Conceptual understanding of sequence stratigraphy

Sequence stratigraphic and Wheeler diagram interpretations require a strong combination of conceptual understanding and diagram reasoning skills. Students are generally exposed to the foundational concepts within sequence stratigraphy (relative sea level, eustasy, base level, and accommodation) in a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of geoscience education Vol. ahead-of-print; no. ahead-of-print; pp. 1 - 18
Main Authors Kreager, B. Z., LaDue, N. D., Shipley, T. F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bellingham Routledge 2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Classification
Concept Formation
conceptual errors
Correlation
Earth Science
Error Patterns
Errors
Ethnicity
Fundamental Concepts
Gender Differences
Geology
Learning Processes
Scientific Concepts
sedimentology
Sequence stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Students
Task Analysis
Teaching Methods
Thinking Skills
Undergraduate Students
Visual Aids
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Summary:Sequence stratigraphic and Wheeler diagram interpretations require a strong combination of conceptual understanding and diagram reasoning skills. Students are generally exposed to the foundational concepts within sequence stratigraphy (relative sea level, eustasy, base level, and accommodation) in a variety of courses along their degree path, however, one prior study found that few students have a clear scientific conceptual understanding. This study serves two purposes: First, we explore the impact of Wheeler diagram instruction on student learning. Second, we assess students' common errors on an interpretation task prior to and after Wheeler diagram interpretation. Student conceptual errors are grouped into four categories (fundamental concepts, subaerial erosional unconformities, correlative conformities and sequence identification). In general, student errors were consistent before and after Wheeler diagram instruction. The most common errors related to students identifying the contact between two facies as a stratigraphic or sedimentological feature rather than sedimentary units. Additionally, we provide a set of suggestions for teaching sequence stratigraphy that may help target the common errors and increase student interpretation skill.
ISSN:1089-9995
2158-1428
DOI:10.1080/10899995.2023.2165866