INCORPORATING COMMUNITY SERVICE-LEARNING INTO UNDERGRADUATE GEOSCIENCE COURSES

Active engagement deepens and broadens students’ understanding of fundamental course concepts and academic methodologies. Laboratory exercises, small-group discussions, and field trips are successfully integrated into many undergraduate geoscience classes, but need not be the sole techniques used to engage students and strengthen their skills in the scientific method, critical reasoning, collaboration, etc.

Community service is a concept familiar to many students, and required at many high schools. However, as a pedagogical tool in higher-education settings, community service-learning is rarely incorporated into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses such as the geosciences.

While initially relatively time-intensive to develop, service-learning projects benefit students, faculty, and the community alike. Students of diverse interests and backgrounds, including those underrepresented in the sciences, connect with the subject material more deeply and better understand its relevance in daily life. Faculty build and strengthen relationships with colleagues in other departments, as well as local organizations and the press. Community groups gain valuable volunteer hours and connections with the college or university.

The author will describe her experiences developing and teaching geoscience courses with strong service-learning components at several institutions of higher learning.