Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2003
Keywords
geology, earth and space science, geoscience education, mathematics education, quantitative literacy, bibliography
Abstract
Thirty-eight papers published in the Journal of Geoscience Education ( JGE) from 1989 through 2003 explicitly use or recommend the use of spreadsheets as part of classroom or field exercises, projects, or entire courses. Many of the papers include the spreadsheets, and some include the equations. The papers demonstrate how spreadsheets allow students to explore a subject through problem-oriented, interactive, and quantitative exercises. We provide an annotated bibliography and classify the 38 JGE papers by spreadsheet use, mathematics skill area, and geologic subdiscipline. Our discussion of five selected articles — abundance of elements in the Earth’s crust; directional properties of inclined strata; U-shaped valleys scoured by mountain glaciers; the Laplace Equation for groundwater flow; the location of our solar system within the Milky Way galaxy — demonstrates the huge breadth of topics in the earth science curriculum. The 38 papers collectively, and the five examples individually, make the point that spreadsheets developed for geoscience education can provide context for principles taught in courses of other disciplines, including mathematics. Our classification by mathematics skill area follows the content standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (USA) and may prove useful for educators seeking problems for skills-based assessment.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Spreadsheets in Education, v. 1, issue 3, p. 168-194
Link to publisher website: https://sie.scholasticahq.com/article/4522-using-spreadsheets-in-geoscience-education-survey-and-annotated-bibliography-of-articles-in-the-journal-of-geoscience-education-through-2003
Scholar Commons Citation
Fratesi, Beth and Vacher, H. L., "Using Spreadsheets in Geoscience Education: Survey and Annotated Bibliography of Articles in the Journal of Geoscience Education through 2003" (2003). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 1851.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1851
