91-2 Lost in Time and Space: Scaffolding the Development of Observational Skills in a Field Geology Setting

Session: Current Advances in Geoscience Education Research

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Abstract:

Observation is a foundational skill in every scientific discipline, but it plays a particularly critical role in complex geological field settings. Despite its importance, observation is often treated as an innate, universal ability rather than a discipline-specific skill that must be developed and refined over time.  Expert geologists draw on extensive background knowledge to make observations quickly and meaningfully, filtering relevant features, recognizing subtle patterns, and connecting observations to prior experiences to infer geologic processes. In contrast, students and novice observers, who lack this contextual framework, often struggle to distinguish important information from irrelevant detail. They may fixate on isolated features or rely on memorized terms and concepts, without the ability to integrate multiple lines of evidence into coherent interpretations. This challenge is compounded by the multiple temporal and spatial scales at which geologic processes operate—from flash floods to slow tectonic processes, and from hand-sample level to regional landscapes—and by the overwhelming number of possible observations and interpretations available in a field setting. As a result, learners can become discouraged, mistakenly concluding that they are incapable of making meaningful geologic interpretations.

To better understand how learners develop observational expertise, our interdisciplinary team of geologists, Earth science educators, and education researchers designed a year-long professional learning experience (PLE) for secondary science teachers. The PLE included an introductory geology course, a week-long immersive field experience in Capitol Reef National Park, and a follow-up seminar focused on creating field experiences for the teachers’ own students. Two iterations of the PLE were conducted, allowing us to refine our approach and develop a model for supporting the growth of observational and inferential skills in geology. This presentation will share key findings from our study and introduce a set of scaffolding strategies designed to help learners identify relevant observations, navigate overlapping temporal and spatial scales, and make well-supported inferences based on field data. These strategies include providing simple frameworks to help learners consider connections between observations and potential causality, followed by guiding them toward more complex inferences through a structured series of questions. The scaffolds are gradually removed in later exercises to promote independent thinking. Although developed within the context of geoscience, these scaffolding strategies can be adapted to support learning in other scientific disciplines.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

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