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Paper No. 272-4
Presentation Time: 8:45 AM
EXPOSING UNDERGRADUATES TO MULTIPLE GEOSCIENCE CAREER OPTIONS THROUGH SHORT VIDEOS FOR THE CLASSROOM
For many undergraduate students, their only geoscience role models are their instructors, modeling a career in academia. While a viable career path, academia is certainly not the only career path available, and may not be enticing to all students who are otherwise interested in geoscience. To expose students to other career paths within geoscience, UNAVCO has begun production of a video series highlighting non-academic geoscience careers to be shown in the classroom. Videos are purposefully short, clocking in at under four minutes, to fit into existing lesson plans. Each video highlights one professional while including general information on the career featured, including skills needed, typical career path, and earning potential. We aim to expose students to scientists who represent diversity both in careers and in appearance, so students of all backgrounds might see someone who resembles their demographic in a career that piques their interest. Additionally, the videos are produced by interns, who benefit from researching geoscience careers and meeting and interviewing scientists in them. Three videos were completed by two interns in the UNAVCO Summer Internship Program (USIP) in summer 2015 as a pilot for the project. One USIP intern also developed a template and guide to facilitate future video production by interns at multiple partner institutions. While these videos do not replace bringing speakers into a classroom, they provide instructors with the means to expose their students to a broad variety of geoscience career paths throughout the semester without interrupting the flow of established courses.