• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.20-33
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to examine the scientific activities of scientists justifying Wegener's continental drift in the 20th century, which is explained as a revolutionary process in earth science, and methodologically analyze the strategy of proposing new scientific theories and how the process of theory selection is carried out. Previously, the Earth was a static model and only the vertical movement of the crust was considered. However, the theory of continental drift proposed horizontal movement of the crust as a dynamic model of the Earth, eliminating numerous problems. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the rational activities of numerous scientists until the current plate tectonics theory was formed. Additionally, the theory of continental drift is in conflict with the theory of Earth shrinkage, which is an existing static model. In other words, it deviates from the existing mechanistic world view by presenting a dynamic model in which the Earth is created and changes, as opposed to a static model in which the Earth is already completed, fixed, and unchanged. As a result, old geology was weakened and new geophysics was born. The theory of continental drift and continued exploration by subsequent generations of scholars brought about a revolution in earth science. This can be said to be a good subject of investigation as educational material for various methodologies for students in earth science education, and as educational material for changing students' worldview.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.45-57
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• 2019

NOS education through the history of science is regarded effective. However, science teaching has been criticized for not considering the interest of the learners enough and providing the context of learning themes that hinder the understanding of NOS. This study intends to convey the NOS element through the rich context of storytelling. The theme of the story is the history of continental drift, in which, the debate of many scientists and Wegener's creativity are prominent. Of the various media that deliver storytelling, the most powerful medium that leads to personal immersion is computer games, and among many kinds of games, the main genre of storytelling is role-playing games (RPGs). We developed the science history role-playing game (SHRPG) focusing on continental drift. The game development procedure followed Kim's 4F process (2017), which consists of the Figure Out, Focus, Fun Design, and Finalize. The story was constructed based on the NOS elements of Lederman et al. (2002), namely creativity and imagination demand, subjectivity, socio-cultural personality and tentativeness, which are all present in the story of the continental drift theory. The mechanics and rules of the RPG included quests, rewards, quizzes, NOS scores, and rankings. In the final phase of development, the game developed was pilot tested four times. The results of the tests showed that students' understanding of NOS through SHRPG has increased, especially in the creativity domain. The students' satisfaction with the fun, sympathy, and immersion during the game was very high.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.661-679
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• 2022

Plate tectonics, with the continental drift theory and later strongly supported by the sea-floor spreading theory with evidence of paleo-geomagnetic fields, ocean floor sediments, successfully explained the slow but continuous movements of rigid lithospheres in geological time. Initially, plate motions were described as relative movements between adjacent plates, mainly based on paleo-geomagnetic reversal data. The advent of space geodetic techniques in the 1980s enabled direct measurements of plate velocities and assessment of deformations within certain regions. In this review, early relative plate motion models are briefly summarized, the no-net-rotation frame theory and corresponding models are explained, and the characteristics of the most recent models that incorporate intraplate deformation are described. Additionally, the plate motion section of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame is introduced, and a few recent case studies of local plate motion are briefly described; for example, in South America, Europe, Antarctica, and Turkey. Finally, studies of plate motion in northeastern Asia focusing on the Korean Peninsula are introduced.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.635-646
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• 2000

Geological achievements of the 20th century revolutionized our views about geological understanding and concept. A good example is the concept of continental drift suggested early in the 20th century and later explained in terms of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics. Our understanding of the compositions of materials forming earth has also improved during the20th century. Radio and stable isotopes together with biostratigraphy and sequence stratigraphy allow us to interpret the evolution of sedimentary basins in terms of plate movement and sedimentation processes. The Deep Sea Drilling Project initiated in 1960s and continued as the Ocean Drilling Project in 1980s is one of the most successful international research observations, and new developments in computational techniques have provided a wholly new view about the interior of the earth. Most of the geological features and phenomena observed in deep sea and around continental margins are now explained in terms of global tectonic processes such as superplumes flowing up from the interior of our planet and interacting with such as Rodinia Pannotia and Nena back in the Precambrian time. The space explorations which began in the late 1950s opened up a new path to astrogeology, astrobiology, and astropaleontology. The impact theory rooted in the discovery of iridium and associated phenomena in 1980s revived Cuvier's catastrophism as a possible explanation for the extinctions of biotas found in the geological record of this planet. Due to the geological achievements made in the 20th century, we now have a better understanding of geologic times and processes that were too long to be grasped by human records.