Introducing Geosciences in a blended Education Master degree

Abstract

We aimed to introduce geoscience to a group of primary and secondary teachers without previous knowledge of the subject, since this branch of science has only recently been included in the science basic program. While all students had completed university education, none had any geoscience background, thus the course was designed at a basic level. Contents and activities were carefully selected to provide a good introduction to geosciences giving the students the basic concepts and letting them apply new knowledge within a problem based strategy. Since the students of the module work full time, the master was designed in a blended format providing flexibility of work hours. The blended model also helped students from the wide geographical region interact and form long lasting collaborations. Students reported that collaborative learning was necessary and key to their learning process. They also stated that the contents of the course were sufficient, clear, organized and interesting. We view the module as a success since all students reported enjoying the module and building novel knowledge in the field of geosciences. Additionally since the students are in turn teachers we were very happy to learn some of them will implement geosciences in their activities in the future.