In this work we describe a teaching proposal to calculate the eccentricity of the Moon's trajectory by applying a geometrical technique. The values of the ratios between the Earth-Moon distance and the diameter of the Moon at apogee and at perigee were calculated from a kinematic model associated with a geometrical technique of image analysis. The…

The geosciences consist of multiple disciplines including geology, oceanography, and atmospheric science. Significant work expended to understand spatial thinking skills important to teaching and learning geology has advanced our ability to support students in geology courses and to achieve increased student success, retention, and diversity in…

This chapter describes research on a four-year National Science Foundation grant project that supported instructional, organizational, and professional change made by geoscience faculty change agents. The faculty change agents participated in sustained professional development, led regional workshops, and engaged in college-, program-, and…

Learning outcomes are inevitably to be declared by any university and educational institution at every level of their programmes. It should have a general scheme for all programmes regardless of the discipline specificities, individual courses or even independent instructional units. Such outcomes are stated at different levels based on the…

This research is part of the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Moroccan education system, our objective being to evaluate the use of computer-assisted experimentation (CAEx) in learning to encourage the authorities of the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training and Sports to adopt the CAEx program…

In a series of 12 project-based learning lessons, a group of seven fifth-grade students who live 200 miles from the coast explored their personal connections to the ocean. After completing a unit on the role of water in Earth's surface processes, the students investigated ocean acidification and how this pervasive ocean problem impacts their local…

This study presents an analysis of the incommensurability about the representations or models elaborated by children from an Indigenous community within three areas or cultural domains, namely, the ethnic, daily (domestic), and school domains and their implications in relation to science education. The children belong to an Indigenous Nahuatl…

Scientists rely heavily on tree-ring records to better understand climate variability of the past millennium. Tree rings can also be utilized to give students a window into paleoclimate research, the methods scientists use, and the importance of scientific findings. Here, we present five online labs that introduce undergraduate students to the…

This paper examines the creation and negotiation of disciplinary culture, through ethnographic fieldwork about socialization in a critical learning environment: scientific fieldwork. Field-based science has received scant research attention relative to its importance as a degree requirement, a professional rite of passage, and a site where sexual…

The objective of this article is to identify and discuss the views of teachers of physics-chemistry (Ph-Ch) and Life and Earth Sciences (LES) on the use and effectiveness of interactive simulations PhET (Physics Education Technology) in student teaching and learning. A survey research method was used in this study. 114 Moroccan science teachers…

One of the important roles of HE institutions is to train graduates who will smoothly enter the labour market. The literature review demonstrates that one effective method to facilitate this transition is to ensure students acquire professional experience. The aim was to establish the scale and characteristics of employers' demand for work…

Recruitment and retention are critical for geoscience and the need for innovative ways of building these bridges to the geosciences is growing. Field experiences are a common attractor for students to the field sciences such as geoscience, but many research- and field-based experiences are limited to those who are already majors. Innovative,…

System thinking in an important area of study across STEM and non-STEM disciplines. The Earth system approach that drives the geosciences and is essential to issues of sustainability makes system thinking a critical skill in geoscience education. A key area in understanding the development of system thinking skills in the geosciences relies on the…

This study investigates students' conceptions of the causes and processes that form eskers and erratics, types of glacial and glaciofluvial landforms which to date have been little researched in geoscience education. The data collected for the study included 134 responses to an assignment completed by 12- to 13-year-old students in the Swedish…

This qualitative study sought to determine undergraduate students' beliefs about their motivations for pursuing, and challenges to completing, geoscience majors in a large public university. Eighteen undergraduate students participated in the study and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. In addressing the study's research…