Designing and Implementing a Multi-institution Field Program for 2YC and 4YC Students

Tuesday 3:00pm-4:15pm Tennessee State University
Round Table Discussion

Leader

Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College
Interested in offering extended field experiences for your introductory-level students? Is your institution interested in adding a greater diversity of field projects to its existing geology field camp? This roundtable will provide an opportunity to discuss ideas for developing and executing field programs that bring together students and faculty from several institutions. We will use the ESTEM (Environmental STEM--NSF-Geopaths) project, a field and career preparation program for students from College of the Atlantic, University of San Francisco, and Mt. San Antonio College, as a case study for the conversation. In 2017 and 2018, approximately 40 undergraduates from COA, USF, and Mt. SAC completed geology, geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology field projects in the Sierras and interacted with local environmental professionals to learn about careers in the environmental sector. We will discuss some of the barriers that may accompany implementing a multi-institutional field collaboration, provide examples of ESTEM field projects and assessment strategies, and take a look at changes in ESTEM students' career interests and environmental skill sets. Please attend this roundtable if you would like to share your experience with collaborative undergraduate field programs or are interested in finding partner institutions for a future field program.