Conference Agenda

The restrictions in place due to the COVID epidemic have forced us to develop non-traditional solutions to teach field geology in the last few months, such as virtual field excursions, and entirely new safety and hygiene plans. Many of the solutions we have developed should be made into permanent resources that will increase the accessibility of our courses to students and society. Since ~March 2020, similar resources have been developed collaboratively during regular working meetings by groups such as the US National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Conversely sharing of these resources among German tertiary geoscience educators has thus far proceeded on an ad hoc basis. We propose to establish a digital platform, perhaps hosted by the DGGV, for sharing of resources. We would also like to convene regular (monthly?) meetings of interested parties. This presentation time slot will mostly be devoted to discussion and establishment of this concept, but will include description of an example, a one-day virtual Eifel structural geology field excursion run for 2^nd and 3^rd year students in late May at Universität Mainz. In building this trip we successfully integrated web platforms such as V3Geo.org for 3D outcrop models based on photogrammetry, GoogleEarth, and the app OutcropWizard.de. In future we also plan to interface with StraboSpot.org, and would value suggestions and discussion about other similar platforms or dataabse systems.

Seeing Geology is hard! To build an intuitive understanding of complex 3 dimensional structures in the subsurface requires a lot of training. To make this experience more accessible, we present here a concept for haptic interaction with geological models in 3-D, through a link of advanced geological modeling with an augmented reality (AR)-sandbox.

Augmented Reality Sandboxes are interactive devices in which a sculptable sand surface is constantly scanned by a depth camera and a computed image is projected back onto the sand. Such AR Sandboxes are a popular tool for geoscience education and outreach. However, existing functionality is commonly limited to the visualization of topography with contour lines and colors and lacks subsurface informations.

We present Open-AR-Sandbox, an open-source, python based Augmented Reality sandbox designed specifically for the use in geoscience education and outreach. In addition to the visualization of topography it implements a variety of modules to interactively explore geological concepts and processes such as the relation of topography and the geological subsurface, mass transport simulation or interactive geological mapping exercises.

Our solution utilizes the powerful open-source geological modelling Software GemPy which makes it easy to create custom geological models for the use in the sandbox and even makes it possible to change model parameters on the fly. With the help of computer vision, optical markers placed on the sand are automatically recognized to display for example arbitrary cross sections through a model or setting the location of a landslide. Further control elements and information such as parameter sliders, buttons or interactive 3d views of models and topography can be accessed conveniently on an additional screen or touchscreen.

Both Open-AR-Sandbox (https://github.com/cgre-aachen/open_AR_Sandbox) as well as GemPy (www.gempy.org) are written in Python and released under a LGPL-3.0 open-source License. Contributions to these projects as well as comments from the community are welcome.

V3Geo is a new cloud-based repository for virtual 3D models in geoscience. It allows storage, search and viewing of 3D models commonly collected using photogrammetry, lidar or other laboratory-based 3D modelling techniques. The platform is developed for storing 3D models at the range of scales and applications required by geoscientists – from microscopic, hand samples and fossils through to outcrops covering tens of kilometres. A 3D viewer allows exploring of the models and simple measurement from within the web browser. V3Geo differs from other services in that it allows very large models (with multiple sections), is designed to include additional interpretations and focusses on geoscience through a tagging and metadata schema. Although planned for full release later in 2020, the first part of the project has been released in response to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. Models in the database (currently c. 150) are given Creative Commons licences and can be utilised for virtual teaching and field experience as physical courses and excursions move to digital formats. V3Geo allows increased accessibility to field localities when travel or mobility is restricted, as well as providing the base models for virtual field trips. V3Geo is now accepting contributions from the geoscience community. Contributions are subject to a technical review to ensure underlying quality and reliability for scientific and professional usage. The database will continue to develop and grow, aiming to become a valuable resource for the geoscience community.

The ultimate aim of field courses should be to enable students to work autonomously in the field. Student- and problem-centered approaches to learning in the field afford students much autonomy, but unlike in the more traditional show-and-tell approach, independent projects have so far required that students spend a significant amount of time working in the field without access to supervision. Unless students are competent enough to experience proficiency and a feeling of controlling the quality of their own work, such autonomy is detrimental to student motivation.

We developed a knowledge-based tutoring system, the Utrecht Companion to the Earth, that allows an integrated asynchronous online supervision of students’ field activities. In other words, the student’s smartphone or tablet becomes their just-in-time field instructor. The system allows us to make available learning materials in different formats, such as infographics, checklists, quizzes, or knowledge clips. These materials are presented on a cartographic background that can be toggled between a topographic and geological map.

The intended outcome of adopting our system in field courses is a richer learning environment in which students learn more, achieve higher-order learning outcomes, and experience feelings of proficiency by having a more productive interaction with earth structures and materials. The learning materials meet the immediate need of a student exactly when it arises allowing them to acquire knowledge and skills. Face-to-face time in the field with an instructor can then be used to achieve higher-order learning outcomes, focusing not on acquiring knowledge, but on gaining insight and understanding.

The landscapes built by rivers and coasts in conjunction with ecological engineering plant species have been and will be under stress by population pressure and global change. The expertise of geoscientists, well-trained graduates and an educated society are dearly needed to face the interdisciplinary challenges. Public and politics often ask for more evidence in view of the short-term expenses to reduce future likelihood of disaster. These issues are related in two fundamental questions. When do we have causal relationships and when do we have sufficient evidence for them? How can students and the public gain causal understanding? I will argue that two main philosophical concepts underlie our activities targeting students, professionals, school pupils and stakeholder publics, in addition to the usual simplifications.

The first concept is that we need two kinds of causal relationships: mechanical and probabilistic. Asking for more data fits the latter and correlation is a strong indicator of causation, but knowing the mechanism is complementary and at least as important in the geosciences. However, we need yet to begin explaining this to undergraduate students who have both statistical and physical training without realizing that these pertain to two different kinds of causation.

The second concept is that of embodied understanding of mechanisms: the feeling for what happens that can be gained through interactions with natural systems, and through analogue and numerical modelling. This feeling particularly aids the mechanistic causation in somewhat deterministic systems.

For students, this means learning to do controlled experimentation with simple lab setups and models, which then offers direct experience pertaining the theory of relevant biological and physical mechanisms. We also found a fruitful way to bring delta technology professionals, students and scientists together in an annual lecture series augmented by an attractive visit to a large analogue experiment in the www.uu.nl/Metronome facility.

In order to improve student learning during lectures on location, students can be actively engaged by giving short class-exercises. Class exercises are just one of the many ways of making lectures more interactive. A good source of inspiration regarding interactive lectures is formed by the quick start-up guides presented at https://serc.carleton.edu/onramps/index.html (NSF funded project).

I have ample experience with class exercises in a Structural Geology and Tectonics course I teach at Utrecht University. This is a 3rd year bachelor’s degree course with 20–40 participants. I typically give two class exercises per lecture hour. They always have a well-defined aim and task, and take about 3–10 minutes each. The exercises bring back the attention of students, re-emphasize a topic that I have just talked about, and give the students a chance to directly apply a concept, equation, or technique. The exercises may include a quick calculation, making a measurement, reading a graph, or interpreting a (seismic) section or rock (micro)structure.

Course evaluations show that students very much appreciate the interactive nature of the lectures induced by the class exercises. They feel engaged and later revisit the exercises in preparation for exams. In my experience, class exercises are not widely used as a useful teaching strategy, which is a regrettable since they are easy to implement and form a cost-effective way to make classic lectures more effective for students in terms of reaching learning outcomes.

Geoethics emerged as the discipline that studies and reflects upon the values that underpin appropriate human behaviors and practices, whenever humans interact with the Earth. The foundations of geoethics are traced back to three main elements: the importance of geological culture as an essential part of the geoscientist’s background, the concept of responsibility (individual and social), and the definition of an ethical criterion on which to guide behavior and practices in geosciences. These pillars are rooted in a set of values that can be divided into three groups that partially overlap: ethical values, cultural values, and social values. GOAL (Geoethics Outcomes and Awareness Learning) project, funded by Erasmus Plus Agency, was the first international project sponsored to develop educational materials to promote the teaching of geoethics in higher education. A syllabus and complimentary educational resources where elaborated by an interdisciplinary team with members from 6 countries allowing the exploration of expertise in o interdisciplinary areas. Both, the syllabus and the educational materials focused on geoethics’ themes, issues, and dilemmas. They range in different aspects of interest and highlights the ethical issues involved in human beings-Earth system interactions: georisks, water management, geoheritage, and mining. The final aim of the GOAL is to enhance the quality and relevance of students’ knowledge, skills, and competencies as well as citizens’ awareness and geoscientists' responsibility in their work. Being the first international project funded on geoethics, its outputs are expected to be a step forward in the field and to promote new insights, namely in education.

During the past 30 years, Earth science education (ESE) research has established a solid theoretical foundation, as well as practical strategies and techniques, for meaningful teaching of Earth science from K-12. From articles focusing on inquiry-based teaching to research in environmental education and sustainable development, a holistic view of planet Earth has been promoted. Nevertheless, the quality of this research, and the growing need for knowledge in Earth science, have done little to improve the low profile of ESE in schools. The narrowing of the disturbing gap between the educational potential of Earth science and its low profile in schools requires a new agenda and a devoted commitment among Earth science educators all over the world. Such an agenda will encompass the deepening of existing research of the Earth systems approach in areas like the development of environmental insight better understanding the learning process as an embedded human instinct, which will hopefully contribute to changing the current essentialism-based teaching culture. To achieve this aim Earth science education needs to reach also out of schools to improve citizens’ values towards Earth System and inherently sustainable development goals. Citizens must recognize their role as participative beings on Earth's sub-systems, and face that life on Earth depends on the responsible management of the Earth system. New avenues of research focused on changing the attitudes of geoscientists towards their role in society and the adoption of geoethical values is also an emergent research topic to be added to this new agenda.