RECRUITING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS AS MENTORS IN A UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCIENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM TO BETTER ENGAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GEOSCIENCE RESEARCH

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and other recent natural disasters and with the media attention given to concerns over climate change and recent issues of environmental degradation, water quality, and energy resources there ought to be a surge of high school students and pre-service teachers pursuing research and education careers in the geosciences. Sadly, this is not the case. Hofstra University’s Summer Science Research Program (HUSSRP) was founded over ten years ago to bring talented high school students to campus to pursue authentic research. Each year we receive over 100 applications with approximately 15 students chosen to participate by faculty mentors. At least seventy percent of the applicants list chemistry, biochemistry, and biology as their interest areas for research, far more than the number of faculty mentors working in those areas. Over the past two summers less than 10 applicants listed geoscience or environmental science as an interest. From discussion with parents, students, and teachers it is clear that the focus for high school science research seems to be primarily biology and chemistry. However, our experience suggests that students are simply unaware of other options. Last year an excellent student could not be accommodated by a mentor and was asked to interview for a geoscience spot in the program. He accepted and was astonished by how exciting the work was. This year we recruited two students to work with geology faculty who had not expressed any interest in Earth science and both are currently enthusiastically working on their projects. Contributing to the success of these “conversions” is the participation as a mentor of a pre-service teacher who is a former geology major from Hofstra. HUSSRP has a budget for pre-service teachers to work with faculty as research mentors and receive a stipend during the six-week duration of the program. Next year we plan to more actively recruit both high school students and pre-service teacher mentors to pursue geoscience research and to explore new ways to involve teachers and guidance counselors in promoting Earth and environmental science as exciting and fruitful avenues for high school research.