Do geology field courses improve penetrative thinking?

Geoscientists use spatial thinking skills in many common tasks, such as adding a third dimension to two-dimensional maps by drawing cross-sections or envisioning rock fabrics from a single hand sample or exposure. Field courses allow students to practice and develop those skills in authentic settings. This study examines the development of spatial perception and geoscience-specific penetrative thinking skills, as measured by paired pre- and posttests using the water-level test and the Geologic Block Cross-Sectioning Test, in a sophomore field mapping course. Students began the course with strong spatial perception skills, but developed their penetrative thinking skills significantly (p < 0.0001) between the beginning and end of the course. Furthermore, the gender gap in penetrative thinking skills that existed at the beginning of the course was eliminated by the time the course ended. This work can be used as a baseline for comparison with results of nonfield-based exercises that are designed to develop geologic penetrative thinking skills in other ways.

地球科学家在诸多日常科研工作中都会运用空间思维能力，例如通过绘制剖面图为二维地图增添第三维度，或是从单块手标本（hand sample）或露头（exposure）中构想岩石组构。野外实习课程能够让学生在真实场景中练习并提升此类能力。本研究针对大二野外填图课程，采用配对前后测——以水位测试（water-level test）与地质块体剖面图测试（Geologic Block Cross-Sectioning Test）作为测评工具——探究学生空间感知能力与地质学专属穿透性思维能力（penetrative thinking skills）的发展情况。学生在课程初始阶段已具备较好的空间感知能力，但在课程全程中，其穿透性思维能力得到了显著提升（p < 0.0001）。此外，课程初始阶段存在的穿透性思维能力性别差异，在课程结束时已完全消除。本研究成果可作为基准，用于对比以其他方式培养地质学穿透性思维能力的非野外实践活动的研究结果。