POSITIVE IMPACT OF CLASSROOM TRANSFORMATION ON INEQUALITY IN DFW RATES (“D” OR “F” GRADE, OR WITHDRAW) FOR FIRST-TIME FRESHMAN, FEMALES, AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN TWO INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY COURSES

Implementation of engaged-learning practices into STEM courses has been shown to increase (i) student learning and performance, (ii) retention of material, and (iii) reduction in achievement gaps among different student populations compared to traditional, lecture-based approaches. To this end, we have transformed two separate large-enrollment (160-270 & 60-190 students) introductory-geoscience courses into engaged-learning classrooms, and analyzed student achievement data over a 10-year period encompassing the transformation. One of the courses is required for geology majors, petroleum engineers, and architectural engineers, and also serves as a natural-science distribution requirement for undergraduate bachelor degrees. The other course serves only as a natural-science distribution requirement for undergraduate bachelor degrees. In both courses, there were measureable, but not statistically significant, improvements in overall student performance in the transformed courses when compared to student performance in the untransformed course as judged by overall decreases in %DFW rates (D or F grade, or Withdrawal). In the majors course, in addition, there were larger statistically-significant decreases in %DFW specifically in female and underrepresented-minority groups (ranging from 7-10%). Throughout our 10-year study during the course transformation process female students remained ~30% of the class; however, underrepresented-minority student numbers increased from 11% to 18%, and underrepresented-minority declared geology majors from 3% to 21%. Also, in the non-majors course %DFW for first-time freshman decreased by 10%. No other statistically significant changes were noted, in part due to variable class size that distorted data amongst smaller populations. Our data support previous studies demonstrating narrowing overall student performance gaps with engaged learning practices, but also demonstrates (1) that widespread integration of these practices throughout geoscience courses and curricula can be beneficial to at-risk populations (e.g. first-time freshmen) and (2) transformed classrooms can be a means of increasing diversity of geoscience undergraduates as a pipeline into future employment.