Getting Started: Uncovering students’ conceptions about Volcanoes

and the Earth System

The goal of Getting Started is not to seek closure (the “right answer”), but to find out what your students know and think about Earth systems. By the end of the module, if not by the end of the chapter, students will have developed more detailed and accurate understandings about volcanoes and the Earth system.

Have students answer the opening question. Students may think that a volcanic eruption cannot affect them unless they live near a volcano. They may interpret the word “affect” in a narrow way, limiting it to hazards (lava) or local temperature changes (due to heat released during the eruption). Some students may think that only the most massive of eruptions could affect distant communities. Other students may know more about the products of volcanic eruptions. For example, they may know that dust and gases from some eruptions reach the stratosphere and impact regional temperatures, and that other material lower in the atmosphere may affect weather.

Students may struggle with the opening question. Draw a large circle on the board to represent Earth. Put an X to represent your community on one side of the circle, and an X on the other side to represent the volcanic eruption. Ask students to write and draw as much as they know about what happens when a volcano erupts. What do volcanoes release in an eruption? Which system is most likely to change as a result? How would that change cause a change in some other system? Encourage students to label their drawings carefully and thoroughly, and to write a caption that explains their diagram. Ask students to work independently or in pairs, and to exchange papers with others. Hold a brief class discussion about student ideas. Avoid labeling answers as right or wrong. Accept all responses, and encourage clarity of expression and detail.

In time, EarthComm students will understand that because volcanoes are part of the Earth system, they contribute matter and energy to the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. These changes cause other interactions, which connect volcanic eruptions to climate change, glaciation, evolution (and extinction) of species, sea-level change, and coastal erosion. For example, an eruption might put fine material into the atmosphere, which, in turn, reduces incoming solar radiation, which then might affect global climate. A change in climate might affect the growing season of crops, which, in turn, makes the food they eat more expensive. Students who think in terms of systems realize how volcanic eruptions can affect the price of a hamburger.

You might consider asking students to construct a concept map of what they know about volcanoes before you start this chapter. Students should complete this individually. Ask them to include as much as they know about volcanoes on the concept map. You may wish to first construct a class concept map with them on a familiar topic (basketball, volleyball, etc.) to review how to construct concept maps.