New paper published in Journal of Geoscience Education

The Geocognition Research Lab is happy to announce a new paper published in the February issue of the Journal of Geoscience Education: Conceptual Mobility and Entrenchment in Introductory Geoscience Courses: New Questions Regarding Physics’ and Chemistry’s Role in Learning Earth Science Concepts by Steven W. Anderson and Julie C. Libarkin ABSTRACT: Nationwide pre- and post-testingContinue reading “New paper published in Journal of Geoscience Education”

Collaboration to improve Native American tribes’ access to climate science tools

The Geocognition Research Lab is pleased to be part of a new NSF-funded project to foster better relations between tribes and scientific organizations when dealing with climate change. The project, led by Kyle Powys Whyte – an MSU philosophy professor – is a collaboration between Michigan State University and the College of Menominee Nation. MoreContinue reading “Collaboration to improve Native American tribes’ access to climate science tools”

Spring 2015 Edition: Earthquakes…And tornadoes…And floods…

Geocognition research into how people make decisions about the planet could save lives. Although many people may not realize it, the geosciences are vitally important to our society – for examples, geoscientists find the precious metals that we need for modern technology, find clean water and identify sources of water contamination, predict the impacts ofContinue reading “Spring 2015 Edition: Earthquakes…And tornadoes…And floods…”

Paper in Press, available online: Visual Representations on High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics Assessments

The GRL is pleased to announce that a new publication “Visual Representations on High School Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Physics Assessments” is in press and available through Springer’s online pre-publication system: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10956-015-9566-4. Congratulations to the paper’s first author, former graduate student and now Assistant Professor Nicole LaDue.

Paper on eye tracking, gestures, and weather published!

The GRL is proud to announce the print publication of our paper eye tracking gestures during weather forecasts: Drost, R., Trobec, J., Steffke, C., Libarkin, J., 2015, Eye tracking: Evaluating the impact of gesturing during televised weather forecasts: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, v. 96, p. 387–392.

GEOSPHERE: Special Theme Issue on Human Dimensions in Geoscience

GEOSPHERE is an online journal published by the Geological Society of America (ISI impact = 2.7). The Human Dimensions in Geoscience theme is intended to bring together research that sits at the boundary between geoscience, broadly construed, and social science. This offers an opportunity for communication, education, sociology, anthropology, or similar scholars to interact withContinue reading “GEOSPHERE: Special Theme Issue on Human Dimensions in Geoscience”

Supporting open discourse about scientists with disabilities

I am a huge fan of the IAGD, an organization started by my good friend, Dr. Chris Atchison. The IAGD promotes “access accommodation, and inclusion for students and geoscientists with disabilities.” By simply existing, the IAGD is helping to open up the geosciences to people with disabilities – simply acknowledging that a disability should notContinue reading “Supporting open discourse about scientists with disabilities”

Natural Disasters and the Importance of Geoscience Education

The terrible April 2015 earthquake in Kathmandu and resulting loss of life, property, and history is another tragic example of why everyone needs to learn more about the planet and the forces that can overpower human lives. Our school curriculum is woefully lacking in basic lessons on the Earth, human-Earth interactions, and critical thinking forContinue reading “Natural Disasters and the Importance of Geoscience Education”