ERIC Number: EJ1163907
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Nov
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1089-9995
EISSN: N/A
Using Problem-Based Learning to Deliver a More Authentic Experience in Paleontology
Montgomery, Homer; Donaldson, Katherine
Journal of Geoscience Education, v62 n4 p714-724 Nov 2014
This study is a research project focused on the implementation of problem-based learning in an honors, paleontology-oriented, Earth Science course. The course, the Age of Dinosaurs, is taught at the University of Texas at Dallas to undergraduates from a range of majors who seek core-curriculum science credit. All class work is centered on fossils and rock samples selected from a research collection accumulated from dinosaur-bearing beds in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas. A list of goals for the course was prepared during the design phase for the class. This list was used as a Likert scale questionnaire following completion of the course and dissemination of grades. Results from the goals questionnaire and from the official course evaluations present highly favorable responses to the course and to the problem-based learning methodology. Students provided free-response assessments and advice that influenced the next offering of this course.
Descriptors: Problem Based Learning, Paleontology, College Science, Undergraduate Students, Questionnaires, Likert Scales, Course Evaluation, Teaching Methods, Student Attitudes, Student Evaluation, Scoring Rubrics, Science Process Skills, Student Surveys
National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Carleton College W-SERC, One North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057. Tel: 540-568-6675; Fax: 540-568-8058; e-mail: jge@jmu.edu; Website: http://nagt-jge.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A