Students' Conceptions of Scale Regarding Groundwater

Abstract

We surveyed three groups of students regarding their ideas about the structure, scale, and perceived importance of groundwater. The quantitative methods employed in this study incorporated simple descriptive statistics of the six multiple-choice item responses. The results of this study indicate that many people hold inappropriate conceptions of hydrogeologic principles. They describe groundwater storage using multiple structures other than pores and cracks. Participant responses regarding the size ranges of groundwater storage structures show that students possess a wide range of ideas concerning scale. Many participants selected sizes of the groundwater structures that mirrored the surface analogs, however, some students applied scales on the order of houses and skyscrapers to typical pore and crack structures. The mental models erected according to the frameworks of these alternative scale conceptions are likely to be inappropriate and could detrimentally impact the appropriate mental visualization of other associated groundwater principles. To effectively address students' alternative groundwater conceptions teachers must pay particular attention to issues of scale, as well as the application of those conceptions to individually and socially relevant questions.

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