Geoscience education in the United States

Dr Julie Libarkin is a US-based researcher at the department of geological science and division of science and mathematics education, Michigan State University, USA who focuses on the evolving and potentially important discipline of geoscience education research aimed at better understanding of the processes involved in geoscience learning for both teachers and students. In the first of two articles she presents the US context, which is probably reflected in most Western Europe higher education institutions schools, concluding that geocognition or geological cognition better encapsulate the thinking needed to bring about improvements in geoscience education.