Learner-directed Learning in Online Geoscience Education

1. Learner-directed Learning in Online Geoscience Education Suzanne T. Metlay, Ph.D. Front Range Community College Longmont, CO (USA) Geological Society of America – Charlotte, NC Session T73: Successful Strategies for Teaching Online Geoscience Courses 4 November 2012 Image: SERC.Carleton.edu

2. Learner-Directed Learning:Build confidence & capability • Roger Hiemstra & Ralph Brockett (1994) • “From behaviorism to humanism…” • http://www-distance.syr.edu/sdlhuman.html

3. 5 common Learning Orientations:Each can be useful & Used Online • Humanist • Learning transforms the learner, both intellectually and emotionally • Self-directed activities, experiential education; affect and self-worth • Behaviorist • Learning involves changes in behavior from stimulus and response • Games, simulations, incentives, reinforcements • Cognitive • Learning is about knowledge and internal mental processes • Concept mapping, “chunking” information, learning environment • Critical Reflection • Learner identifies and evaluates own learning experiences & outcomes • Self-reflection, scenario building, focus group inquiry • Social Learning • Learner must actively engage in social interaction and society itself • Internships, peer partnerships, service learning • http://www.umsl.edu/services/ctl/DEID/destination2adultlearning/2dlearningtheories.html

4. From Guided Questions… • Direct students to specific websites designed for education & outreach Lab 2: http://facweb.bhc.edu/academics/science/harwoodr/Geol101/Labs/Minerals/ • Analyze and identify each mineral sample Credit: Richard Harwood, Black Hawk College

5. To active learning… • (2) Walk students through an activity • Lab 6: Go to http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/Interactives/keplerFlashAdvDiscovery/# and select “Kepler Exoplanet Transit Hunt”. • Click and hold the grey ring labeled “Telescopic View”. • Drag it over the blinking white dot that represents a star. • Take data from each star • Analyze data with worksheet provided • What is a habitable zone? • Which stars have exoplanets in habitable zone? • (3) Guide students to teach themselves through • reading text and watching videos Lab 8: Register and log in to www.SolarStormWatch.com • Look at the menu to options on the left-hand side. • Follow the directions provided below to fulfill the requirements of this exercise and successfully navigate the website. • Transition up Bloom’s Taxonomy  tie facts to concepts/relationships

6. To Self-Discovery… • Lab 10: Go to http://www.ciclops.org/ir_index_main.php • Click on the “New Horizons Imaging Diary”. • Find TWO (2) interesting images of Jupiter and/or Saturn – provide the links. • In your own words: • Explain what is pictured • Discuss why it is interesting • Compare to two images of Earth’s atmosphere at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ • Analyze similarities and differences between the images • (4) Begin with guided questions, end with quest/explanation NASA Orbiter Images – “This puny excuse for a hurricane on Earth snuggles up against the coasts of Yemen and Oman. It is but a freckle on the face of Earth… Earth's storm front is also mostly water vapor, while the coloring of Jupiter's red spot is indicative of more noxious cloud formations.” – AST 101 student, Fall 2011 Jupiter’s “Little Red Spot” http://www.ciclops.org//view_media.php?id=19481 Earth’s Tropical Storm Keila http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76346

7. …To Total Learner-Directed Learning • (5) Guide students through complete self-direction • Lab 12: Select a CITIZEN SCIENCE site like Zooniverse.com or Cosmoquest.org • for a project such as http://cosmoquest.org/moonmappers/ • Please follow the directions on site and analyze at least ten (10) images.   • Report on your experience here. • Please explain your procedure (step by step). Be as detailed as possible. • Give me at least two (2) paragraphs describing what you didand what you learned. http://cosmoquest.org/mappers/moon/FullMoonMaker.php

8. Develop Your Own pedagogical Tools: 1 • Modify your student’s mindset: • “I hate _____” (math, writing, science, etc.) • “Nature Deficit Disorder” • “I can’t…” to “I don’t know how to…” • Develop skills for basic competence • What are key skills, abilities, content? • Constraints? • Professional considerations? • Vocational vs. General Education Adult learners need “Why” before “How”  make learning relevant to their lives & work • Identify essential tools • Apps (Android & iPhone), Google Earth, other implements & equipment • Critical thinking • Student resourcefulness All images: Zazzle.com

9. Develop Your Own pedagogical Tools: 2 (4) Teach methods/techniques that online students can do from home http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/10/the-food-lab-science-of-how-to-cook-perfect-boiled-eggs.html Pearson Education, 2006

10. Develop Your Own pedagogical Tools: 3 (5) Consider professional behavior • Professional ethics • Legal, social, political issues • Convicted seismologists in Italy • Fracking and groundwater: pros & cons • (6) Have students present their work • Peer instruction • Mock professional presentations: Posters, Recorded PowerPoint, Prezi Credit: Morag Perkins, 25 June 2012 Credit: James Russell, Hampton Univ. Noctilucent Clouds are a marker of methane increase (CH4 = greenhouse gas)

11. HUMANISM in Education: Transforming the Learner • Acknowledge and address ignorance and misinformation • “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”- Will Durant • Realistic goals: • Workforce development (all STEM) • More scientifically literate citizens • Decision makers: Corporate, Community, Individual • Voters: Resource use/development, etc. • Improved critical thinking about new information • From fear to confidence • From gullibility to governing effectively • Students govern themselves • Personal responsibility and accountability for learning

12. Questions? Comments? Thank you! suzanne.metlay@frontrange.edu