Module Response: Complex Cognitive Processes

There are many challenging topics in the Earth Science curriculum. This can become transparent when dealing with younger students (8th grade as apposed to 11th grade) trying to learn complex and abstract concepts. Having the ability to solve problems is skill needed to be successful. They have to relate topics and understand different prototypes correctly, while seeing if new ideas fit using exemplars.
One such topic that comes to mind is that of climates. It is a topic grounded in basic and pre-existing knowledge. It is also challenging for students. In Bruner’s Discovery learning this topic can be approached by providing basic questions and ideas as a jumping off point so students can find the fundamental idea even as a concept becomes increasingly abstract. How does weather and climate vary around the world? What causes these variations? How is the weather different near the poles and near the equator? Now how do these differences in climate relate to the model they created? By having only one continent what affect does this have on global climate? This would be a great way to start before creating the model that then is used to organize their climate types and lead to their discovery of the interrelated nature of each factor. An advanced organizer can be used to relate images associated with specific climates.
According to Ausubel's exposition teaching this topic needs to be introduced with a statement that organizes the information. A perfect example would be to start with a color coordinated map of the United States broken up into climate regions using symbols. Simple questions could be posed for each area relating to prior fundamental knowledge obtained from earlier grades. Most students know what a desert is, can relate images to deserts or that a tropical region is warm and rainy. Visuals could be used to represent key relationships cues with each type of climate such as a picture of a cactus for deserts or an ice berg for a polar region. What students may struggle with is the deeper understanding of the driving forces behind these conditions. Is it hot because of its latitude, global wind belts, ocean currents, latitude or altitude? In a science class this can be incorporated into a lab where students create an imaginary earth with one continent as apposed to the way they are familiar with. As they add each complex feature onto their simple model they will reinforce their prior knowledge with actual reasons for each specific climate type and ratio. The students will have to use problem solving skills as they are dealing with an imaginary planet, this will make them identify key principles and apply them to the new situation. They can graph temperature ranges, rain fall and other climate factors to add greater depth to reinforce each climate factor.