Software for assisting high-school students in the spatial perception of geological structures

Spatial abilities are required in the study of structural geology. However, relatively few learning aids for teaching sptial topics in structural geology have been developed. Geo3D is a software that was designed to assist high-school earth-science students in perceiving geological structures and in envisioning cross sections through these structures. Geo3D provides the student with manipulative animated visual illustrations of three-dimensional fold and fault structures. The illustrations are used for "spatial investigation" of structures in the first module of Geo3D and as "hints" for solving "structural tasks" in the second module. The interaction period required for working with the software varies from one to three hours. The design process for Geo3D included investigating perceptions of geological structures; developing the first version of Geo3D; evaluating the early version; and developing an expanded improved version of the software.