VGEE Philosophy & Approach

The VGEE is an inquiry-based geoscience learning environment for undergraduates that uses authentic scientific tools and practices. The foundation of the VGEE is a pedagogic model that structures scientific knowledge, guides inquiry, and organizes tools for learners.

PEDAGOGIC MODEL

The VGEE is built on the metaphor of a pyramid, which represents a progression of scientific knowledge that can be used to understand the natural world.

	At the base of the pyramid are fundamental principles, basic immutable physical laws (such as Newton's Laws) that are applicable to all of nature. Processes, the next level up, are combinations of fundamental principles that scientists apply in diverse contexts. An example of a process block in atmospheric science is the notion of buoyantly driven ascent. This exploits Newton's Laws (as well as the equation of state and gravity) to explain vertical motion in phenomena as diverse as ocean currents, mantle convection, and thunderstorms. Phenomena represent the top level of the pyramid. One important feature of our model is that learning need not progress in a particular order. The topics and activities are designed to accommodate various approaches: Starting with a careful elucidation of fundamental principles and showing how they interact in key processes, which, in turn, determine the behavior of large-scale processes. Examining a phenomena and explaining it in terms of interacting sub-processes, which are in turn explained by fundamental principles.
	We have arranged the topics in the Learner Guide according the latter approach, with learners moving down the pyramid (from phenomena to principle) and back up. They identify phenomena in topic 1. They learn to recognize and relate patterns in topics 2, 3, and 4. They integrate the patterns to explain the phenomena in topics 5 and 6. This is explained in more detail in the Organization of Topics section below.

TOOLS FOR LEARNING

In the phenomenon level of the pyramid, learners construct visualizations using geophysical datasets in the Visualization Environment and use the visualizations to discover underlying processes. They then explore fundamental principles using concept models (probes in idealized environments). Finally, they return to the Visualization Environment and use probes to investigate the visualizations and integrate the fundamental principles with the phenomena.

Pyramid levels		Tools	Topics
	Identify phenomena	Visualization Environment	1
	Discover underlying processes	Visualization Environment	2, 3, 4
	Explore fundamental principles	Concept models	2, 3, 4
	Integrate fundamental principles and phenomena	Probes in the Visualization Environment	5 & 6

The 5D Visualization Environment and datasets [MW: Add updated gfx] Learners begin their investigation in the Visualization Environment and return to it periodically to test their insights and apply newly discovered principles. They construct accurate visualizations that convey the complexity of real natural phenomena and use these visualizations to anchor their investigation into basic physical principles. The Visualization Environment has the same capabilities as tools used by practicing scientists. However, the environment has been designed for learners new to the process of visualization, who are using it to discover basic geoscience principles. Different datasets can be used to investigate different phenomena. The initial sets center on the ENSO phenomenon, the semi-periodic oscillation in sea-surface temperature in the tropical Pacific and the attendant climatic impact. We chose ENSO because it provides an Earth systems perspective and an integrated approach to the various disciplines of geoscience.
Concept models These tools help learners understand the fundamental principles that lay beneath the phenomena and processes. Learners explore a single physical principle in an idealized setting without the complexity of interacting processes. They directly manipulate physical conditions to investigate responses and deduce fundamental principles. Each concept model has a corresponding probe that responds to conditions in the Visualization Environment rather than to learner inputs in the idealized environment.
Probes These are interactive tools used within the Visualization Environment to probe the multidimensional datasets. They enable learners to observe differences between regions and relate the phenomena and processes to underlying physical principles. The probes can also be used to investigate how a physical principle works within the context of a particular phenomenon or process.

SUPPORTING STUDENT INQUIRY

Our preliminary research suggests that most learners are unfamiliar with the process of inquiry and have difficulty using visualizations and connecting a complex, multidimensional phenomena to underlying abstract physical principles. This is due to a number of factors:

• A lack of familiarity with 5D visualization
  
• A bias toward constructing 2D visualizations
  
• A lack of strategy for systematic investigation
  
• A bias toward focusing on familiar variables, in particular temperature, over other variables

This suggests that guided inquiry better supports novice learners and serves as a model for subsequent independent investigation (Edelson et al., 1999). This approach also provides the support that students need in learning how to learn through visualizations.

Our learner and teacher guides model the inquiry process and the use of visualization. These guides represent one possible way of learning with the VGEE tools and are not meant to restrict the scope or mode of learning. We have also constructed a virtual encyclopedia to support learner inquiry.

Inquiry strategy

Our inquiry strategy involves four steps: identifying phenomena, relating patterns, explaining fundamental principles, and integrating principles with phenomena.

Pyramid levels		Tools	Topics	Inquiry strategies
	Phenomena	Visualization Environment	1	Identifying phenomena
	Processes	Visualization Environment	2, 3, 4	Relating patterns
	Fundamental Principles	Concept models	2, 3, 4	Explaining fundamental principles
	Integration	Probes in the Visualization Environment	5 & 6	Integrating principles with phenomena

Identifying

Learners construct multidimensional visualizations of the phenomenon that move beyond simplified depictions to include the full complexity of the natural systems. They examine their visualizations for patterns and construct additional visualizations to highlight those patterns. This primarily involves the apex of the pyramid, the phenomenon.

Relating

Learners look for similarities (geographical, structural, or temporal coincidence of fields) that point to relations between different features of the phenomena. By relating patterns, learners isolate meaningful features of the phenomena from those that are less important. Finding and identifying relationships are key aspects of identifying processes in the phenomenon.

In the 'relating' topics and activities, learners construct visualizations in the Visualization Environment that highlight the similarity between fields. This forms the transition between the phenomena and processes level of the pyramid.

Explaining

In identifying the relationships between patterns, learners define why questions. In the 'explaining' topics and activities, learners use the concept models to try to understand the answers to these questions. In doing so, they are relating the processes in the phenomena to underlying fundamental principles, the lowest level of the pyramid.

Integrating

Learners connect the fundamental principles back to the fully complex phenomena. This primarily involves synthesis, with learners examining the interaction of fundamental principles and the way in which they are manifest in the fully realized phenomenon. In the 'integrating' topics and activities, learners use the probes in the Visualization Environment to document the importance of fundamental principles in the different processes. This activity is a transition from the lowest level of the pyramid to the apex.

Organization of topics

The topics are organized using the inquiry strategy.

• Topic 1 involves examining datasets to describe ENSO. Learners look for patterns and try to build relations between them.
  
  
• Topics 2, 3, and 4 involve examining the overall patterns discovered in the first topic and explaining them. These topics can be ordered independently and represent explanations for three different patterns apparent in normal years:
  
  
  • Clouds in the Western Pacific
    
  • Clear skies in the Eastern Pacific
    
  • The horizontal wind across the Pacific
    
    
• Topics 5 and 6 integrate the various explanations into a systems perspective. Topic 5 integrates the patterns into a Pacific-wide circulation system, examines that system for internal consistency, and investigates the feedbacks within the system. Topic 6 compares the Pacific-wide circulation in the various phases of ENSO. This represents a final integration of the knowledge throughout the circulation, but could equally well serve as the start of a new inquiry. Learners have explained why the phases are the way they are; they can then investigate the reasons that phases transition.
  

Organization of activities

Each topic is divided into activities, arranged to explicitly model the inquiry strategy. This means that most of the topics have a parallel structure: identifying patterns, relating patterns, explaining patterns, and integrating explanations. Early in their explorations, many learners will follow this structure explicitly. As they become adept with the inquiry process, they may want to change the order of the activities.

Virtual encyclopedia

This multimedia collection of resources provides background information for learners as they use the VGEE tools and go through the topics and activites in the Learner Guide.