Vision and Change for Geoscience Undergraduate Education: Report and Toolkit

American Geological Institute, Alexandria VA

Investigators

Abstract

Significant changes in geoscience research and geoscience career opportunities have occurred over the past two decades, and for the most part, undergraduate geoscience curricula and programs have not kept up with these changes. Thus, students from many colleges and universities leave undergraduate programs without the necessary educational products to successfully engage in geoscience employment or for attending graduate school. As a result of the multi-year effort on the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education (Futures), the skills competencies and concepts that students need to be successful in the current and future workforce have been defined and agreed on by both the academic and employer components of the geoscience community. In addition to developing a consensus, the Futures effort investigated best practices for imparting these core needs to students and implementing changes within geoscience departments across the country. The current project will develop a Vision and Change document and toolkit for the geosciences that encapsulates all of the results and outcomes from the Futures effort. Department heads, chairs, and other administrators, faculty, students and employers will have access to the document and toolkit to guide systematic changes in geoscience education at the undergraduate level in the United States. The education of undergraduate students in departments that successfully evolve their programs will be greatly enhanced, and those students will be better prepared for graduate school and/or future employment. The experiential learning recommended by the wider geoscience academic and employment community is also most conducive to learning by underrepresented groups and to their future success. The Vision and Change document will make the case for the critical need for institutional change and provide guidance on best practices for achieving these changes for departments of different sizes and institution types. The current project will produce a suite of information products to be used as a tool set for deans, department chairs, and faculty in assessing their existing curriculum and guiding the priorities and strategies for modernizing their program to meet current and emerging needs. The Vision and Change document and associated products will provide critical data on the skills, concepts and competencies needed for undergraduate geoscience education and on effective strategies for updating undergraduate curricula and programs and in identifying common obstacles or roadblocks and solutions. Results from previous pilot studies at different institution types and faculty levels will be presented to help departments identify the approaches that would be most beneficial to them. Preparing students to be successful future geoscientists requires a solid understanding of current and future workforce needs and the evolution of curricula and programs to keep in step with the changes in geoscience research and technology. Fomenting change in departments, particularly with respect to undergraduate curricula, can be a challenge and being able to design successful strategies for changing undergraduate programs in different types of institutions will be a significant advancement. The Vision and Change document will be a catalyst for change and provide a roadmap for proven pathways to success. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.