Attract Students to Courses and Programs

In order to persist in geoscience majors, students must first be attracted to them. The state of minority participation in geoscience majors has shown little improvement over the last decade, and more needs to be done. There are a number of proven strategies faculty and departments can use to increase student interest in STEM majors.

Communicate Career Opportunities

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Many students want to know what kinds of careers they can pursue if they major geoscience. For students from underrepresented populations, the need to envision possible futures is likely more important because they may not have family members in any STEM field or other connections to people who can tell them about opportunities for people with a geoscience degree.

• Providing information about workforce needs and trends: InTeGrate, Building Strong Geoscience Departments (BSGD)
• Advice for improving workforce preparation in degree programs: InTeGrate, SAGE 2YC, BSGD
• Clarifying career options in the geosciences and what degrees are necessary for them: SAGE 2YC

Demonstrate Relevance To Students' Lives

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Many students want to see why course content should matter to them before they are willing to engage with it. Demonstrating relevance is a way to give students a feeling of agency in tackling issues they care about.

• Teaching materials addressing societally relevant issues: InTeGrate, GETSI, Project EDDIE
• Guidance for service learning, addressing local issues, and utilizing students' sense of place: InTeGrate, Keyah Math, Pedagogy in Action, EarthConnections, Cutting Edge
• Advice for engaging environmental justice and connecting to other issues of cultural relevance: InTeGrate, InTeGrate Program Models, LSAMP IINSPIRE, A Civil Action: Woburn Toxic Trial

Reach Out to K12 Students and Teachers

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Engaging with K12 students can help excite them about geoscience opportunities and also see a place for themselves that community. Teachers will appreciate support and development around geoscience content and help with making it relevant to students' lives.

• Teaching materials developed for K12 geoscience learning: Earth Exploration Toolkit, DIG Texas Blueprints, Earth Learning Idea ↗
• Models of pathways from K12 to college and bridging supports: EarthConnections, LSAMP IINSPIRE
• Advice for faculty engaging directly with K12 students and teachers: InTeGrate
• Models of professional preparation and development for K12 teachers: InTeGrate, Preparing Teachers to Teach Earth Science

Prioritize Introductory Courses

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Introductory courses provide students with their first real taste of geoscience at the college level. This first contact can either help draw them in or push them away.

• Guidance for capitalizing on introductory courses to address student and institutional priorities: InTeGrate, On the Cutting Edge, BSGD
• Advice for teaching large classes and making effective use of learning assistants: On the Cutting Edge
• Instruction for using engaged pedagogies and active learning: Pedagogy in Action
• Collaborate with local two-year colleges teaching introductory geoscience: InTeGrate Program Models

Get Students into the Field

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Field experiences are a cornerstone of teaching and learning about the Earth and have long been an important part of drawing new students into geoscience majors. Providing supportive and scaffolded field experiences for students can help them develop a geoscience identity.

• Field lab exercises to integrate into courses: Pedagogy in Action
• Common field trip sites and field guides: NAGT Teaching in the Field, Integrating Research and Education (IRE)
• Synthesis of the role of field work in the discipline and research on impactful practices: On the Cutting Edge, Bringing Research on Learning to the Geosciences
• Advice for the use of technology in the field: IRE, On the Cutting Edge

Involve Students in Research Experiences

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The opportunity to do science has a dramatic effect on students' ability to see themselves in a geoscience career. From in-class activities to summer REU programs, these experiences can provide a powerful pull to draw students into the major.

• Advice for providing undergraduate research experiences in several contexts: Pedagogy in Action, SAGE 2YC, CUREnet, LSAMP IINSPIRE
• Guidance for integrating research into teaching practice: On the Cutting Edge
• Developing students' science identity: SAGE 2YC