ERIC Number: EJ1257814
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
A Systematic Review of the Literature on Situated Learning in the Geosciences: Beyond the Classroom
International Journal of Science Education, v42 n5 p722-743 2020
Situated learning theory offers a theoretical modality for promoting a knowledge, skilled, and ethically adept future geoscience workforce. Features of situated learning pedagogies include field-based instruction and situating students within a community of practice. While there is an assumed value of such approaches, there is limited research exploring why and how these situated approaches are beneficial for students. Situated learning theory is an underutilised framework applied among geoscience education researchers, which emphasises legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice. In this paper, our research objective was to systematically explore the ways scholars have applied situated learning theory in post-secondary geoscience curricula. To address our research objective, we utilised systematic literature review procedures, wherein we collected and synthesised ten articles extracted from several prominent sources that featured peer-reviewed scholarship for geoscience education research. To analyse articles, we developed a coding framework both deductively from the core tenants of situated learning theory and inductively based on how articles had applied the framework. Thematically, using the codes as a guide, we identified 3 themes highlighting trends in scholars' application of situated learning theory to undergraduate geoscience curricula, (1) instructional practices, (2) student outcomes, and (3) assessment techniques. Using the codes and themes, this study provides a framework to guide others who aspire to integrate situated learning theory into geoscience curricula.
Descriptors: Situated Learning, Earth Science, Communities of Practice, Educational Research, Scholarship, Undergraduate Study, College Curriculum, Outcomes of Education, Research Methodology, Self Efficacy, Authentic Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses
Education Level: Postsecondary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1701132