Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
First Advisor
Dawn Kopacz
Date of this Version
5-2024
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science
Major: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Under the supervision of Professor Dawn Kopacz
Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2024
Abstract
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) has listed the inaccessibility of research related to misconceptions in atmospheric and climate science as a Geoscience Education Research Grand Challenge (Cervato et al. 2018). This project was a direct response to this call for research and consisted of three distinct steps: 1) data gathering, which included reviewing the literature for relevant misconception data, 2) a qualitative analysis, which included compiling, organizing, and categorizing the data collected, and 3) a quantitative analysis, which included determining the prevalence of each misconception across topic categories, demographic categories, and over time. A total of 403 misconceptions related to atmospheric and climate science have been identified. Of those misconceptions, nearly half (approximately 47%) were related to climate change. A little less than a third of the misconceptions (approximately 32%) were related to fundamental atmospheric science topics. Finally, less than a quarter of the misconceptions (22%) were related to general climate concepts (excluding climate change). Of the 403 misconceptions, 80% were identified in students, 16% were identified in teachers and 4% were identified in both students and teachers. Most of the identified misconceptions have not been well-studied. In fact, 74% of the identified misconceptions were only identified by a single study, and only 1.5% were identified by five or more studies. This compilation of misconceptions can serve as a guide for future misconceptions research and as a resource for educators.
Advisor: Dawn Kopacz
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Climate Commons, Earth Sciences Commons, Information Literacy Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Welfare Commons
Comments
Copyright 2024, Haeli Leighty. Used by permission