Understanding groundwater – students' pre-conceptions and conceptual change by means of a theory-guided multimedia learning program

Abstract

Abstract. Education on the subject of groundwater is crucial for sustainability. Nevertheless, international studies with students across different age groups have shown that the basic hydrogeological concept of groundwater defined as water within porous and permeable rocks is not an established everyday notion. Drawing from international research, a multimedia learning program Zwischen Regenwolke und Wasserhahn (between the rain cloud and the tap) was developed, which incorporates specific insights from the fields of conceptual change research, multimedia research, and the model of educational reconstruction. The effectiveness of the learning program was ascertained by means of two studies with Austrian seventh grade pupils as well as teacher-training students from the fields of biology and geography in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the learning program. Using a quasi-experimental research design, the participants' conceptions and knowledge of groundwater were determined in a pre- and post-test. The pupils and students greatly benefitted from working through the learning software independently. Their knowledge of groundwater increased significantly compared to the control group and there was a highly significant increase in the number of scientifically correct notions of groundwater. The acceptance of the program was also generally very high. The results indicate that theory-guided multimedia learning programs can play an important role in the transfer of research results to classroom settings, especially in science education.

What We Know about Water: A Water Literacy Review

“…Half of the high school students surveyed were able to identify the long-term conservation of a resource and responsible use to avoid depletion as elements of sustainability. Specific conservation knowledge was shown to vary in one study as three quarters of students recognized that compost preserved soil water, but only half knew that overuse depleted a local water source [73].…”

“…However, care must be taken in the education system to link with prior knowledge and local experience so as not to overgeneralize. As noted, a number of authors have drawn attention to textbook figures and representations of water topics that may create or reinforce simplified conceptions, misconceptions and alternate conceptions in students [2,15,60,61,73,76]. These include an absence of diversity in landscapes (e.g., mountainous terrain rather than plains), the lack of built environments, preferential depiction of natural environments, limited pathways and storage examples (e.g., lakes, but not groundwater), and highly abstract representations.…”

“…These include an absence of diversity in landscapes (e.g., mountainous terrain rather than plains), the lack of built environments, preferential depiction of natural environments, limited pathways and storage examples (e.g., lakes, but not groundwater), and highly abstract representations. Even the typical arrows in diagrams may mislead students [73,77,78]. When these static visuals are used as a primary teaching tool, such as in a lecture, students may learn and reproduce the representation rather than necessarily learning the concept [78,79].…”

“…Topics and case studies in textbooks may skew or limit student recognition of water scarcity and use topics [69]. In some cases, teachers themselves may lack the training and understanding to significantly impact conceptual change in their students [73,80].…”

Communicating landscape hydrology — the water cycle in a box

“…The importance of groundwater as a natural resource for water supply, agriculture and ecosystems is pretty obvious to most people and usually highly valued. Nonetheless, it is very striking that the picture of how natural waters are circulating becomes typically rather rough when it comes to the subsurface part (Unterbruner et al, 2016). For many laymen, 'groundwater' is something relatively vague.…”