Author(s):
Hydrogeology deals with surface and subsurface water flow and the transport and fate of environmental contaminants. Graduates with hydrogeological training are in high demand in the environmental and geosciences labor market. In addition to requiring specialized knowledge, hydrogeology is a heavily visuospatial discipline that requires practitioners to integrate disparate data from maps, cross-sections, stratigraphic columns, geological and numerical models, well data, water level data, and contaminant concentrations. Hydrogeologists must mentally synthesize these data to form a three-dimensional model of the subsurface, groundwater flow, and contaminant transport. To develop this thinking, a typical classroom task in hydrogeology is to develop a conceptual model of a contaminated site, identify groundwater flow direction(s), and predict the location and mass of a contaminant plume. This NSF-IUSE Level 1 Engaged Student Learning project is addressing two research questions: (1) What spatial thinking skills are essential to successfully completing a site characterization and contaminant plume task in hydrogeology? (2) How do students utilize these skills while completing this task in classroom and field settings? We report our findings on the first research question here.To identify essential spatial thinking skills, we worked with 72 expert and novice hydrogeologists, administered multiple spatial thinking tests, and assessed levels of hydrogeology knowledge before asking the hydrogeologists to complete a site characterization and contaminant plume task that we developed for the study. Using spatial thinking and knowledge test scores as predictor variables, we performed a hierarchical regression analysis with performance on the site characterization and contaminant plume task as the outcome variable. Our study provides primary empirical evidence that visual penetrative ability and working with multiple frames of reference are important skills that predict performance on typical hydrogeology problems required of undergraduate students. Together with hydrogeology knowledge, these spatial thinking skills account for 49.3% of the variability on the task. Identification of key knowledge and skills is a critical first step in developing evidence-based curricula to better prepare a diverse and competent hydrogeology workforce. We therefore encourage instructors to recognize that underdeveloped spatial thinking skills could present a hurdle for some students and that targeted spatial thinking training may yield positive results for both weak and strong spatial thinkers.
Coauthors
Peggy McNeal, Towson University; Heather Petcovic, Western Michigan University: Joel Moore, Towson University; Matt Reeves, Western Michigan University; Oluwarotimi Popoola, Western Michigan University; Matt Gordon, Towson University
