a carbonate slope in the presence of active tectonism, and form part of a basin-to-grain teaching set for subsurface professionals. This paper highlights the workflow step(s) to move from a 1D core description to 2D and 3D correlations, including some of the pitfalls caused by rapid lateral facies variability, which is a common challenge in subsurface reservoir description. The core allows direct log-to-lithology comparison across a full deltaic succession. In the proximal and distal delta fronts, there are clear differences from the closely adjacent outcrop that are ascribed to lateral facies changes and delta front slumping. Two approaches to core display are described, as means towards making such data available to a wider audience: an augmented reality display run over a slabbed core, and a virtual whiteboard display carrying easily scalable viewing possibilities. These approaches can be deployed for other cores, allowing visualization and analysis where people are otherwise unable to travel to the physical location, or in circumstances where the core is now inaccessible.

Collapse of masonry buildings still accounts for most earthquake casualties in developing countries, even though effective earthquake-resistant building techniques are available. The amateur builders and local contractors who are responsible for most housing and small-scale commercial construction are typically unaware of these techniques, or they believe that prohibitively expensive engineering design and materials are required. However, the principal technique—confined masonry—is highly effective for nonengineered buildings of less than three stories, and it involves only modest changes in customary building practices. I developed a 2 hour workshop to teach local builders in Guatemala earthquake-resistant construction techniques. Simple graphics with minimal captions and photographs of local buildings were used to show basic design principles, and to illustrate best versus poor practices. Printed manuals (in Spanish and illustrated for a low-literacy audience) were provided, for later reference and the possibility of wider dissemination. The most challenging aspect of this project was developing a working relationship with a local organization willing and able to assist with scheduling, publicity, and generally connecting me with appropriate audiences. My experience suggests that effective teaching is the most critical tool for providing meaningful assistance with a range of geologic and environmental challenges. Expert knowledge, fluency in local languages, and years of local experience are all useful but can be provided or developed through relationships with local partners. Targeted education addressing specific community needs can be highly effective for increasing resilience to natural hazards, and it represents a more-efficient and lower-cost alternative to many other forms of development aid.

Abstract Computer-based learning tools are becoming more prevalent in classrooms from elementary school to higher education. The potential value of interactive learning tools is particularly high in geoscience education. Students can benefit from interactive tools that allow them to explore different processes in one-dimensional (1-D), two-dimensional (2-D), and three-dimensional (3-D) space. Traditionally, geoscience education has relied on laboratory exercises to provide students with the opportunity to explore dimensionality. In this chapter, we introduce Visible Geology, an innovative web-based application designed for geoscience education. Visible Geology enables visualization of geologic structures and processes through the use of interactive 3-D models. As Visible Geology has been designed from a student-centric perspective, it has resulted in a simple and intuitive interface, allowing students to creatively explore concepts. We present a case study of a large first year class at the University of British Columbia, and show the utility of Visible Geology in teaching geoscience concepts of relative dating and cross-cutting relationships. The ease of use of the software for this assignment, including automatic grading, made this tool practical for deployment in classrooms of any size. The outcome of this type of large-scale deployment is that students, who would normally not experience a lab exercise, gain exposure to 3-D thinking. The level of ownership and interactivity inherent in Visible Geology encourages engagement, leading learners to practice visualization and interpretation skills and discover geologic relationships.

Google Earth offers an excellent example of software design balancing enough power while retaining a simple and intuitive interface, and provides tremendous capabilities both for teaching and research interaction. It displays data with a well-documented, standard keyhole markup language (KML) format on generally high resolution base imagery, with roads, borders and other relevant layers which can be turned on and off, and allows easy combination of multiple data sets. Google Earth lacks the analysis capabilities of geographical information system (GIS) software, but is outstanding for visualization and dissemination of results. Users can zoom in and out and view animations or 3-D displays of the data. The freeware MICRODEM program allows easy export of GIS data to KML and linking of text and graphics to an icon on the map, and it facilitates registration of maps. Examples of this usage include student projects, animations used for teaching, sharing data among research groups, and interactive display of published maps. For the earth sciences, where almost all data has a geographic component, virtual globes provide an integrated way to interact with information.