BRINGING CORAL REEFS INTO THE CLASSROOM: A NOVEL METHOD FOR TEACHING BIOGEOCHEMISTRY

In 2010, U.S. high school graduation rates were 57% for African Americans and Hispanics combined, and completion of college undergraduate degrees was only 19% for African Americans and 13% for Hispanics. Educational research has revealed that regular interaction between faculty and under-represented students provides the student with the support, encouragement, and motivation required for pursuing STEM field degrees. Therefore, it is essential to get students interested in and excited about potential careers in the physical sciences.

With the help of a Columbus City Teacher Dream Grant, a multi-year outreach program was implemented aiming to actively engage under-represented students in coral reef biogeochemistry at Briggs High School in Columbus City Schools. A total of ten different classes studied the effects of coral bleaching over the course of two months, and at the end of that period the students performed analytical techniques used by actual coral reef scientists. Another five classes were used as a control and were never exposed to the outreach program. Student achievement was measured using pre- and post-tests, and attitudes and perceptions were measured using semantic differentials. The results clearly show that students not only improved their achievement levels, but also both their attitude towards becoming scientists and attitude towards climate change improved. To facilitate under-represented student involvement and interest in the sciences, the outreach program can be adapted to a multitude of different science topics and courses with particular emphasis on improving student achievement through research.