| Summary: | <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 18pt 0cm; line-height: normal; text-align: justify; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Popular culture abounds with ill-conceived notions about Earth’s processes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Movies, books, music, television and even video games frequently misrepresent fundamental scientific principles, warping viewers’ perceptions of the world around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First year geoscience students are not immune to pop culture’s portrayal of earth science and the misconceptions they bring to Geology 101 cloud their ability to differentiate between fact and fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Working within an action research context, a semester-long assessment was designed with the intent to highlight and subsequently challenge students’ misconceptions using examples of “bad geoscience” from pop culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students were required to practice and refine generic skills within this context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This project succeeded in engaging students, but requires refinement to become more effective in enhancing their geoscience literacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></em></p>
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