Faculty Publications
Counting Tectonic Plates: A Mixed-Methods Study Of College Students' Conceptions Of Plates And Boundaries
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Special Paper of the Geological Society of America
Volume
474
First Page
171
Last Page
188
Abstract
We explored students' conceptions of plate tectonics using a combined qualitative and quantitative approach consisting of multiple-choice ConcepTest questions, questionnaires, and interviews. When shown schematic images illustrating plate tectonics, half of the students were unable to determine the correct number of tectonic plates. These students appeared to have the most difficulty determining whether or not to count a divergent boundary as a plate boundary, but additional difficulty difficulties include confusion between continent-ocean boundaries (shorelines) and plate boundaries, and failure to see the larger picture as a result of focusing on individual boundaries. We propose that the underlying causes for these difficulty difficulties stem from the tendency for students to construct their understanding of plate tectonics based on inappropriately applied prior knowledge. For example, when viewing a divergent boundary, many students activate two lines of prior knowledge: (1) if entities are the same (such as ocean plates on both sides of a divergent boundary) then they are not considered separate; and (2) if there is no obvious break (which is not seen on diagrams of divergent boundaries), then they are also not considered separate. The application of both of these lines of prior knowledge results in students concluding the two sides of a divergent boundary are the same plate. Retention of these alternative concepts prevents conceptual change from occurring during the period of instruction and results in students not recognizing divergent boundaries as plate boundaries, leading them to incorrectly count the number of plates. © 2011 The Geological Society of America.
Department
Department of Earth Science
Original Publication Date
1-1-2011
DOI of published version
10.1130/2011.2474(12)
Recommended Citation
Kortz, Karen M.; Clark, Scott K.; Gray, Kyle; Smay, Jessica J.; Viveiros, Brendalee; and Steer, David, "Counting Tectonic Plates: A Mixed-Methods Study Of College Students' Conceptions Of Plates And Boundaries" (2011). Faculty Publications. 1990.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/1990
