Given the importance of fresh water, we investigated undergraduate students’ understanding of water flow and its consequences. We probed introductory geology students’ pre-instruction knowledge using a classroom management system at two large research-intensive universities. Open-ended clicker questions, where students click directly on diagrams using their smart device (e.g., cell phone, tablet) to respond, probed students’ predictions about: (1) groundwater movement and (2) velocity and erosion in a river channel. Approximately one-third of students correctly identified groundwater flow as having lateral and vertical components; however, the same number of students identified only vertical components to flow despite the diagram depicting enough topographic gradient for lateral flow. For rivers depicted as having a straight channel, students correctly identified zones of high velocity. However, for curved river channels, students incorrectly identified the inside of the bend as the location of greatest erosion and highest velocity. Systematic errors suggest that students have mental models of water flow that are not consistent with fluid dynamics. The use of students’ open-ended clicks to reveal common errors provided an efficient tool to identify conceptual challenges associated with the complex spatial and temporal processes that govern water movement in the Earth system.

中文翻译：

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评估水的素养：大学生对地下水和地表水流量的构想

考虑到淡水的重要性，我们调查了大学生对水流及其后果的理解。我们在两所大型研究型大学中使用课堂管理系统探索了地质学生的入门知识。开放式答题器问题，学生可以使用他们的智能设备（例如手机，平板电脑）直接在图表上单击以做出响应，探讨了学生对以下方面的预测：（1）地下水运动以及（2）河道中的流速和侵蚀。大约三分之一的学生正确地确定了地下水流具有横向和纵向成分；但是，尽管该图描绘了足够的地形坡度以供横向流动，但相同数量的学生仅识别出垂直流动的要素。对于描绘为直河的河流，学生正确地确定了高速区域。但是，对于弯曲的河道，学生错误地将弯道内部识别为最大侵蚀和最高速度的位置。系统性错误表明，学生的水流心理模型与流体动力学不一致。利用学生的开放式点击来揭示常见错误，为确定与支配地球系统中水运动的复杂时空过程相关的概念性挑战提供了有效的工具。