GEO-NEEDS: IDEAL MODELS FOR BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN THE GEOSCIENCES AT TWO-YEAR AND MINORITY-SERVING COLLEGES

Employment opportunities in the geosciences are rapidly expanding, yet underrepresented minorities continue to make up ~8% of the geoscience-related workforce. This pattern of underrepresentation has been attributed to (1) minority serving institutions lacking geoscience programs, (2) low interest in the outdoors due to a lack of opportunity to regularly engage in outdoor recreation, and (3) perceptions of geoscience as a low-prestige career.

Our project focuses specifically on the first barrier. At present, we found that ~2.5% of institutions with geoscience programs are designated as minority-serving. The goals of the Geo-Needs project are to identify obstacles to and opportunities for better use of existing educational resources in two-year and minority-serving institutions, and to explore “ideal” models of resources, partnerships, and other support for geoscience faculty and students in these institutions. Four focus group meetings held in August 2015 brought administrators, instructors, resource providers, and education researchers together to discuss and develop these models. Activities at the meetings included small and whole group prompted discussion, guest speakers, gallery walks, and individual reflection. The culminating ideal model activity encouraged participants to brainstorm potential actors and pathways necessary to diversify the geosciences. We then synthesized perspectives across the four stakeholder groups to highlight novel approaches to broadening participation in the geosciences.

Content from the focus group meetings is available at the project’s website: http://serc.carleton.edu/geoneeds/index.html. Findings from the meetings can be used to inform future efforts aimed toward broadening access to the geosciences at two-year and minority-serving institutions.