Using Videos to Help Students Gain Confidence and Learn Geological Skills

Upper division geology courses can be intense and some students find it difficult to learn geological skills without additional learning supports. One example of a challenge for students is developing skills to identify minerals using physical properties. Early upper division courses also include field trips, which can be overwhelming to visualize in advance. This research project investigates using videos to help new geology students learn geological skills and prepare for field experiences, from the perspective of a current geology student. Newly developed videos are designed to help students learn: 1) how to identify minerals using the physical properties and 2) how to prepare for a field trip. Mineral videos introduce luster, cleavage, habit, hardness and how to use the mineral identification chart. Field trip videos give students instructions for how to prepare for a field trip and supplies to bring, present elements of Leave No Trace and introduce the relevant geological processes that they will encounter for a specific field trip to Mt. Yana. To quantify how well each video helped increase confidence and learning for topics covered, participants answered survey questions before and after watching the videos. Data indicates that participants' level of confidence was low before watching the mineral and field trip videos but increased by 29-58% (using a 3 point confidence scale) after watching the videos. Participant scores also increased for their content knowledge after watching mineral identification and field-related videos. Results show that videos made by students for other students can be useful for increased confidence and content knowledge. The videos will be used in the upcoming fall semester Mineralogy and Lithology course, which will be online at CSU, Chico. Student learning and confidence will be measured using the same style of pre- and post- video surveys to measure their utility in an online course.